Undergraduate Handbook 2011 - Faculty of Law

Law - Undergraduate studies

Faculty information

• Introduction to the faculty
• Professional recognition of courses
• Course planning and unit selection
• Credit for prior studies
• Time limit and intermission
• Part-time and external studies

Course information

• Bachelor of Laws - basic course structure
• Outline of undergraduate studies
  • Courses offered in 2011
  • 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 in Springvale. The University is planning for the Law School to move to new purpose-built premises on the Caulfield campus, adjacent to the Caulfield railway station, in the coming years.

The Law School has three research centres committed to advancing research in emerging areas of the law, including mental health law, forensic studies, regulation and human rights. 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 associate deans and the faculty manager. The dean presides over meetings of the faculty, and Faculty Board 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 Profession (Admission) Rules 2008. 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

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

 

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-law03.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.html) 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 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 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 of law units at Monash, to ensure that the student completes all the compulsory units required for the degree.

For double degrees, students are obliged to meet the requirements of both individual awards and need to complete a set number of credit points of Monash University units within the course per award. Refer to the relevant faculty for details.

 

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. Students enrolled in part-time studies 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.

In some units, lectures are taped and available online.

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.

The provision of lecture tapes and other teaching materials online is intended to supplement rather than to substitute for regular class attendance.

 

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-current-year.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:

1. enable students to broaden and deepen the legal knowledge and skills they have acquired through studying compulsory units
2. 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
3. introduce students to areas of legal knowledge that are not included in the compulsory curriculum
4. enable students to further develop the skills relevant to legal practice
5. 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 average of their results in all law units passed at Monash University.

Any student may apply for enrolment in the full-year honours research unit LAW5207 at the end of their penultimate year of LLB studies (with a semester one and semester two intake each year). However, a quota is applied to this unit, and students will be admitted on the basis of their 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-July or mid-November of their penultimate year.

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

Courses offered in 2011 - Faculty of Law

NOTE: The course details provided in in the entries below are for those students who began their studies in 2011 - students who commenced their studies prior to this date should consult the Handbook edition for the year in which they started their course. Archived Handbooks are available at http://www.monash.edu.au/pubs/handbooks.

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./ Archived handbook information is available at http://www.monash.edu.au/pubs/handbooks:

• 1493 Bachelor of Business Systems and Bachelor of Laws
• 3351 Bachelor of Computer Science and Bachelor of Laws
• 2880 Bachelor of Education and Bachelor of Laws