Undergraduate Handbook 2009 - Faculty of Law

Law

Faculty information

Course information

Bachelor of Laws - basic course structure
Outline of undergraduate studies
- Courses offered in 2009
- Courses with no further intake

Course-related policies and rules

Government and University legislation

Introduction to the faculty - Faculty of Law

Monash Law offers 11 programs as part of its undergraduate curriculum. Students may enrol in a straight Bachelor of Laws (LLB) or combine the LLB with one of 10 non-law courses.

The undergraduate program is located on the university's Clayton campus. The Law School building houses the university's Law Library, three computer laboratories and five lecture theatres. The clinical legal education program operates from the Monash-Oakleigh Legal Service next to the Clayton campus, and the Springvale Monash Legal Service Service in Springvale. From 2012, the Law School will move to new purpose-built premises on the Caulfield campus, adjacent to the Caulfield railway station.

The Law School has three research centres committed to advancing research in emerging areas of the law. Managed and directed by Law staff, the centres also include members of associated professions and communities on their advisory boards. Each centre builds on the existing strengths within the Law School and contributes to both research within the school and the development of further units in the undergraduate and postgraduate programs.

Structure and organisation of the faculty

The Law School has approximately 75 academic staff and a total enrolment of more than 3000 undergraduate and postgraduate students across all year levels. The undergraduate program is delivered at the Clayton campus, and the postgraduate program at the City chambers.

The Faculty of Law is not divided into departments. Academic staff and students are collectively involved in the decision-making processes of the faculty through a well-defined committee structure with membership of committees determined either by election or by nomination.

The chief officers of the faculty are the dean, the deputy dean, the associate deans and the faculty manager. The dean presides over meetings of the faculty and faculty board and finance is responsible for the governance and development of the Law School.

The faculty manager is concerned with the overall administration of the faculty including human resource management, budgets, admissions and matters relating to student administration, including enrolments, examinations, academic progress, course advice, teaching allocations and timetabling. The day-to-day management of student services is the responsibility of the manager, Student and Academic Services.

The associate deans (undergraduate) and (postgraduate) are responsible for the governance and development of the undergraduate and postgraduate courses respectively. Teaching quality and the training and evaluation of academic staff are within the domain of the director of teaching.

The manager, Student and Academic Services, together with the faculty student services officers, are available to attend to the needs of undergraduate students within the faculty. The student services officers should be consulted for all initial inquiries relating to the undergraduate program.

Professional recognition of courses - Faculty of Law

The Bachelor of Laws courses at Monash University (including all double degrees) are accredited for the purpose of admission to practice as a barrister or solicitor in the state of Victoria. The courses are accepted for admission in other Australian and some international jurisdictions including Singapore and Malaysia, and are accepted as qualifying a graduate to sit the Bar Examination in some US states. Students who plan to seek admission to practice in an interstate or overseas jurisdiction after graduation should seek advice from the admitting authorities in that jurisdiction.

Council of Legal Education (CoLE) requirements for admission to practice

The Council of Legal Education (CoLE) is responsible for the accreditation of law qualifications in Victoria and the administration of the Legal Practice (Admission) Rules 1999. These rules state that to be admitted to practice as a barrister or solicitor in the state of Victoria, applicants must have completed a tertiary qualification(s) in Australia which includes:

(a) the equivalent of at least three years of full time study of law, and

(b) units of study which demonstrate an understanding of and competence of 11 specified areas of legal knowledge.

See the 'Bachelor of Laws - basic course structure' at http://www.monash.edu.au/pubs/handbooks/undergrad/law-08.html.

Course planning and unit selection - Faculty of Law

Unit selection

Course requirements for the Bachelor of Laws degree course are outlined in the faculty's regulations available at http://www.monash.edu.au/pubs/calendar/facregs/regs-law01.html and in the Bachelor of Laws - basic course structure section of this handbook.

Student Services officers of the faculty are available to advise students on their choice of units at the time of enrolment. This advice, however, will be most helpful if students have already made themselves familiar with all the units and considered what their fields of interest are likely to be. Similarly, when re-enrolling in later years of the course, students should discuss their choice of units with the faculty advisers. Details of unit structures, including the number of hours devoted to lectures/tutorials etc are included in the 'Unit information' section of this handbook (under 'Units - all faculties'), or on the Law faculty website at http://www.law.monash.edu.au/.

