成人大片

Semester 1:

Course Coordinators:

Dr Francesco de Zwart
Associate Professor Matthew Stubbs

Lecturers:

Associate Professor Matthew Stubbs
Dr Francesco de Zwart
Associate Professor Joanna Howe
Christopher Davis

Seminar Leaders: Details will be advised on MyUni.

Contact details for consultation will be advised on MyUni.

Semester 2:

Course Coordinator: Dr Francesco de Zwart

Lecturers:

Dr Francesco de Zwart
Christopher Davis
Other lecturers will be advised on MyUni

Seminar Leaders: Details will be advised on MyUni.

Contact details for consultation will be advised on MyUni.

A full timetable for the course is available on the MyUni course website.

On successful completion of this course, students will be able to:

1	Identify sources of law in Australia, analyse cases, apply principles of statutory interpretation, and undertake legal research at a foundational level using legal databases.
2	Apply basic strategies to solve legal problems, and engage with legal theories to critique the operation of the law.
3	Communicate effectively individually and as part of a team.  Work in collaboration with others to solve problems, prepare written documents, and deliver a presentation. Engage with team members in an ethical and professional manner.
4	Exercise professional judgement in the application of case law and statute to solve legal problems.
5	Analyse the impact of case law and statute from a policy perspective.  Appreciate the ethical dimension of the role of lawyers, and the functioning of law and legal systems.  Critically reflect on the operation of the law as a social institution in the context of Indigenous and theoretical perspectives.
6	Reflect on their ability to effectively undertake work as a member of a team.

The Legal Practitioners' Education and Admissions Council (LPEAC) sets rules for the
academic requirements for admission to legal practice in South Australia.
Students must demonstrate a satisfactory level of understanding and application
of 11 core areas of legal knowledge. This course teaches the following topics
within these core areas:

ETHICS AND PROFESSIONAL RESPONSIBILITY:

Professional and personal conduct in respect of a
practitioner's duty:

(a) to the law;

(b) to the Courts.

• Foundations of Law, Lecture and Seminar Guide
• Foundations of Law, Course Readings
• Acts Interpretation Act 1901 (Cth) and Acts Interpretation Act 1915 (SA)
• Robin Creyke et al, Laying Down the Law (LexisNexis, 10th ed, 2017) [the previous edition Catriona Cook et al, Laying Down the Law (LexisNexis, 9th ed, 2015 would also be acceptable].

• Australian Guide to Legal Citation (3rd ed, 2010) Melbourne University Law Review Association, Melbourne (available for viewing on the web at  and available for purchase). A link has also been placed in the ‘Additional Materials’ folder on the MyUni subject website).
• A dictionary of legal terms such as LexisNexis, Concise Australian Legal Dictionary (4th ed, 2011) or Oxford, Australian Law Dictionary (2010). Again this is a resource students will find useful throughout their degree.

The course is supported by the Foundations of Law MyUni website. The website contains links to the following resources:

1. Course information, including the seminar and lecture guide.
2. Course materials – such as items of assessment, lecture PowerPoint slides, and other course materials which will be posted from time to time.
3. Lectures – audio streaming of lectures and video streaming of lecture slides will be posted (where available) on MyUni as soon as possible after each lecture. (Please note: it can take up to 72 hours for the lectures to be uploaded.)
4. Discussion Forum – This is available for students to discuss the course among themselves and to communicate with academic staff in relation to administrative or substantive questions about the course.
5. Grades – where students’ grades will be entered for each assignment.

MyUni will also be used to post announcements, and assignment tasks. Students are expected to check MyUni regularly to keep up to date with these materials and additional learning resources throughout the course.

Students should also regularly check their email.

This course will be taught in a 1 or 2 hour lecture and a two hour seminar weekly. A full timetable for the course is available on the MyUni course website.

Lectures and seminars commence in the first week of semester. To be eligible to sit the exam, students must attend 9 of the 12 seminars (see below).

Seminars examine and apply the material addressed in the lectures and in the readings, as well as covering new material that is better taught in a ‘hands-on’ way, such as legal research. It is essential to prepare for the seminars by undertaking the prescribed reading for the week and preparing the exercises.

