Principles of Private Law - LAWS1150
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:
Currently enrolled in a program in the Faculty of Law.
Excluded: JURD7150, JURD7171, LAWS1071
CSS Contribution Charge: 3 (more info)
Tuition Fee: See Tuition Fee Schedule
Further Information: See Class Timetable
View course information for previous years.
Description
The bulk of the course is spent on the topics of contract and property law. In both cases, the course provides an introduction to materials that are expanded upon in later subjects. With respect to contract law, this course covers the formation of contracts and the doctrine of privity. Several other elements of contract law are dealt with later in the curriculum in Contracts. With respect to property law, this course considers the boundaries of the concept of property, as well as several of the rules with respect to the creation, transfer and protection of property rights. Again several other elements of property law are dealt with later in Land Law, and to some extent also in Equity and Trusts.
The course also introduces students to two smaller topics: agency and equitable estoppel. As well as being closely related to contracts and property, these are two important areas of law for practicing lawyers.
The final component of the course returns to the theoretical foundations of private law. Having familiarised themselves with several areas of private law, students will be asked to consider such questions as: What does it mean to talk about justice in this context? What are the legitimate aims of private law? How do courts adapt private law to new situations? These and related questions will be discussed with reference to some of the key ideas of justice (in particular corrective justice) that influence the development of private law.
Learning Outcomes
- Understand the basic principles and sources of private law, with a focus on contract law, property law, agency and equitable estoppel.
- Apply these principles to hypothetical fact scenarios.
- Demonstrate an awareness of the place of private law within the general landscape of Australian law, including the role of principles of justice in the development of legal rules.
- Examine the principles of private law critically in light of practical problems in the operation of the law, both alone and in co-operation with others.
- Demonstrate effective oral communication skills by discussing and debating course concepts in a scholarly, reflective and respectful manner.
Main Topics
- Private law, values and corrective justice
- Private Law and public law distinguished
- Origins and sources of private law
- The categories of private law
- Formation of Contracts
- Offer and Acceptance
- Intention to Create Legal Relations
- Consideration
- Certainty of Terms
- Privity
- Promissory Estoppel
- Definition of property
- Licences, contractual and otherwise
- New forms of property
- Definition of land
- Doctrine of fixtures
- Personal property
- Creation of property rights: original acquisition, voluntary/involuntary transfers
- The concept of possession of land and goods
- Bailment
- Torts of trespass, detinue and conversion
- Adverse possession/possessory title
- Formalities required in the formation of contracts
- Proprietary estoppel
- Fundamental principles
- Distinction from other relationships, eg employment, sub-contract
- Specific types of agency
Assessment
- Class Participation - 20%
- Mid- Semester Assignment - 30%
- Final Exam - 50%
Texts
Case Book: Paterson, Robertson & Duke, Contract: Cases and Materials (Lawbook Co, 12th ed, 2012).
Case Book: Edgeworth, Rossiter, Stone and O’Connor, Sackville and Neave: Australian Property Law (LexisNexis, 9th ed, 2013).
Recommended text
Study Levels
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