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Foundations of Law - JURD7152
Law Books

 
Faculty: Faculty of Law
 
 
School:  Faculty of Law
 
 
Course Outline: See below
 
 
Campus: Kensington Campus
 
 
Career: Postgraduate
 
 
Units of Credit: 6
 
 
EFTSL: 0.12500 (more info)
 
 
Indicative Contact Hours per Week: 5
 
 
Enrolment Requirements:
 
 
Prerequisite: Academic Program must be 9150.
 
 
Excluded: LAWS1052
 
 
Fee Band: 3 (more info)
 
 
Further Information: See Class Timetable
 
 

Description

Foundations of Law introduces students to the history and operation of our legal system and provides students with a grounding in key legal skills, including common law reasoning and statutory interpretation. The course is a foundational and compulsory subject in the law degree and has two components, a Coursework Seminar and a Research Tutorial. This course is taught intensively - please contact the Faculty for further information about the Timetable for Foundations of Law.

Recommended Prior Knowledge

None

Course Objectives

This course aims to provide students with:

  • An understanding of the principal legal institutions in Australia, including their history and the relationships between them;
  • Foundational legal research skills, a preliminary understanding of appropriate research strategies and an understanding of legal terminologies and the elements of good legal writing;
  • A capacity to analyse case law and interpret statutes, and to identify and apply legal principles;
  • A feel for the "dynamic" of the law, that is, for the way that it has changed in the past, and will continue to change, in response both to social changes and to the continued operations of the legal system itself;
  • A contextual and critical approach to legal principles and institutions, rather than treating them as inevitable phenomena whose desirability cannot be questioned at any level;
  • A conception of law as a social phenomenon which may usefully be investigated from the viewpoint of many kinds of investigator - not just the judge, the practising lawyer or the law reformer, but also the historian, the sociologist, the anthropologist, the political scientist, the economist, or the philosopher.

Main Topics

  • The historical origins of the Australian legal system;
  • An introduction to some of the significant theoretical ideas underpinning our legal system, including the importance of the concept of the rule of law;
  • The operation of the principal institutions of government under our constitutions - parliaments, the executive and the courts - and their relation to each other and to the people living under them;
  • The role of judges, practising lawyers and other personnel in the court system;
  • The nature of the common law and the processes by which cases are decided by judges;
  • The circumstances of the adoption of the common law in the Australian states and the effect on the indigenous population;
  • The nature of statutes and the techniques for interpreting them;
  • An introduction to the history and development of equity within the Australian legal system;
  • An investigation of some torts as an example of the legal system in action;
  • How to research primary materials such as case law and legislation;
  • An introduction to secondary legal materials
  • Problem solving strategies and legal research;
  • Legal citation methods and referencing.

Assessment

Class Participation (20%)
Case Brief and Writing Exercise (20%)
Applied Research Exercise (10%)
Extended Casenote (50%)

Course Texts

Prescribed
  • Prue Vines, Law and Justice in Australia: Foundations of the Legal System (2nd ed, Melbourne, Oxford University Press, 2009)
  • Butterworths Concise Australian Legal Dictionary (3rd ed, Sydney, LexisNexis Butterworths, 2004)
  • OR
  • Australian Law Dictionary (Melbourne, Oxford University Press, 2010).
  • Both contain a copy of the Commonwealth Constitution.
  • JURD7152 Foundations of Law Research Workbook (available from the UNSW Bookshop)
  • Australian Guide to Legal Citation, 3rd ed, Melbourne University Law Review Assn., 2010(mulr.law.unimelb.edu.au/aglc.asp)
Recommended
Michael Brogan & David Spencer, Surviving Law School (2nd ed, South Melbourne Vic, Oxford University Press, 2008).
Bruce Bott, & Ruth Talbot-Stokes, Nemes and Coss’ Effective Legal Research (4th ed, LexisNexis Butterworths, Sydney 2010).
OR
Sue Milne & Kay Tucker, A Practical Guide to Legal Research, Sydney, Lawbook Company, 2008
OR
Robert Watt & Francis John, Concise Legal Research (6th ed, Annandale NSW, Federation Press, 2009).
Suggested preliminary reading: Brogan, M & Spencer, D Surviving Law School, 2nd ed, Oxford University Press, 2008
Chisholm, R & Nettheim, G Understanding Law, 7th ed, LexisNexis Butterworths, 2007; OR
Harlow, C Understanding Tort Law, 3rd ed, Thomson/Sweet & Maxwell, 2005

Resources

Refer to the course outline prior to the beginning of the relevant semester.

URL for this page:

© The University of New South Wales (CRICOS Provider No.: 00098G), 2004-2011. The information contained in this Handbook is indicative only. While every effort is made to keep this information up-to-date, the University reserves the right to discontinue or vary arrangements, programs and courses at any time without notice and at its discretion. While the University will try to avoid or minimise any inconvenience, changes may also be made to programs, courses and staff after enrolment. The University may also set limits on the number of students in a course.