Students must attend the seminar class for which they are enrolled.

In addition to attending formal classes it is anticipated that students will do substantial independent work to prepare for classes and to complete the course assignments. Students should expect to spend about 4 – 6 hours a week reading and preparing materials for lectures and seminars. In addition, students will expect to spend between 4-6 hours attending Court and preparing a report, 3-5 hours preparing for and completing the quiz, 10-14 hours preparing the Analysis and Interpretation assignment, and 4 – 8 hours preparing the Group Presentation/Debate on Legal Theory and Indigenous Perspectives. Students will require about 18 to 25 hours to prepare for the exam.

The University expects full time students (those undertaking 12 units per semester) to devote a total of 48 hours per week to their studies.

**The following week-by-week timetable is in draft form and subject to change.

**A detailed week-by-week timetable for the course will be available on MyUni.

Induction Day: Wednesday 18 July, 10.15am - 12.30pm, Barr Smith South, 534 Lecture Theatre

Introduction & Lecture 1: The Concept of Law (Lecturer Dr Franc de Zwart)

Foundations of Law S2 2018

Week	Week Beginning	Lecture	Seminars	Assessment
		Mondays 12.00pm-2.00pm Napier, G03, Lecture Theatre	Tuesdays 11am - 1pm Ligertwood, 113, Teaching Room Seminar Leader: TBA Wednesdays 11am - 1pm Ligertwood, 314, Flinders Room Seminar Leader:TBA Wednesdays 1.00pm - 3.00pm Ligertwood 113, Teaching Room Seminar Leader: TBA
1	Monday 23 July	Pre-lecture video: Court Hierarchies and the Doctrine of Precedent Lecture 2: Sources of Law / Doctrine of Precedent / Australian Courts	Seminar 1: Introductions / Planning your court report
2	Monday 30 July	Pre-lecture video: Anatomy of a Case Lecture 3: Solving Legal Problems / McBain Case Analysis	Seminar 2: Understanding the Concept of Law
3	Monday 6 August	Pre-lecture video: The Legal Profession Lecture 4: Legal Profession / Re AJG Case Analysis	Seminar 3: Sources of Law and Solving Legal Problems
4	Monday 13 August	Pre-lecture videos: (1) Legal Research: An Overview; (2) Using Secondary Sources for Legal Research; (3) Finding and Navigating Through Legislation; (4) Locating Case Law Lecture 5: (Nexus10 Computer Suite 2.07) Legal Research	Seminar 4: Understanding the Legal Profession / How to Cite
5	Monday 20 August	Pre-lecture videos: (1) Creation and Interpretation of Legal Texts; (2) Nature of Legal Texts and the Difficulty of their Interpretation Lecture 6 (1 hr): Introduction to Statutory Interpretation	Seminar 5: Case Analysis (Part 1)
6	Monday 27 August	Pre-lecture videos: (1) Statutory Interpretation General Principles; (2) The Purposive Approach to Interpretation; (3) Presumptions; (4) Example: CPFC v Minister for Immigration and Border Protection Lecture/Workshop 7 (1 hr) (NOT recorded): Statutory Interpretation Problem Qu A	Seminar 6: Case Analysis (Part 2)	Court Report Exercise Due Tuesday of Week 6, 2.00pm
7	Monday 3 September	Lecture/Workshop 8 (1 hr) (NOT recorded): Statutory Interpretation Problem Qu B	Seminar 7: Statutory Interpretation (Pt 1)
8	Monday 10 September	Lecture/Workshop 9 (1 hr): Indigenous Perspectives and Legal Theory (Part 1)	Seminar 8: Statutory Interpretation (Pt 2)
** MID-SEMESTER BREAK **				** Analysis and Interpretation Exercise Due Friday 21 September 2.00pm
** MID-SEMESTER BREAK **
9	Monday 1 October	No Lecture (Public Holiday)	Seminar 9: Legal Research	Research Quiz open Monday Week 9 9.00am until Friday Week 9 5.00pm
10	Monday 8 October	Lecture 10 (1 hr): Indigenous Perspectives and Legal Theory (Part 2)	Seminar 10: Indigenous and Settler Perspectives (S1)	Indigenous Perspectives Quiz open 9.00am Monday Week 10 until 5.00pm Friday Week 12
11	Monday 15 October	Lecture 11 (1 hr): Indigenous Perspectives and Legal Theory (Part 3)	Seminar 11: Indigenous and Settler Perspectives (S2)
12	Monday 22 October	Lecture 12: Assignment Feedback / Legal Theory and Indigenous Perspectives Revision / Exam Preparation (Francesco de Zwart)	Seminar 12: Indigenous and Settler Perspectives (S3) Indigenous Perspectives Presentations Exercise	Indigenous Perspectives Presentations Exercise (in seminar 12)

