Litigation and Dispute Processing (7047.4)
| Available teaching periods | Delivery mode | Location |
|---|---|---|
| View teaching periods | ||
| EFTSL | Credit points | Faculty |
| 0.125 | 3 | Faculty Of Business, Government & Law |
| Discipline | Study level | HECS Bands |
| Canberra Law School | Level 4 - Undergraduate Advanced Unit | Band 4 2021 (Commenced After 1 Jan 2021) Band 4 2021 (Commenced After 1 Jan Social Work_Exclude 0905) Band 5 2021 (Commenced Before 1 Jan 2021) |
Learning outcomes
On successful completion of this unit, students will be able to:1. Understand the nature, appropriateness, strengths and weaknesses of various forms of dispute resolution and will have acquired a basic understanding of the rules of civil procedure, the principles underlying those rules and their relationship to substantive law.
Graduate attributes
1. UC graduates are professional - communicate effectively1. UC graduates are professional - employ up-to-date and relevant knowledge and skills
1. UC graduates are professional - use creativity, critical thinking, analysis and research skills to solve theoretical and real-world problems
3. UC graduates are lifelong learners - evaluate and adopt new technology
3. UC graduates are lifelong learners - reflect on their own practice, updating and adapting their knowledge and skills for continual professional and academic development
Prerequisites
Completion of Legal Systems or equivalent. Entry to the LLB program.| Year | Location | Teaching period | Teaching start date | Delivery mode | Unit convener |
|---|
Required texts
Pre-admission lawyers must have either a copy of:
- Bernard Cairns, Australian Civil Procedure (Thomson Reuters, 11th ed, 2016) (‘Cairns') OR
- Stephen Colbran, Peta Spender, Roger Douglas and Sheryl Jackson, Civil Procedure: Commentary and Materials (Lexis Nexis, 6th ed, 2015) (‘Colbran et al').
Pre-admission lawyers are not required to purchase both. Cairns will continue to be of value even after graduation. The Co-Op Bookshop will have copies of Cairns to purchase. However, acknowledging that texts are expensive and pre-admission lawyers often purchase second hand texts, Colbran et al (which was the text from last year) is just as good. All of the required readings in the Unit Timetable provide paragraph references for both Cairns and Colbran et al.
Pre-admission lawyers must also have:
- access to the Court Procedures Rules 2009 (ACT) available from the ACT Legislation Register, AND
- Roger Eastman and William Rose, Pleadings Without Tears A Guide to Legal Drafting Under the Civil Procedure Rules (Oxford University Press, 9th ed, 2017).
Pleadings Without Tears is an English text and refers to the UK Civil Procedure Rules. However, it is an invaluable resource not only for drafting formal pleadings (which is an assessment task) but for legal drafting generally. I still have and treasure my copy of a much earlier edition which I bought as an undergraduate. It is also relatively inexpensive for a legal text. However, the UC Library also has copies of earlier editions.
Submission of assessment items
Extensions & Late submissions
All of the assessment tasks form part of a litigation simulation. That means that, just as in real life, all assessment tasks must be served on the pre-admission lawyer acting for the other party. This is a crucial part of the assessment and, if omitted in real life, may result in your client's claim or defence being struck out and costs awarded. See the assessment details for further information.
In the context of this assessment, late submission also presents a difficulty for the pre-admission lawyer acting for the other party. If you are going to be late in submitting an assessment task, as a matter of professional courtesy you should also let the pre-admission lawyer acting for the other party know.
Academic integrity
Students have a responsibility to uphold University standards on ethical scholarship. Good scholarship involves building on the work of others and use of others' work must be acknowledged with proper attribution made. Cheating, plagiarism, and falsification of data are dishonest practices that contravene academic values. Refer to the University's Student Charter for more information.
To enhance understanding of academic integrity, all students are expected to complete the Academic Integrity Module (AIM) at least once during their course of study. You can access this module within UCLearn (Canvas) through the 'Academic Integrity and Avoiding Plagiarism' link in the Study Help site.
Use of Text-Matching Software
The University of Canberra uses text-matching software to help students and staff reduce plagiarism and improve understanding of academic integrity. The software matches submitted text in student assignments against material from various sources: the internet, published books and journals, and previously submitted student texts.
Learner engagement
Attendance at tutorials is not compulsory. However, in this unit, you will be confronted with drafting and writing tasks that you will not have attempted before in law school. Many of the tutorials are constructed to provide direct instruction on how to prepare letters, pleadings, affidavits and submissions. There are also opportunities to practise and develop oral advocacy skills. That is, all of the tutorials are designed to support your assessment. Please consider this when deciding whether you will attend.
Participation requirements
None.
Required IT skills
None.
Work placement, internships or practicums
None.
