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Unit of Study LAW91100 - Legal Institutions and Processes (2020)

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Unit Snapshot

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Unit description

Provides students with a thorough introduction to the important institutions and processes which influence the ongoing development of law in Australia, their history, context and contemporary relevance, and equips students with the skills necessary to find, interpret, critique and apply law in both its legislative and adjudicative modes.

Unit content

Topic 1: The Australian legal system

a. What is the law?
b. Australia and the international sphere
c. British origin of the Australian legal system
d. Contested sovereignty
e. The Australian model of governance

Topic 2: Sources of law

a. Law in its legislative mode
b. Law in its adjudicative mode

Topic 3: Research and writing in law

Topic 4: Judge-made law (common law)

a. The hierarchy of the courts
b. Working with judicial precedent

Topic 5: Statute law (legislation)

a. Interpreting statutes
b. Aids to interpretation and interpretative presumptions

Topic 6: Law in practice

a. Law in practice
b. Changing the law

Availabilities

Location Domestic International
SCU Online
Study Period1,2,3,4,5,6
Study Period1,2,3,4,5,6

Learning outcomes and graduate attributes

Unit Learning Outcomes express learning achievement in terms of what a student should know, understand and be able to do on completion of a unit. These outcomes are aligned with the graduate attributes. The unit learning outcomes and graduate attributes are also the basis of evaluating prior learning.

On completion of this unit, students should be able to:

GA1: Intellectual rigour, GA2: Creativity, GA3: Ethical practice, GA4: Knowledge of a discipline, GA5: Lifelong learning, GA6: Communication and social skills, GA7: Cultural competence
Learning outcome count Learning outcome description GA1 GA2 GA3 GA4 GA5 GA6 GA7
1 describe the historical foundations of Australian law
2 describe the ways in which formal law-making bodies function in the Australian context
3 demonstrate familiarity with the formal and informal institutions and processes which shape the development of Australian law
4 analyse and critique the operation of Australian legal institutions from a variety of historical and theoretical perspectives
5 solve legal problems involving the interpretation of statutes and/or the application of judicial precedents
6 demonstrate awareness of current themes and future directions in the development of Australian law
7 engage in academic research utilising and acknowledging a variety of sources.

On completion of this unit, students should be able to:

  1. describe the historical foundations of Australian law
    • GA4:
  2. describe the ways in which formal law-making bodies function in the Australian context
    • GA4:
  3. demonstrate familiarity with the formal and informal institutions and processes which shape the development of Australian law
    • GA1:
  4. analyse and critique the operation of Australian legal institutions from a variety of historical and theoretical perspectives
    • GA1:
    • GA7:
  5. solve legal problems involving the interpretation of statutes and/or the application of judicial precedents
    • GA2:
    • GA4:
  6. demonstrate awareness of current themes and future directions in the development of Australian law
    • GA4:
  7. engage in academic research utilising and acknowledging a variety of sources.
    • GA1:

Prescribed learning resources

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Prescribed Learning Resources may change in future Teaching Periods.