To be eligible to sit the exam, students must attend 9 of the 12 seminars (see below).

Assessment Task	Task Type	Due	Weighting	Length	Redeemable	Learning Outcomes
Court Report	Group	Tuesday Week 6, 2pm	5%	3 pages	No	1,3,5,6
Research Quiz	Individual	9am Monday - 5pm Friday, Week 9	5%	10 questions	No	1,2,4
Advocacy Exercise (Legal Theory and Indigenous Perspectives Presentation/Debate)	Group	Week 12, in Seminars	10%		Yes (providing minimum 40% / bona fide effort - see below)	1,2,3,4,5,6
Analysis   and     Interpretation   Exercise	Individual	Friday 21 September, 2pm	30%	1750 words	Yes (providing minimum 40% / bona fide effort - see below)	1,2,4,5
Indigenous Perspectives Quiz	Individual	9am Monday Week 10 - 5.00pm Friday Week 12	5%	10 questions	No	1,2,5
Exam	Individual	Exam period	45% up to 85% depending on which items of interim assessment are redeemed	120 minutes, plus 10 minutes reading time	N/A	1,2,4,5

Students must attend 9 of the 12 seminars. Students should let their seminar leader know if they are unable to attend a seminar. Student will be expected to work in small groups in the seminars. Assessment tasks (such as the Court Report and Legal Theory and Indigenous Perspectives Presentations) will be conducted in groups.  

Attendance at seminars in Foundations of Law is compulsory because attendance is essential to all students in the course being able to successfully develop all of the course learning outcomes. First, as Foundations of Law is the first course students will encounter in University legal education (and, for many students, their first exposure to legal education at any level), students will be challenged to learn about and within an entirely new discipline – this new intellectual endeavour requires active participation in the seminar classes by all students. Second,  it would be possible for students to get into academic difficulty without realising it if distracted by other matters and not attending classes.

Third, students are required to form into groups from the very first
week, and complete two assessment tasks in those groups (one during the final seminar class of the course), so it is essential to have all students in attendance to form and then develop their group, and complete these group assessments. Fourth, as Foundations of Law is the first course in the LLB program, attending seminars encourages the formation of good learning habits for the remaining courses in the program.It is each student’s responsibility to monitor their own attendance, and ensure they meet the attendance requirement.  Staff will keep records of student attendance at seminar classes, and after the final seminar class any students identified as not meeting this requirement will be contacted by student email and informed of their inability to pass the course. 

The only exception to the attendance requirement is where a student is seriously impacted by compelling compassionate, medical or extenuating circumstances. In such case, the student is required to apply, in accordance with the University’s Modified Arrangements for Coursework Assessment Policy (which sets both strict substantive requirements for eligibility and stringently-enforced procedural requirements regarding prompt submission of applications with supporting evidence) for permission to undertake alternative work in lieu of attendance, which will be assigned at the discretion of the course coordinator.


The Research Quiz and Court Report components of the interim assessment are not redeemable.

In order to redeem an interim assessment mark for the Advocacy Exercise or the Analysis and Interpretation Exercise, a student must achieve 40% or a bona fide effort as assessed by the course coordinator in that item of interim assessment.

