Handbook

This course introduces students to the history and operation of the contemporary Australian legal system, to the relationships between law and justice, and to the core legal skills necessary for successful study and practice. Common law reasoning and the elements of legal problem solving are introduced via a case study based on intentional torts, and the interpretation and application of statutes are developed throughout the course. The course emphasises the historical origins and dynamic nature of the Australian legal system as a settler colonial system, developing in the context of a changing Australian society. Through a consideration of the relationships between the principal institutions of government under Australian Constitutions – parliaments, the executive and the courts – it introduces students to key values and constructs underpinning the Australian legal system, including the significance, and limits, of conceptions of the ‘rule of law’. The course explores the nature of the common law and common law reasoning, with a particular emphasis on the circumstances of the adoption of the common law in the Australian states, the common law’s role in facilitating dispossession, and the ongoing impact of colonisation for Indigenous people in Australia. It also explores the processes by which cases are decided by judges, introducing some theoretical frameworks that have been used to analyse law and legal decision making. The roles of judges, practising lawyers and other personnel in the court system are also considered, with an emphasis on the need for the development of professional identities and resilience, as well as the role of lawyers in promoting just outcomes.

All classes in Introducing Law and Justice are small, with a focus on interactive teaching.

All students enrolled in Introducing Law and Justice will also enroll in the co-requisite course, Legal Research and Writing, JURD7155, which introduces foundational legal writing and research skills, such as legal citation, location of primary and secondary materials and various forms of legal writing and argument, including a court report, case note and legal essay. Students will attend classes for Introducing Law and Justice as well as classes for Legal Research and Writing.

The topics covered in Introducing Law and Justice and Legal Research and Writing are linked, and the skills and knowledge taught in Legal Research and Writing are foundational to the skills and knowledge covered and assessed in Introducing Law and Justice.

Main Topics covered:

• The Australian Legal System in Action
• From Case Law to Common Law: Legal Reasoning, the Doctrine of Precedent and Legal Problem Solving
• Introduction to Statutory Interpretation
• The relationship between Law and Equity
• Common Law Theory and Judicial Independence
• Rule of Law, Colonial History, and the Separation of Powers
• The Reception of English Law
• The Impact of Dispossession on Indigenous People
• Social Change and Judicial Decision Making
• Reimagining Law and Justice
• Resilience and Developing a Professional Identity
• Introduction to Primary and Secondary Legal Research methods
• Introduction to research for legal problem solving and policy scenarios
• Legal Citation