Undergraduate - CourseBachelor of Laws (Honours)

This course satisfies the academic requirements for admission to practice as an Australian lawyer. It is also a preparation for diverse careers in and beyond the law, and a pathway to masters and doctoral qualifications. The course provides coherent and advanced knowledge of the sources of law, the principal areas of law, legal concepts and broader perspectives about the law. It develops professional skills in problem-solving, critical thinking, research, communication, collaboration with others, self-management, ethical awareness and professional judgment. The skills and knowledge learned in the course are applied in a later year project which provides varied research activities and outputs. The elective component gives flexibility to choose from a wide range of specialist units, to study overseas, and to undertake work-based learning. The faculty offers students significant international learning experiences (not only through the on-campus curricula but also through off-campus international exchange and study abroad experiences), internships locally and internationally and a legal clinical program.

These course outcomes are aligned with the Australian Qualifications Framework level 8, the Bologna Cycle 1 and Monash Graduate AttributesAustralian Qualifications Framework level 8, the Bologna Cycle 1 and Monash Graduate Attributes (http://www.monash.edu.au/pubs/handbooks/alignmentofoutcomes.html).

Upon completion of the Bachelor of Laws (Honours) degree, graduates will be able to demonstrate:

(1.) understanding of a coherent body of knowledge that includes the:

• fundamental areas of legal knowledge, the Australian legal system and underlying principles and concepts, including international and comparative contexts
• broader contexts within which legal issues arise
• principles and values of justice and of ethical practice in lawyers' roles

(2.) ethics and professional responsibility including:

• an advanced understanding of approaches to ethical decision-making
• an ability to recognise and reflect upon, and a developing ability to respond to, ethical issues likely to arise in professional contexts
• an ability to recognise and reflect upon the professional responsibilities of lawyers in promoting justice and in service to the community
• a developing ability to exercise professional judgment

(3.) thinking skills to:

• identify and articulate complex legal issues
• apply legal reasoning and research to generate appropriate responses to legal issues
• engage in critical analysis and make reasoned choices amongst alternatives
• demonstrate cognitive and creative skills in approaching legal issues and generating appropriate responses and developing new understandings

(4.) intellectual and practical research skills needed to:

• interpret legal conclusions and professional decisions
• identify, research, evaluate and synthesise factual, legal and policy issues

(5.) communication and collaboration skills to:

• communicate in ways that are effective, appropriate and persuasive for legal and non-legal audiences
• collaborate effectively

(6.) self-management skills to:

• learn and work with autonomy, accountability and professionalism
• reflect on and assess their own capabilities and performance
• make use of feedback as appropriate, to support personal and professional development.

The maximum amount of credit allowable towards the Bachelor of Laws (Honours) single degree is 108 points.

Admission to practice: Disciplinary reports

Students should note that a domestic applicant applying for admission to practise law in Victoria is required by the Admission Rules 2008 to provide to the Board of Examiners:

• a report from the University disclosing any disciplinary action taken against the student during the course (including any finding under the University Discipline Statute that the student has cheated in an assessment)
• an affidavit stating that the applicant has made full written disclosure of "every matter which a reasonable applicant would consider that the Board of Examiners might regard as not being favourable to the applicant". This may include an incident of academic or general misconduct, even if it did not lead to disciplinary action.

The Board of Examiners will consider these matters in assessing whether the applicant is a "fit and proper person to be admitted to the legal profession".

The Law component of this degree is recognised by the Council of Legal Education (CoLE). For further information refer to the Faculty of Law's professional recognition of coursesprofessional recognition of courses (http://www.monash.edu.au/pubs/handbooks/undergrad/law-03.html) webpage.

This course consists of 17 common core units (102 credit points), plus 17 elective units (102 credit points) including two non-law units or Monash Passport units, one commercial law elective, one research project unit and 13 other law electives.

All students

(A.) All single degree and double degree students must complete the following law units (156 points):

(1.) core law units (102 points):

• LAW1111 Foundations of law
• LAW1112 Public law and statutory interpretation
• LAW1113 Torts
• LAW1114 Criminal law 1
• LAW2101 Contract A
• LAW2102 Contract B
• LAW2111 Constitutional law
• LAW2112 Property A
• LAW3111 Equity
• LAW3112 Corporations law
• LAW3402 Property B
• LAW4170 Trusts
• LAW4303 Litigation and dispute resolution
• LAW4309 Lawyers' ethics in practice
• LAW4323 Evidence
• LAW4331 Administrative law
• LAW4332 Criminal law and procedure 2

(2.) law elective units (54 points) including:

(a.) one of the following commercial law electives (6 points):

• LAW4701 Commercial transactions
• LAW4702 Competition and consumer law
• LAW4703 Introduction to Intellectual property
• LAW4704 Taxation law

(b.) one of the following research project units (6 points):

• LAW4801 Honours research project
• LAW4802 Research practicum
• LAW4803 Clinical externship
• LAW4804 Law reform and community development
• LAW4805 Mooting and advocacy competition
• LAW4806 Jessup moot competition
• LAW4807 Vis arbitration moot
• LAW4808 Monash law review 1
• LAW4809 Monash law review 2

(c.) an additional 42 points of elective law units be chosen from the list of undergraduate law electivesundergraduate law electives (http://www.monash.edu.au/pubs/2015handbooks/aos/law-electives/) in this Handbook.

Single degree students only

(B.) Students in the single degree of Bachelor of Laws (Honours) must in addition to (A.) above complete the following elective units (48 points):

• 12 points of non-law units or Monash Passport units
• 36 points of undergraduate law electivesundergraduate law electives (http://www.monash.edu.au/pubs/2015handbooks/aos/law-electives/).

Student progression

Refer to the course mapcourse map (http://www.law.monash.edu.au/current-students/course-unit-information/undergraduate-degrees-in-law.html) for guidance on how to plan your unit enrolment for each semester of study.

High achieving students enrolled in the the Bachelor of Laws (Honours) single or double degrees have the opportunity of undertaking a maximum of two masters-level electives, which can be counted towards a Master of Laws (LLM) degree if they wish to progress to LLM studies within ten years. Visit the faculty's Master of Laws elective programMaster of Laws elective program (http://www.law.monash.edu.au/current-students/course-unit-information/master-of-laws-elective-program.html) web page for full details.

Bachelor of Laws (Honours)