Law Honours 1: Advanced Legal Reasoning and Critical Analysis

Course aim

This course is for Honours students in Law as one of two courses which precede the writing of the Honours Thesis. This course is aimed at extending and refining a student’s ability to deconstruct and construct complex legal arguments through reflective and critical analysis.

Course content

This course is structured around 3 major case studies chosen by the Course Coordinator, but each involving a major contested case on a topical issue which has generated considerable commentary.

The first week of the course is dedicated to an examination of the theoretical approach to legal reasoning and analysis. The remaining 9 weeks will be divided up into 3 case studies, covered over a 3 week period. The case studies will be conducted as follows:

Case Study 1

Week 1 – Analysis of reasoning in a major contested case (eg, Cattanach v Melchior)
(including both lawyers’ submissions and final judgment)
Week 2 - Analysis of articles and secondary sources on the case
Week 3 - Construction of individual arguments in response to both the decision
and the related commentary (can include counter-arguments, law reform
options, reflection on the values underlying arguments). Students’
arguments must be made from a particular legal perspective (lawyer,
academic etc).

Textbook(s)

., Students will be provided with a Study Guide which will include a synopsis of topics and key cases.

Prerequisite(s)

The completion of Law Honours is by invitation and selection only. Eligible students must have a Grade Point Average of no less than 5.3 calculated using law core courses and law electives studied at UniSA.

Corequisite(s)

Nil

Teaching method

Note: These components may or may not be scheduled in every study period. Please refer to the timetable for further details.

Assessment

3 x oral presentations and 2 page outline of argument , Major Assignment

Fees

EFTSL*: 0.125
Commonwealth Supported program (Band 3)
To determine the fee for this course as part of a Commonwealth Supported program, go to:
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Fee-paying program for domestic and international students
International students and students undertaking this course as part of a postgraduate fee paying program must refer to the relevant program home page to determine the cost for undertaking this course.

Non-award enrolment
Non-award tuition fees are set by the university. To determine the cost of this course, go to:
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Not all courses are available on all of the above bases, and students must check to ensure that they are permitted to enrol in a particular course.

* Equivalent Full Time Study Load. Please note: all EFTSL values are published and calculated at ten decimal places. Values are displayed to three decimal places for ease of interpretation.