• Offered by ANU Law School
  • ANU College ANU College of Law
  • Course subject Laws
  • Areas of interest Law
  • Academic career UGRD
  • Course convener
    • Prof James Stellios
  • Mode of delivery Online or In Person
  • Co-taught Course
  • Offered in First Semester 2022
    See Future Offerings

Conflict of Laws, also sometimes called Private International Law, is concerned with what happens in cases where not all of the facts are tied to one jurisdiction. In the federal system of Australia, this can occur both within a domestic intra-Australia context and in an international context. While this course deals with a number of specific theoretical frameworks, it is taught largely from a practical standpoint aimed at preparing lawyers for handling cases with trans-jurisdictional issues. The three core components of the course investigate:

  • Jurisdiction: When domestic courts can hear cases that involve parties and property from outside the territory of the court.
  • Choice of Law: Which law is applicable when a case has connections with a number of different jurisdictions. In particular, this course considers contract, family and tort disputes that involve a variety of jurisdictions.
  • Enforcement of Judgements: How to enforce a court judgement or arbitral award from another jurisdiction in local courts.

Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion, students will have the knowledge and skills to:

  1. Explain, summarise and apply the conflict of laws rules;
  2. Recognise, explain and analyse the various themes and theoretical perspectives covered in this course;
  3. Plan and conduct research with some independence in the form of a research essay;
  4. Apply the conflict of law rules to solve complex conflicts of laws problems in the form of an exam.

Other Information

Classes may be offered in non-standard sessions and be taught on an intensive base with compulsory contact hours (a minimum of 36 hours). Please refer to the LLB timetable for dates. Please contact the ANU College of Law Student Administration Services to request a permission code to enrol in classes offered in non-standard sessions.

Indicative Assessment

  1. The proposed means of assessment for this course will provide students with at least two pieces of assessment, including one piece during the semester. More information about the means of assessment, including the relationship between the assessment and the learning outcomes of the course, will be available in the Class Summary and on the course WATTLE page. (100) [LO 1,2,3,4]

The ANU uses Turnitin to enhance student citation and referencing techniques, and to assess assignment submissions as a component of the University's approach to managing Academic Integrity. While the use of Turnitin is not mandatory, the ANU highly recommends Turnitin is used by both teaching staff and students. For additional information regarding Turnitin please visit the ANU Online website.

Workload

Classes offered in non-standard sessions will be taught on an intensive base with compulsory contact hours (approximately 36 hours of face-to-face teaching). The course will also require advanced preparation through assigned readings. In total, it is anticipated that the hours required for completion of this course (class preparation, teaching and completion of assessment) will not exceed 120 hours.

Classes offered during semester periods are expected to have three contact hours per week. Students are generally expected to devote at least 10 hours overall per week to this course.

Inherent Requirements

Not applicable

Requisite and Incompatibility

To enrol in this course you must be studying a; Bachelor of Laws (ALLB) and have completed or be completing five 1000 level LAWS courses; or Juris Doctor (MJD) and have completed or be completing five 1000 or 6100 level LAWS courses. You are not able to enrol in this course if you have previously completed LAWS8144 Conflict of Laws.

Prescribed Texts

Students must rely on the approved Class Summary which will be posted to the Programs and Courses site approximately two weeks prior to the commencement of the course. Alternatively, this information will be published in the Program course list when known.

Fees

Tuition fees are for the academic year indicated at the top of the page.  

Commonwealth Support (CSP) Students
If you have been offered a Commonwealth supported place, your fees are set by the Australian Government for each course. At ANU 1 EFTSL is 48 units (normally 8 x 6-unit courses). More information about your student contribution amount for each course at Fees

Student Contribution Band:
34
Unit value:
6 units

If you are a domestic graduate coursework student with a Domestic Tuition Fee (DTF) place or international student you will be required to pay course tuition fees (see below). Course tuition fees are indexed annually. Further information for domestic and international students about tuition and other fees can be found at Fees.

Where there is a unit range displayed for this course, not all unit options below may be available.

Units EFTSL
6.00 0.12500
Domestic fee paying students
Year Fee
2022 $4740
International fee paying students
Year Fee
2022 $5700
Note: Please note that fee information is for current year only.

Offerings, Dates and Class Summary Links

ANU utilises MyTimetable to enable students to view the timetable for their enrolled courses, browse, then self-allocate to small teaching activities / tutorials so they can better plan their time. Find out more on the Timetable webpage.

The list of offerings for future years is indicative only.
Class summaries, if available, can be accessed by clicking on the View link for the relevant class number.

First Semester

Class number Class start date Last day to enrol Census date Class end date Mode Of Delivery Class Summary
4071 21 Feb 2022 28 Feb 2022 31 Mar 2022 27 May 2022 Online or In Person View

Responsible Officer: Registrar, Student Administration / Page Contact: Website Administrator / Frequently Asked Questions