Foundations of Law

Course aim

This course provides an introduction to the Australian legal system, legal institutions, sources of law, with a particular focus upon the judicial system, and legal method.  Fundamental legal skills in legal research, legal reasoning and problem solving will be developed, using a blended learning approach.

Course content

Areas to be examined in this course include:

• The reception and development of the common law system in Australia
• The role of international and comparative law in our legal system
• The constitutional basis of the Federal/State judicial and quasi-judicial systems; and the system of court hierarchies.
• Principles of judicial independence and accountability and the rule of law
• The role of the lawyer in the justice system
• Judicial reasoning and decision making, and the doctrine of precedent
• Case law analysis, case law research and citation
• Legislative research and citation
• Legal method and legal problem solving
  
  
  
  

Textbook(s)

University of Melbourne 2010, Australian Guide to Legal Citation http://www.law.unimelb.edu.au/files/dmfile/FinalOnlinePDF-2012Reprint.pdf, 3rd ed., Melbourne University Law Review Assosciation, Melbourne Journal of International Law , Melbourne

Appleby G, Reilly A & Grenfell L 2014, Australian Public Law , 2nd ed, Oxford University Press, , South Melbourne, Vic

Prerequisite(s)

Nil

Corequisite(s)

Nil

Teaching method

Component	Duration
INTERNAL, CITY WEST
Lecture	2 hours x 10 weeks
Workshop	2 hours x 10 weeks

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

Assessment

Court visit and reflection, Online activities, Research paper

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.