Marks achieved in the interim assessment will be added together and make up the interim mark in the subject. If a student does not redeem the mark for any item of interim assessment, the interim mark will count for 50% of the final mark with the examination result making up the other 50%. If a student is entitled to redeem their mark for an item of interim assessment, and they perform better in the examination, their examination mark will count for between 50% and 90% of their final mark in the subject, depending on which items of interim assessment are redeemed.

Court Report (5%)

Student groups are required to observe a South Australian Court while in session and each group must submit a report based on their observations that responds to specific questions. Instructions and questions to be answered will be posted on MyUni in week one. The reports must be submitted by Tuesday of Week 6 at 2.00 pm and are worth 5% of the grade for the course.

Research Quiz (5%)

Students are required to complete a 10 question quiz in Week 9 to test their research skills.

Advocacy Skills - Legal Theory and Indigenous Perspectives Debate/Presentation (10%)

In the seminar in week 12 students will participate in an advocacy exercise relating to the Law and Society: Indigenous and Settler Perspectives module of the course. The exercise will take the form of a debate or presentation and students will apply legal theory and Indigenous perspectives to practical problems. This exercise will be conducted in groups.

Analysis and Interpretation Exercise (30%)

The Analysis and Interpretation Exercise comprises two parts. In part 1 students will be given a passage from a judgment in a case relating to legal and professional ethics, and will be required to answer questions similar to those modelled in the seminars on case analysis. In part 2 students will undertake a simple process of statutory interpretation in a form similar to the exercises undertaken in seminars. Detailed instructions with marking criteria will be distributed with the Exercise.

Indigenous Perspectives Quiz (5%)

Students are required to complete a 10 question quiz in weeks 10 to 12 to test their understanding of the material covered in the videos of the Indigenous Perspectives Module of the Course.

Exam (45% up to 85% depending on which items of interim assessment are redeemed)

The exam is 120 minutes in length with 10 minutes reading time. It will be held in the University Examination Period.

Submission requirements for each piece of assessment will be set out in the information provided when the assessment item is released. Students should read the information on MyUni carefully in relation to submitting each piece of assessment and follow the instructions.

Extensions

Extensions beyond the due date will only be granted in the case of serious and unforeseen incapacity. Extensions will be granted only for unexpected illness, hardship or on compassionate grounds in accordance with University Policy. Work commitments, travel, holidays or sporting engagements are NOT unexpected circumstances. If you require an extension, you will need to use the on-line application form available on Unified as soon as you are aware of the need for an extension, and before the due date of the assignment.

The course coordinator will reply by email, determining whether an extension is warranted, what evidence is required to verify the student’s incapacity, and the length of the extension. Evidence of the incapacity must be submitted with the assignment, and must be consistent with details in the email requesting the extension. If the details of the request for an extension, and the medical or other evidence verifying the extension are not consistent in all respects, the extension is nullified, and the assignment may be penalised.

All written work in the Law school is required to comply with the approved Law School style guide, the Australian Guide to Legal Citation.

Penalties:

1. Late Submission: 5% of the total mark possible will be deducted for every 24 hours or part thereof that submission is late, including each day on a weekend. For example, an essay that is submitted after the due date and time but within the first 24 hour period, and that has been graded at 63%, will have 5% deducted, for a final grade of 58%. An assignment that is more than 24 hours late will lose 10%, etc. Hard copy submissions made after 5.00pm on a Friday will be assumed to have been submitted on the next business day and will be penalised accordingly.
2. Word Length: Assignments which exceed the allocated length (word length ) will be subject to a penalty of 5% of total marks possible per 100 words or part thereof (ie with a word limit of 1,250, an essay graded 63% will have 5% deducted if it is 1,251 words long, for a final grade of 58%, 10% if it is 1,351 words long, etc). Words are calculated including all footnotes and headings within the text but excluding cover page information. Quotations and all referencing information are included in the word count.

Courses for which a result of conceded pass has been obtained may not be presented towards the degree requirements for the Bachelor of Laws or the Honours Degree of Bachelor of Laws programs, or any postgraduate law program, nor to satisfy prerequisite requirements within any law course.

