Content:
The course covers a number of aspects of contract law and associated doctrines which are either the subject of recent litigation or are in the process of change. The course is consequently flexible to a degree.

Topics to be covered include: 

• Extra-contractual liability which may arise in the course of negotiating for a contract;
• The ability of parties to defer agreement on particular matters;
• The doctrine of privity of contract and means of overcoming its limitations
• The various remedies for breach - equitable, common law and self-help.

Learning Outcomes

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

1. Identify, explain and demonstrate a deep understanding and knowledge of principles and issues of the law relating to contracts and contractual relationships;
2. Identify, critically examine and explain knowledge and understanding of specific areas of the law relating to contractual relationships;
3. Investigate, analyse and apply elements of contract law and related areas of the law relevant to commercial activities, to the wider commercial environment; and
4. Plan, design and individually execute a substantial research based project that identifies and critically examines aspects of contracts and contractual relationships and demonstrates relevant research principles and techniques.

Additional Course Costs

This course is an intensive course taught at the ANU Acton Campus in Canberra. Students will need to cover costs associated with travel, accommodation, meals etc, if attending from out of State.

Required Resources

All required readings will be available on Wattle and via the reading list.

Recommended Resources

Thampapillai, Bozzi and Bruce, Contract Law, LexisNexis 2016

Staff Feedback

Students will be given feedback in the following forms in this course:

• Feedback will be provided via direct comments on assessable work and a criteria sheet for each assessment task
• Feedback will also be provided via a Wattle post

Student Feedback

ANU is committed to the demonstration of educational excellence and regularly seeks feedback from students. Students are encouraged to offer feedback directly to their Course Convener or through their College and Course representatives (if applicable). The feedback given in these surveys is anonymous and provides the Colleges, University Education Committee and Academic Board with opportunities to recognise excellent teaching, and opportunities for improvement. The Surveys and Evaluation website provides more information on student surveys at ANU and reports on the feedback provided on ANU courses.

Other Information

Extensions late submission and penalties - https://law.anu.edu.au/current-students/policies-procedures/extensions-late-submission-and-penalties

Deferred examination: http://www.anu.edu.au/students/program-administration/assessments-exams/deferred-examinations

Special consideration: http://www.anu.edu.au/students/program-administration/assessments-exams/special-assessment-consideration

Penalties for excess word length: https://law.anu.edu.au/current-students/policies-procedures/word-length-and-excess-word-penalties

Distribution of Grades Policy: Effective from Winter Session and Second Semester 2018 (and until further notice), the interim scaling guideline applies to all courses in the LLB (Hons) and JD programs. Please see: https://law.anu.edu.au/current-students/policies-procedures/grading

Further Information about the Course: is available from the course WATTLE page. Students are required to access the WATTLE site regularly throughout the course for details on weekly classes and any announcements relating to the course.

Assessment Summary

Assessment task	Value	Due Date	Return of assessment	Learning Outcomes
Legal Advice	50 %	10/11/2019	20/12/2019	1,2,3,4
Research Essay	50 %	10/11/2019	20/12/2019	1,2,3,4

* If the Due Date and Return of Assessment date are blank, see the Assessment Tab for specific Assessment Task details

Policies

ANU has educational policies, procedures and guidelines, which are designed to ensure that staff and students are aware of the University’s academic standards, and implement them. Students are expected to have read the Academic Misconduct Rule before the commencement of their course. Other key policies and guidelines include:

• Student Assessment (Coursework) Policy and Procedure
• Special Assessment Consideration Policy and General Information 
• Student Surveys and Evaluations
• Deferred Examinations
• Student Complaint Resolution Policy and Procedure

Assessment Requirements

The ANU is using 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. For additional information regarding Turnitin please visit the ANU Online website. Students may choose not to submit assessment items through Turnitin. In this instance you will be required to submit, alongside the assessment item itself, hard copies of all references included in the assessment item.

Moderation of Assessment

Marks that are allocated during Semester are to be considered provisional until formalised by the College examiners meeting at the end of each Semester. If appropriate, some moderation of marks might be applied prior to final results being released.

Assessment Task 1

Legal Advice

Nature of Task: Legal Advice: You will write a legal advice in response to a problem scenario.

Weighting: 50%

Word limit: 3000 words

Release: A problem question will be available on the Wattle site from 15 August 2019.

Due date: 10 November 2019

Estimated return date: 20 December 2019

Assessment Criteria: The assignment is a summative assessment designed to assess:

• your ability to demonstrate your understanding of the principles of contract law and associated doctrines through the application of those principles a given problem question or research question concerning contract law;
• your ability to communicate effectively in writing out a coherent legal analysis of a given issue.
• your ability to engage with the doctrines of contract law in a commercially relevant manner;
• demonstrated research work by virtue of a clear engagement with secondary and primary sources of law together with a solid contribution to the scholarly debate that extends beyond merely reproducing the ideas of other scholars;
•  your ability to meaningfully analyse the relationships of contracting parties within the context of a given doctrine; and
• your ability to communicate effectively in writing by setting out a coherent legal analysis of a given issue which includes compliance with the AGLC and appropriate uses of grammar and expression.

Assessment Task 2

Research Essay

Nature of Task: Essay. You will be able to write an essay on a topic of your choosing

Weighting: 50%

Word limit: 3000 words

Release: A list of five essay questions will be available on the Wattle site from 15 August 2019. You may also design your own essay question in consultation with the Course Convenor.

