units

LAW7308

Faculty of Law

18 September 2017 27 April 2024
Monash University

Postgraduate - Unit

This unit entry is for students who completed this unit in 2012 only. For students planning to study the unit, please refer to the unit indexes in the the current edition of the Handbook. If you have any queries contact the managing faculty for your course or area of study.

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6 points, SCA Band 3, 0.125 EFTSL

Refer to the specific census and withdrawal dates for the semester(s) in which this unit is offered, or view unit timetables.

LevelPostgraduate
FacultyFaculty of Law
OfferedCity (Melbourne) First semester 2012 (Evening)

Notes

For postgraduate Law discontinuation dates, please see http://www.law.monash.edu.au/current-students/postgraduate/pg-disc-dates.html

Synopsis

This unit addresses the role of expert witnesses, their reports and their testimony in criminal, civil and family law litigation. The focus of the unit is on the accountability of expert opinions and the effectiveness of the examination. It will scrutinise the common law and legislative exclusionary rules of expert evidence and the rules of procedure that relate to the admissibility of expert evidence. It will address issues of 'property in witnesses', bias, court rules, confidentiality, privilege, ethics, payment and selection of forensic experts. In addition, the unit will explore the role and impact of expert evidence in a range of different forms of litigation.

Outcomes

At the conclusion of this unit, students should have gained:

  1. an understanding of the role of expert evidence in litigation
  2. an appreciation of exclusionary rules of expert evidence and relevant court rules
  3. a capacity to contextualise Australian law within international developments
  4. an awareness of contemporary issues relating to the use of expert witnesses in the criminal, personal injury, commercial and family law areas of litigation
  5. an understanding of the dilemmas posed by expert evidence within the evolving litigation framework
  6. an appreciation of the dynamics within which opinions are evaluated by courts and tribunals
  7. an understanding of issues of confidentiality, partisanship, property in experts, codes of ethics in relation to expert witnesses
  8. an understanding of particular issues in relation to medical, mental health, accounting, valuation and scientific evidence.

Assessment

Take home exam (3,750 words): 50%
Research assignment (3,000 words): 40%
Class participation: 10%
or
Assignment (7,500 words): 100%

Chief examiner(s)

Professor Ian Freckleton SC

Contact hours

24 contact hours per semester (either intensive, semi-intensive or semester long, depending on the Faculty resources, timetabling and requirements)