Foundations of Australian Law is designed to lay the groundwork for the remainder of students' legal studies. In particular, the course aims to assist students to develop a range of legal skills that are crucial for successful legal studies and for professional practice. Students learn the essential skills that enable them to engage with and utilise our principal sources of law - case law and legislation. In addition to teaching students how to analyse case law and legislation in order to formulate legal arguments the course also covers the key legal principles of statutory interpretation and the role of the courts in interpreting statutes.
To set the context for these sources of Australian law, the course also seeks to familiarise students with (1) some of the fundamental features of the legal institutions that generate laws (the courts and the Parliament); (2) sources of Australian law in addition to case law and legislation (including the Australian Constitution, customary law and international law); and (3) the historical and social forces that have shaped and continue to shape the law-making process and the legal system.
Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion, students will have the knowledge and skills to:
- discuss and explain the sources of law in Australia;
- discuss the historical and social context of the institutions of the Australian legal system;
- discuss the process of law-making;
- formulate oral and written arguments in response to questions about the Australian legal system and the process of law-making;
- identify and discuss legal principles obtained from reading and analysing selected case law;
- utilise methods of legal reasoning to apply relevant legal principles to a set of facts and generate legally defensible conclusions for the purpose of advising on legal problems;
- identify, discuss and apply the principles of statutory interpretation;
- engage in legal research utilising a variety of legal research sources, including legal databases, in order to research case law, legislation and scholarly journal articles;
- use legal citation conventions appropriately in the course of legal writing;
- reflect critically on case law, legislation and the Australian legal system; and
- utilise feedback to critically reflect on their own developing legal skills and understanding.
Indicative Assessment
- The assessment in the course will take place during the 2-week intensive period and approximately one month after. The assessment for this course will include take home assignments assessing skills and other content. Details of the assessment will be provided on the course Wattle page by the first week of the course. (null) [LO null]
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
Revision and new content will be studied via self-paced modules made available before the commencement of the 2 week intensive period. Before, during, and after the 2 week intensive period, students will engage with the self-study material and have some compulsory, as well as opt-in contact opportunities with teaching staff, of up to 2-4 hours per week for the two weeks. These online sessions will be a focused on discussing content, preparing for assessment and answering questions raised by your engagement with the self-paced study materials. Depending on whether you are studying the 4 unit or 2 unit version of LAWS8714 Foundations of Australian Law Completion Course, and your own grasp of the skills and content to be assessed, required self-study hours may be up to 6-10 hours per week in the 2 week intensive and in the lead up to the assessment due dates.
Inherent Requirements
Not applicable
Requisite and Incompatibility
You will need to contact the ANU Law School to request a permission code to enrol in this course.
Prescribed Texts
Catriona Cook et al, Laying Down the Law, (10th edition, Lexis Nexis, 2018)Fees
Tuition fees are for the academic year indicated at the top of the page.
If you are a domestic graduate coursework or international student you will be required to pay tuition fees. Tuition fees are indexed annually. Further information for domestic and international students about tuition and other fees can be found at Fees.
If you are an undergraduate student and 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). You can find your student contribution amount for each course 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 |
Course fees
- Domestic fee paying students
| Year | Fee |
|---|---|
| 2019 | $00 per unit |
- International fee paying students
| Year | Fee |
|---|---|
| 2019 | $00 per unit |
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.
Class summaries, if available, can be accessed by clicking on the View link for the relevant class number.
Summer Session
| Class number | Class start date | Last day to enrol | Census date | Class end date | Mode Of Delivery | Class Summary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1682 | 14 Jan 2019 | 18 Jan 2019 | 25 Jan 2019 | 22 Feb 2019 | Online | N/A |
Winter Session
| Class number | Class start date | Last day to enrol | Census date | Class end date | Mode Of Delivery | Class Summary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6703 | 10 Jun 2019 | 14 Jun 2019 | 05 Jul 2019 | 19 Jul 2019 | Online | View |