It is the responsibility of students to ascertain, from the regulations governing their courses, the units (including the number of points) required to complete their LLB degree. The approval of students' enrolment by the faculty does not relieve the students of this responsibility.

Overloading

Opportunities to accelerate study are normally limited to students who have:

completed at least one year of university study; and
achieved at least a credit average in the previous academic year.

Students should discuss this option with a faculty adviser prior to re-enrolment.

Credit for prior studies - Faculty of Law

The Faculty of Law awards credit towards the Bachelor of Laws course for units passed in other tertiary studies within the previous ten years, provided that the units for which credit is sought are equivalent to Monash law units in terms of the curriculum, contact hours and standard of assessment . For credit to be granted for a specified Monash unit, the unit of previous study must be equivalent to at least 80% of the curriculum and credit point value of the specified Monash unit. Credit for prior studes is not granted automatically, but must be applied for.

Students must complete the relevant credit application form (obtained from http://www.law.monash.edu.au/forms) and provide supporting documentation concerning previous studies for which credit is sought, together with an academic transcript of results. The documentation should be provided at the time of application or at the very latest, by the end of the first week of the first semester of study. The minimum information required is the:

name of the institution and course
unit name and code
syllabus
number of contact hours per week
credit weighting of the unit
assessment regime.

Generally credit will not be given unless the unit is taught or credited by an Australian law school or by a reputable overseas law school (as defined by Monash University) as part of a degree that qualifies students for admission to legal practice.

Where a student is granted credit for previous studies, the total time allowed to complete their LLB or related double degree will be reduced accordingly. Students must be aware of the adjusted time and ensure they complete their degree requirements within that time limit.

Maximum credit allowed

Students enrolled in a a Bachelor of Laws course must complete at least 48 credit points of law units at Monash. In some cases, a student may be required to complete up to 72 points at Monash, to ensure that the student completes all the compulsory units required for the degree.

Time limit and intermission - Faculty of Law

For each undergraduate Bachelor of Laws degree (including all double degrees) there is a maximum time limit within which students must complete all of the requirements for the degree. The time limits are set out in the degree regulations and in the course information below.

Students may apply for a period of intermission not exceeding one year at any given time. By granting intermission, the faculty reserves a place in the course in the following year. However, the period of approved intermission will not extend the time allowed for completion of the course. In the first instance, applications for intermission should be made online at http://adm.monash.edu.au/enrolments/wes/wes.html.

Part-time and external studies - Faculty of Law

Part-time studies

The faculty permits both full-time and part-time enrolment. Units to the value of 48 points per academic year constitute a standard annual full-time load (although most Bachelor of Laws programs require over load enrolment at some stages during the course of the degree).

Part-time enrolment is allowed, provided the student is able to comply with the applicable time limit for degree completion as stated in the regulations for the relevant course. Part-time students are expected to proceed at half the rate of full-time students and to complete their units for the degree in the same order as full-time students.

External studies

All Monash University LLB programs are taught on-campus and there are no arrangements for external or off-campus studies. All students are expected to attend and participate in the classes in units for which they are enrolled.

The provision of lecture tapes and other teaching materials online is intended to supplement rather than to substitute for regular class attendance. The provision of taped lectures in units or particular unit streams is not guaranteed as this service may be affected by technical difficulties.

The taping of lectures in units or particular unit streams is subject to the consent of the lecturer. The faculty endeavours to provide at least one stream of taped lectures in compulsory and quasi-compulsory units wherever possible. Details of which units or streams are taped is provided by the first week of semester in the Lectures Online website at http://www.mulo.monash.edu.au/fac-law.html.

Bachelor of Laws - basic course structure - Faculty of Law

The Bachelor of Laws course consists of 12 compulsory units which must be completed by all students enrolled in an LLB program plus a further six 'quasi-compulsory' units which must be completed by students who wish to be qualified for admission to practice as a barrister or solicitor in Victoria. The remainder of the program consists of elective units chosen by the student.

