units

LAW4325

Faculty of Law

18 September 2017 20 April 2024
Monash University

Undergraduate - Unit

This unit entry is for students who completed this unit in 2015 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.

LevelUndergraduate
FacultyFaculty of Law
OfferedNot offered in 2015

Synopsis

The unit involves an examination of selected contemporary problems in evidence. It is designed to give students the opportunity of studying in detail particular themes relating to proof of facts in the forensic context which themes are not covered, or are dealt with only in outline, in Evidence LAW5159. A particular focus of the course will be the Commonwealth Government's Codification of the Law of Evidence for use in Federal Courts. This codification is embodied in the Evidence Act 1995 (Cth). The background of this Act is contained mainly in the recommendations of the Australian Law Reform Commission contained in its 1987 report, Evidence (ALRC 38).

Outcomes

Upon completion of this unit students will have an in-depth understanding of the rules and principles governing the proof of facts in issue in a trial. In particular, they will have developed:

  1. an understanding of the rules of evidence which apply in Federal Courts
  2. an understanding of the legal and policy issues involved in reforming and codifying the law of evidence
  3. an understanding of the general principles of freedom of proof, relevance, admissibility and discretion as a context for the study of the obstructive and exclusionary rules of evidence which impede the ascertainment of truth in civil and criminal trials
  4. capacity to undertake research in areas of policy and reform
  5. improved capacity in the skills of problem solving, analysis and written communication.

Assessment

Examination: 100% OR Research assignment (3000 words): 40%
Examination: 60%

Workload requirements

Minimum total expected workload to achieve the learning outcomes for this unit is 144 hours per semester typically comprising a mixture of scheduled learning activities and independent study. The unit requires on average three/four hours of scheduled activities per week. Scheduled activities may include a combination of teacher directed learning, peer directed learning and online engagement.

See also Unit timetable information

Prerequisites

LAW1100 OR LAW1101 and LAW1102 or LAW1104; LAW5159