Finality of Assessment Grades

Students are advised that Course Coordinators will not enter into negotiations of any kind with any student regarding changes to their grades. It is irrelevant, in any given circumstance, that only a minimal number of additional marks are required to inflate a student’s grade for any individual assessment item or course as a whole. Pursuant to the University’s Assessment for Coursework Programs Policyand the Adelaide Law School Assessment Policies and Procedures, grades may only be varied through the appropriate channels for academic review (such as an official re-mark).

Moderation

In accordance with the University’s Assessment for Coursework Programs Policy, course coordinators ‘ensure that appropriate marking guidelines and cross-marking moderation processes across markers are in place’ in each course. Procedures adopted by Adelaide Law School to ensure consistency of marking in courses with multiple markers include:

• assurance of the qualifications of markers, and their knowledge of the content covered in each course;
• detailed marking guidelines and assessment rubrics to assist in the marking of items of assessment;
• sharing of example marked assessments at various grade bands across markers;
• reviewing of selected marked assessments from each marker by the course coordinator;
• comparison of the marks and their distribution across markers;
• automatic double-marking of all interim assessment receiving a fail grade, and of final assessments where a student’s overall result is a fail grade;
• the availability of re-marking of assessments in accordance with Adelaide Law School’s Assessment Policies and Procedures.

Approval of Results by Board of Examiners

Students are reminded that all assessment results are subject to approval (and possible moderation/change) by the Law School’s Board of Examiners. Assessment results at the University are not scaled. Under the Assessment for Coursework Programs Policy, students are assessed ‘by reference to their performance against pre-determined criteria and standards … and not by ranking against the performance of the student cohort in the course’. However, under that same policy, the Board of Examiners (as the relevant Assessment Review Committee for courses at Adelaide Law School) is required to ‘ensure comparability of standards and consistency’ in assessment. On occasions, the Board of Examiners will form the view that some moderation is required to ensure the comparability of standards and consistency across courses and years, and accordingly provide fairness to all law students. All assessment results are therefore subject to approval (and possible change) until confirmed by the Board of Examiners and posted on Access Adelaide at the end of each semester.

The provides academic learning and language development services and resources for local, international, undergraduate and postgraduate coursework students enrolled at the 成人大片.

The centre offers practical advice and strategies for students to master reading, writing, note-taking, time management, oral presentation skills, referencing techniques and exam preparation for success at university through seminars, workshops and individual consultations.

Lex Salus Program

Lex Salus (law and wellbeing) is an initiative of the Adelaide Law School aimed at destigmatising mental health issues; promoting physical, mental and emotional wellness; building a strong community of staff and students; and celebrating diversity within the school. It also seeks to promote wellness within the legal profession, through the involvement of the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of South Australia, the Honourable Chris Kourakis, as the official Patron of the program.

Students can participate in the Lex Salus program by attending barbecue lunches, pancake breakfasts, knitting and crochet circles, seminars, guest speakers, conferences and other activities. Our , and regular all-student emails promote upcoming events, and have tips and information on wellness.

Our Lex Salus YouTube channel also includes videos on topics like managing stress, and interviews with LGBTQ lawyers and their supporters which celebrate diversity and individuality. Students who commit to 10 hours of volunteering with Lex Salus in one year can have their service recognised on their academic transcript and through a thank you morning tea with the Chief Justice and law school staff.

Student Life Counselling Support

The University’s service provides free and confidential service to all enrolled students. We encourage you to contact the Student Life Counselling Support service on 8313 5663 to make an appointment to deal with any issues that may be affecting your study and life.

Academic Honesty

Academic dishonesty is a serious act of academic misconduct. All students must be familiar with the University’s Academic Honesty Policy.

Academic dishonesty is a serious matter and is treated as such by the Law School and the University. Academic dishonesty (which goes beyond plagiarism) can be a ground for a refusal by the Supreme Court of South Australia to admit a person to practice as a legal practitioner in South Australia.

Academic honesty is an essential aspect of ethical and honest behaviour, which is central to the practice of the law and an understanding of what it is to be a lawyer.