Concepts and Controversies in Dispute Resolution - JURD7363

Faculty: Faculty of Law

School: School 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: 2

Enrolment Requirements:

36 UOC completed in Juris Doctor Program (9150)

Excluded: LAWS8063

CSS Contribution Charge: 3 (more info)

Tuition Fee: See Tuition Fee Schedule

Further Information: See Class Timetable

Description

This course focuses on critical examination of a small range of important and controversial topics in dispute resolution. Students are encouraged to engage with and discuss a range of key academic works and policy documents, and to think about how theory can be reconciled with the practical realities of dispute resolution in Australia and internationally.

Recommended Prior Knowledge


None

Course Objectives


  • Engage with a variety of perspectives of dispute resolution, both endorsing and critiquing dispute resolution;
  • Examine and debate the current trends in academic and policy literature, and reconcile these debates with the practice of mediation, arbitration, and other forms of dispute resolution;
  • Develop the capacity to think critically about independent and court-annexed dispute resolution, the scope of its practice, and regulation of its practitioners;
  • Acquire a theoretical basis for dispute resolution practice through an examination of academic and policy literature;
  • Appreciate the diversity of dispute resolution practice in Australia and internationally.

Main Topics


We will examine a range of current and emerging themes in dispute resolution, which may include:
  • The legal and policy framework of dispute resolution in Australia and internationally;
  • Dispute resolution, the doctrine of precedent, and ‘the shadow of the law’;
  • Cross-cultural perspectives on dispute resolution;
  • Power and neutrality in facilitative dispute resolution processes;
  • The development of ethical and professional regulation of dispute resolution;
  • Online dispute resolution;
  • Future trends in dispute resolution.

Assessment


Class participation: 20%
Essay: 80%

Course Texts


The course will use a collection of journal articles, policy documents and other sources. These will be available to students electronically through Blackboard.

Resources


Refer to the course outline which will be provided by the lecturer at the beginning of the relevant semester.