Common Law in Context

Course aim

This course focuses on judge-made law. Together with Legal Policy, Lawmaking and Justice, it provides students with a solid foundational understanding of legal sources and legal reasoning and introduces them to key ideas regarding the nature of law.

Course content

This course introduces law and the common law, including:

• Philosophy and Law
• The sources of law
• The hierarchy of courts and the doctrine of precedent
• The role of judges in developing the common law
• Factors that may influence the development of common law

In addition to this content, students will also learn skills in how to find, read, and analyse cases.

Textbook(s)

R Creyke, D Hamer, P O'Mara, B Smith and T Taylor 2020, Laying Down the law, 11th, LexisNexis, Chatswood, NSW

Prerequisite(s)

Nil

Corequisite(s)

Common to all relevant programs
Subject Area & Catalogue Number	Course Name
LAWS 1032	Torts

Teaching method

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

Case study, Presentation, Test/Quiz

Fees

EFTSL*: 0.125
Commonwealth Supported program (Band 4C)
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:
How to determine the relevant non award tuition fee. (Opens new window)

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.