Handbook

LAWS2371 is only available in T2 by School Consent. Contact UNSW Law Student Services for more information. 

The resolution of civil disputes requires legal practitioners to be equally competent in invoking the court system or employing negotiation, mediation or arbitration. The course addresses civil procedure which governs the steps involved in initiating, conducting, managing, terminating, enforcing or appealing the outcome of, legal proceedings in a Court. Specific attention is paid to jurisdiction, case management, pleadings, discovery and costs. The course provides an introduction to Alternative Dispute Resolution, in particular, negotiation, mediation and arbitration. The course examines the advantages and disadvantages of each dispute resolution procedure and the factors that influence when they should be utilised from both policy and practice perspectives. The course also explores principles of adversarial litigation that inform the rules, both in content and in practice, and ethical issues that the resolution of disputes creates for lawyers.

Main Topics

Civil Procedure:

• Jurisdiction
• Case management
• Initiating proceedings and pleadings
• Causes of action and parties
• Service
• Discovery
• Preparing evidence
• Enforcement
• Appeal
• Costs

Alternative Dispute Resolution:

• Negotiation
• Mediation
• Arbitration