Due date: 10 November 2019

Estimated return date: 20 December 2019

Assessment Criteria: The assignment is a summative assessment designed to assess:

• your ability to demonstrate your understanding of the principles of contract law and associated doctrines through the application of those principles a given research question concerning contract law;
• your ability to communicate effectively in writing out a coherent legal analysis of a given issue.
• your ability to engage with the doctrines of contract law in a commercially relevant manner;
• demonstrated research work by virtue of a clear engagement with secondary and primary sources of law together with a solid contribution to the scholarly debate that extends beyond merely reproducing the ideas of other scholars;
• your ability to meaningfully analyse issues of law and policy within the context of a given doctrine; and
• your ability to communicate effectively in writing by setting out a coherent legal analysis of a given issue which includes compliance with the AGLC and appropriate uses of grammar and expression.

Academic Integrity

Academic integrity is a core part of our culture as a community of scholars. At its heart, academic integrity is about behaving ethically. This means that all members of the community commit to honest and responsible scholarly practice and to upholding these values with respect and fairness. The Australian National University commits to embedding the values of academic integrity in our teaching and learning. We ensure that all members of our community understand how to engage in academic work in ways that are consistent with, and actively support academic integrity. The ANU expects staff and students to uphold high standards of academic integrity and act ethically and honestly, to ensure the quality and value of the qualification that you will graduate with. The University has policies and procedures in place to promote academic integrity and manage academic misconduct. Visit the following Academic honesty & plagiarism website for more information about academic integrity and what the ANU considers academic misconduct. The ANU offers a number of services to assist students with their assignments, examinations, and other learning activities. The Academic Skills and Learning Centre offers a number of workshops and seminars that you may find useful for your studies.

Online Submission

You will be required to electronically sign a declaration as part of the submission of your assignment. Please keep a copy of the assignment for your records. Unless an exemption has been approved by the Associate Dean (Education) submission must be through Turnitin.

Hardcopy Submission

For some forms of assessment (hand written assignments, art works, laboratory notes, etc.) hard copy submission is appropriate when approved by the Associate Dean (Education). Hard copy submissions must utilise the Assignment Cover Sheet. Please keep a copy of tasks completed for your records.

Late Submission

Late submission of assessment tasks without an extension are penalised at the rate of 5% of the possible marks available per working day or part thereof. Late submission of assessment tasks is not accepted after 10 working days after the due date, or on or after the date specified in the course outline for the return of the assessment item. Late submission is not accepted for take-home examinations.

Referencing Requirements

Accepted academic practice for referencing sources that you use in presentations can be found via the links on the Wattle site, under the file named “ANU and College Policies, Program Information, Student Support Services and Assessment”. Alternatively, you can seek help through the Students Learning Development website.

Returning Assignments

Once final results are released on ISIS final assessment papers, if available, will be returned to students by post or on Wattle. Interim assessments, if available, will be returned by post or on Wattle as soon as they are received from the Convenor. Please ensure your ISIS address is current otherwise you may not receive your assessments back and we do not keep copies of marked assessments.

 

Students must ensure that they keep a copy of their submitted work and readily accessible until results for that course have been released.

Extensions and Penalties

Extensions and late submission of assessment pieces are covered by the Student Assessment (Coursework) Policy and Procedure. The Course Convener may grant extensions for assessment pieces that are not examinations or take-home examinations. If you need an extension, you must request an extension in writing on or before the due date. If you have documented and appropriate medical evidence that demonstrates you were not able to request an extension on or before the due date, you may be able to request it after the due date.

Privacy Notice

The ANU has made a number of third party, online, databases available for students to use. Use of each online database is conditional on student end users first agreeing to the database licensor’s terms of service and/or privacy policy. Students should read these carefully. In some cases student end users will be required to register an account with the database licensor and submit personal information, including their: first name; last name; ANU email address; and other information.
In cases where student end users are asked to submit ‘content’ to a database, such as an assignment or short answers, the database licensor may only use the student’s ‘content’ in accordance with the terms of service – including any (copyright) licence the student grants to the database licensor. Any personal information or content a student submits may be stored by the licensor, potentially offshore, and will be used to process the database service in accordance with the licensors terms of service and/or privacy policy.
If any student chooses not to agree to the database licensor’s terms of service or privacy policy, the student will not be able to access and use the database. In these circumstances students should contact their lecturer to enquire about alternative arrangements that are available.

Distribution of grades policy

Academic Quality Assurance Committee monitors the performance of students, including attrition, further study and employment rates and grade distribution, and College reports on quality assurance processes for assessment activities, including alignment with national and international disciplinary and interdisciplinary standards, as well as qualification type learning outcomes.

Since first semester 1994, ANU uses a grading scale for all courses. This grading scale is used by all academic areas of the University.

Support for students

The University offers students support through several different services. You may contact the services listed below directly or seek advice from your Course Convener, Student Administrators, or your College and Course representatives (if applicable).

• ANU Health, safety & wellbeing for medical services, counselling, mental health and spiritual support
• ANU Diversity and inclusion for students with a disability or ongoing or chronic illness
• ANU Dean of Students for confidential, impartial advice and help to resolve problems between students and the academic or administrative areas of the University
• ANU Academic Skills and Learning Centre supports you make your own decisions about how you learn and manage your workload.
• ANU Counselling Centre promotes, supports and enhances mental health and wellbeing within the University student community.
• ANUSA supports and represents undergraduate and ANU College students
• PARSA supports and represents postgraduate and research students