units

LAW4651

Faculty of Law

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
Coordinator(s)Dr Heli Askola

Synopsis

This unit will provide a comparative survey of some of the modern principles of evidence. it will focus on the rights and obligations of the parties in the common law and civil law regimes. Some of the major concepts of evidence law will be examined including:

  • the role of the parties in litigation
  • burden of proof
  • relevance and admissibility
  • witnesses
  • privileges
  • the hearsay rule
  • expert evidence
  • documentary and real evidence.

Outcomes

On completion of this subject, students will be able to:

  1. Apply knowledge and understanding to the major general principles of evidence law as they apply to different legal jurisdictions, specifically Australia, Canada, the U.S. and some civilian jurisdictions with creativity and initiative to new situations for further learning;
  2. Investigate, analyse and synthesise complex information, problems, concepts and theories in relation to the major differences and similarities of the evidence rules in the various jurisdictions;
  3. Conduct research into the application and meaning of a number of specific rules of evidence by examining statute and case law from the various jurisdictions, based on knowledge of appropriate research principles and methods;
  4. Use cognitive, technical and creative skills to generate and evaluate at an abstract level complex ideas and concepts to the interaction of evidence law and related areas.

Assessment

Class participation: 10%
Class presentation: 10%
Research paper (1500 words): 30%
Two hour open book exam: 50%

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

Chief examiner(s)

Prerequisites

For students who commenced their LLB (Hons) course in 2015 or later:
LAW1111; LAW1114; LAW1112; LAW1113; LAW2101; LAW2102; LAW2112 and LAW2111

For students who commenced their LLB course prior to 2015: LAW1100 OR LAW1101 and LAW1102 or LAW1104

Co-requisites

For students who commenced their LLB (Hons) course in 2015 or later: LAW3111 and LAW3112

Prohibitions

None