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Campus: Kensington Campus
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Career: Postgraduate
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Units of Credit: 6
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Indicative Contact Hours per Week: 3
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Enrolment Requirements:
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Prerequisite: LAWS2311; JURD7211
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Excluded: LAWS3589
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Description
Civil litigation is more frequently giving rise to cases that are labelled "mega-litigation", "heavy and complex" or "supercase". At the same time concerns have been raised about cost, delay, access to justice, efficiency and proportionality. This course examines what factors cause civil litigation to be complex such as "high stakes", multiple parties, with an emphasis on class actions, the need for expert evidence and electronic discovery. The course then addresses how complex civil litigation may be effectively managed and the challenge of promoting efficiency without compromising justice. The course will examine the use of case management techniques by the judiciary and methods for limiting or resolving issues in dispute including summary judgment and ADR. The course will draw on Australian, UK and US experience.
Recommended Prior Knowledge
JURD7211 Litigation 1 or equivalent
Course Objectives
- Develop an understanding of the possible causes of complexity in civil litigation.
- Discuss how multiple-parties, technology and the need for experts may impact on the complexity of civil litigation.
- Analyse how complexity, accuracy of decision making, cost and delay in the judicial system are related.
- Discuss and evaluate methods for managing complex civil litigation, including recent innovations in the Federal Court of Australia and Supreme Court of New South Wales.
- Examine Australian, US and UK practices and research on complex civil litigation so as to facilitate comparative analysis.
- Undertake practical group exercises in relation to real-world examples so as to prepare students for practice.
- Encourage students to be able to express their arguments orally as is frequently needed in practice for hearings and mediations.
- Facilitate students being able to critically evaluate the information and ideas presented in the course and to research and write a well-reasoned a research essay.
Main Topics
- Complexity in civil litigation
- "High Stakes" litigation
- Pleadings in complex cases
- Class actions in the Federal Court of Australia and Supreme Court of NSW
- Litigation funding
- Case management requirements and techniques
- Discovery in the Electronic Age
- Expert evidence
- Alternative dispute resolution in complex civil litigation
Assessment
Class Participation - 10%
Class Participation on a Specified Question - 10%
Group Tasks - two worth 10% each (20% total)
Research Essay (6000 words) 60% Course Texts
Michael Legg, Case Management and Complex Civil Litigation (2011) Federation Press
- Stephen Colbran Greg Reinhardt, Peta Spender, Sheryl Jackson and Roger Douglas, Civil Procedure - Commentary and Materials (4th ed 2009) LexisNexis; or
- Dorne Boniface and Miiko Kumar, Principles of Civil Procedure in New South Wales (2009) Thomson; or
- Bernard Cairns, Australian Civil Procedure (8th ed 2009) Thomson; or
- Jill Hunter, Camille Cameron and Terese Henning, Litigation I-Civil Procedure (7th ed 2005) LexisNexis.
Resources
Refer to the course outline which will be provided by the lecturer at the beginning of the relevant semester.
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