Unit of Study LAWS6001 Legal Institutions and Processes (2025)

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Unit Snapshot

Unit type

PG Coursework Unit
Credit points

12
Faculty & College

Faculty of Business, Law and Arts
Placement

No

Unit description

Provides students with a thorough introduction to the institutions and processes which have formed and influence the ongoing development of law in Australia, including their history, context and contemporary relevance. The unit also equips students with the skills to find, interpret, critique and apply law in both its adjudicative and legislative modes.

Unit content

Topic 1: The Anglo-Australian legal system

Topic 2: Sources of law

Topic 3: Research and writing in law

Topic 4: Judge-made law (common law)

Topic 5: Statute law (legislation)

Topic 6: Law in practice

Availabilities

Location	Domestic	International
SCU Online	Summer Term Term1,2,3,4,5	Summer Term Term1,2,3,4,5

Learning outcomes

Unit Learning Outcomes express learning achievement in terms of what a student should know, understand and be able to do on completion of a unit. These outcomes are aligned with the graduate attributes. The unit learning outcomes and graduate attributes are also the basis of evaluating prior learning.

On completion of this unit, students should be able to:

describe the historical foundations of Anglo-Australian law, including an understanding of the historical and contemporary relevance of Indigenous legal systems in Australia

demonstrate familiarity with the formal and informal institutions and processes which shape the development of Australian law

demonstrate an understanding of how to approach legal problems involving the application of judicial precedents and/or the interpretation of statutes

engage in legal research utilising and acknowledging a variety of sources.

Teaching and assessment

Teaching method

Structured online learning

Assessment
Quiz	10%
Annotated bibliography	40%
Essay	50%