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

1. Locate, identify and be able to critically analyse relevant statutes, statutory provisions and legislative instruments, as well as pertinent judicial authority;
2. Interpret the appropriate provisions using the accepted tools and techniques of statutory interpretation;
3. Apply statutory provisions to fact scenarios and communicate the interpretation, nature and effect of statutory provisions to relevant stakeholders, such as clients and courts.

The textbook for this course is:

Michelle Sanson, Statutory Interpretation, OUP, 2012

All students will need to have access to:
1. Acts Interpretation Act 1901 (Cth)
2. Acts Interpretation Act 1915 (SA)

Further resources will be made available on MyUni. 

Other useful texts include:

DC Pearce and RS Geddes, Statutory Interptretation in Australia, 8th ed, LexisNexis, 2014
Perry Herzfeld and Thomas Prince, Statutory Interpretation Principles: The Laws of Australia, Thomson Reuters, 2014
Kath Hall and Claire Macken, Legislation and Statutory Interpretation, 3rd ed, Lexis Nexis, 2012

The course is supported by the Statutory Interpretation MyUni website. The website contains links to the following resources:

• Course information, including the Course Profile.
• Course materials – such as items of assessment, lecture PowerPoint slides, and other course materials which will be posted from time to time.
• Lectures – audio streaming of lectures and video streaming of lecture slides will be posted (where available) under the Course Materials link as soon as possible after each lecture.
• Discussion Board – 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.
• My 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 intensively.  Each day will have six contact hours. These contact hours will include some short lectures, but predominantly involve large and small group discussion and activities in which students will be required to research, discuss, debate and defend their analysis of the relevant material set in the course readings. It is absolutely critical that students have undertaken the reading before coming to class.

Contact time: the course will be made up of six days each with six hours of contact. The days will commence at 10 am and conclude at 5 pm. This amounts to 36 hours of formal class time during the winter semester.

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

Classes	Day	Topic
Class One	Monday am	Introduction; Fundamental Issues
Class Two	Monday pm	The Interpretive Technique
Class Three	Wednesday am	Common Law Approaches and Statutory Requirements
Class Four	Wednesday pm	Context, History and The Act as a Whole
Class Five	Friday am	Common Law Presumptions: Part 1
Class Six	Friday pm	Common Law Presumptions: Part 2
Class Seven	Monday am	Retrospectivity and Extraterritoriality
Class Eight	Monday pm	Reasonableness and Mens Rea
Class Nine	Wednesday am	Duellling provisions
Class Ten	Wednesday pm	Interference with Common Law Rights
Class Eleven	Friday am	International Law
Class Twelve	Friday pm	Review and Q and A

Assessment item	% of Final Mark	Group or individual	Redeemable	Due Date	Learning outcome/s
Class participation	10	Individual	No	N/A	1, 2, 3
Find a wacky statutory provision exercise	2 bonus marks	Individual	No	10 July
Case Note Exercise	20	Individual	Yes	15 July	1, 2, 3
Legal Opinion	70-90	Individual	No	6 August	1, 2, 3

1. Class Participation: 10%
The rules and expectations for the Class Participation mark will be released and explained in the first class. Generally, students will be
expected to participate in large group discussions, small group discussions, and actively contribute to a number of small group
exercises throughout the seminar. Students must attend 9/12 classes to pass the class participation component.

2. Find a Wacky Statutory Provision Exercise: Bonus 2%
This exercise will involve finding and correctly citing a statutory provision that is wacky in nature or effect. Students will post their
finds in their entirety on the subject's discussion board with a short (no more than 200 word) explanation of why they qualify as wacky. The post must be made by 2 pm on Friday 10 July.

3. Case Note Exercise: 20%
Students will undertake an optional case note exercise on a statutory interpretation case. Detailed instructions with marking criteria will be distributed with the Exercise in Class One. The maximum word count is 1500. The assignment must be submitted by Wednesday 15 July at 2 pm.

4. Legal Opinion: 70-90%
Students will be given a fact scenario and have to locate and apply relevant statute law and provide a legal opinion in the form that would be provided by a barrister to a solicitor. The maximum word count is 4500 words and the due date for this assessment is Thursday 6 August at 2 pm.

Submission

Assignments must be handed in electronically by Turnitin. Students must ensure their student number appears on all written work submitted for assessment.

Electronic copies of the assignment as handed in must be retained by students.

Assignments will be returned electronically.

It is also advisable to keep written work after it has been assessed and returned.

Extensions

Extensions are granted at the discretion of Course Coordinator. Extensions beyond the due date are usually only granted in the case of significant unforeseen incapacity.

Students who wish to apply, should apply for an extension by completing the online Application for Extension form (found at http://www.law.adelaide.edu.au/student/forms/). The application must give details of the extent and length of the student’s incapacity, and the length of extension that is requested. The Course Coordinator will email students with the outcome of their request as soon as possible after it is received. If an extension is granted, it is only provisional until formal evidence of the incapacity is received. Students must attach this evidence as well as the email granting the extension to the assignment when it is submitted. The evidence submitted must be consistent with details provided in the email requesting the extension. If the details of the request for an extension, and the medical or other evidence verifying the reason for the extension are not consistent in all respects, the extension may be nullified, and the Course Coordinator may in their discretion decide not to accept the assignment, or impose a penalty for late submission.

You can apply for an extension at any time before the due date for an assignment. However, you are strongly advised to make your application as soon as the need becomes apparent. Delay in making an application obviously involves the risk that there will be insufficient time to complete the assignment (with consequential loss of marks) if the application for extension is refused.

If an application is made within two days of the due date, or after the due date has expired, it will not be granted unless the Course Co-ordinator is satisfied: If your request for an extension is rejected, you can appeal in writing to the Student Appeals Committee, via the Secretary to the Student Appeals Committee, within seven days of notification of rejection by the Course Co-ordinator.

Penalties for Late Submission

5% of the total mark possible will be deducted for every 24 hours or part thereof that it 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 essay 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.

Penalties for Exceeding Stipulated Word Length

Assignments which exceed the allocated length (word length or page limit) will be subject to a penalty of 5% of total marks possible per 100 words or part thereof (ie with a word limit of 3,000, an essay graded 63% will have 5% deducted if it is 3001 words long, for a final grade of 58%, 10% if it is 3101 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.