The purpose of the core undergraduate curriculum (the 12 compulsory units and those elective units fulfilling the requirements of the Council of Legal Education for admission to practice, ie the quasi-compulsory units) is to:

(a) enable students to acquire an understanding of:

the fundamental concepts and institutions of public law
the fundamental concepts of criminal law
legal rights and obligations (including proprietary, contractual, tortious and equitable obligations) and their interrelationship
the nature of legal personality, fundamental legal institutions and the relationship between different types of legal institutions
the trial process and litigation
the obligations of practitioners

(b) introduce students to a variety of theoretical and other perspectives on the nature of law

(c) enable students to acquire competence in the skills of legal research, analysis and oral and written communication, and introduce them to a range of other legal skills including interviewing, drafting, advocacy, negotiation and other forms of dispute resolution.

Compulsory units

All compulsory units are worth 6 points:

LAW1101 Introduction to legal reasoning
LAW1104 Research and writing
LAW2101 Contract A
LAW2102 Contract B
LAW2201 Torts A
LAW2202 Torts B
LAW3101 Administrative law
LAW3201 Constitutional law
LAW3301 Criminal law and procedure A
LAW3302 Criminal law B
LAW3401 Property law A
LAW3402 Property law B

Quasi-compulsory units

The following units are not required in order for a student to graduate with a Bachelor of Laws, however they are required by the Council of Legal Education for admission to practice as a solicitor in Victoria. If students wish to be eligible for admission to practice as a solicitor, they must complete these units:

LAW4169 Equity
LAW4170 Trusts
LAW4171 Corporations law
LAW5104 Civil procedure
LAW5125 Lawyers, ethics and society
LAW5159 Evidence

The elective program

The remainder of the degree is made up of elective law units selected by the student. The full range of elective units available is listed in the 'Unit information' section of this handbook and on the faculty's website at http://www.law.monash.edu.au/current-students/t-tables/ug-electives-2009.doc. Students should be aware that many electives are offered on a rotational basis and they should check the timetable each year for the availability of elective units. The number of elective units required varies according to the actual course in which the student is enrolled. Students must check their course structures to determine the number of electives they are required to complete.

The purpose of the elective program is to:

enable students to broaden and deepen the legal knowledge and skills they have acquired through studying compulsory units
enable students to explore new and significant developments in the law, legal theory and the legal system and to acquire knowledge and skills in areas of law which particularly interest them
introduce students to areas of legal knowledge that are not included in the compulsory curriculum
enable students to further develop the skills relevant to legal practice
enable students to acquire interdisciplinary perspectives that will extend and enhance their understanding of legal principles, theory or skill.

Bachelor of Laws with honours

The Bachelor of Laws is a pass degree that may be awarded with honours. Since 2002, honours classes 1, 2A, 2B or 3 have been awarded to graduating students based on the weighted average of their results in all law units passes at Monash University. The qualifications for the award of the degree with honours are currently under review.

Any student may apply for enrolment in the honours research unit LAW5207 at the end of their penultimate year of LLB studies. However, a quota is applied to this unit, and students will be admitted on the basis of their weighted average for all undergraduate law units attempted at Monash to the end of their penultimate year of LLB studies.

Students wishing to apply for research unit LAW5207 should do so by mid-November of their penultimate year.

For further information refer to http://www.law.monash.edu.au/undergraduate/honours.

Courses offered in 2009 - Faculty of Law

Single degrees

2708 Bachelor of Laws

Double degrees

3355 Bachelor of Aerospace Engineering / Bachelor of Laws
0080 Bachelor of Arts / Bachelor of Laws
3356 Bachelor of Biomedical Science / Bachelor of Laws
0816 Bachelor of Business (Banking and Finance) / Bachelor of Laws
0546 Bachelor of Commerce / Bachelor of Laws
0094 Bachelor of Engineering / Bachelor of Laws
1074 Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery / Bachelor of Laws
1497 Bachelor of Music / Bachelor of Laws
2317 Bachelor of Performing Arts / Bachelor of Laws
0086 Bachelor of Science / Bachelor of Laws

Honours degrees

0082 Bachelor of Arts (Honours) / Bachelor of Laws

Courses with no further intake

Students enrolled in the following degrees should refer to the handbook for the year in which they commenced studies in the course:

1493 Bachelor of Business Systems / Bachelor of Laws
3351 Bachelor of Computer Science / Bachelor of Laws

13 October 2017 18 December 2024