Glossary

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Torts - LAWS1061

Faculty: Faculty of Law

School: Faculty of Law

Course Outline: See below

Campus: Sydney

Career: Undergraduate

Units of Credit: 6

EFTSL: 0.12500 (more info)

Indicative Contact Hours per Week: 4

Enrolment Requirements:

Prerequisite: LAWS1052 or LAWS1051; JURD7152

Excluded: JURD7161

CSS Contribution Charge: 3 (more info)

Tuition Fee: See Tuition Fee Schedule

Further Information: See Class Timetable

View course information for previous years.

Description

This course continues students’ introduction to the law of torts which began with Introducing Law and Justice where trespass to the person and nuisance is covered. Other torts, notably trespass to goods and to land, and conversion, are covered in Principles of Private Law. Torts considers the part of the law of torts concerning liability to pay compensation for wrongfully caused injury, damage or loss, with an emphasis on liability caused by negligence and breach of statutory duty. Both liability and remedies at common law and under the Civil Liability Act 2002 (NSW) are examined. Students are introduced to the complexities of interpreting statutory regimes, and their inter-relationship with common law precedent. The course critically examines the wider social implications of various approaches to compensating those who suffer personal injury.

Course Learning Outcomes

The student will be able to:

Demonstrate awareness of the place of tort law within law generally, and in a broader context;
Navigate and apply the various sources of tort law within the common law and statute;
Apply knowledge and understanding of the principles of tort law to hypothetical fact scenarios;
Engage in critical analysis of tort law;
Demonstrate effective written communication skills by articulating legal concepts and analysis clearly and persuasively;
Demonstrate effective oral communication skills by discussing and debating course concepts in a scholarly, reflective and respectful manner.

Topics

The role and function of tort law
Negligence – the duty of care in general
Negligence – duty – personal injury
Negligence – duty – defective property
Negligence – duty - pure economic loss
Negligence – duty – special defendants including public authorities, medical, landlords, parents and children etc
Breach of duty
Causation and remoteness including eggshell skull rule and probabilistic causation
Concurrent liability – vicarious liability
Concurrent Liability - non-delegable duty
Defences to negligence
Assessment of Damages
Assessing the law of negligence – does it operate as it should?
Breach of Statutory Duty