Introduction to Legal Studies

About this subject

• What you'll learn

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

  1. demonstrate understanding of the structure of the Australian and international legal systems, and the roles of law-making institutions such as parliaments and higher courts, and compare those roles across common law, civil law and hybrid systems;
  2. demonstrate introductory understanding of the role of the legal profession; 
  3. develop and demonstrate introductory understanding of the doctrine of precedent and the principles of statutory interpretation, and then apply that understanding to case law and legislation in the context of legal problems to demonstrate introductory level legal analysis skills;
  4. develop and demonstrate introductory level legal research skills to locate relevant primary and secondary legal sources;
  5. engage with the learning management system to develop and demonstrate legal study skills and time management skills; and 
  6. develop and demonstrate legal writing skills using appropriate professional language, a logically ordered structure and with appropriate referencing.

• Topics covered

• Description

• Assessments

• Textbooks

• About University of New England

Entry requirements

Additional requirements

• Equipment requirements - Headphones or speakers (required to listen to lectures and other media) Headset, including microphone (highly recommended) Webcam (may be required for participation in virtual classrooms and/or media presentations).
• Software requirements - Please refer students to link for requirements: http://www.une.edu.au/current-students/support/it-services/hardware It is essential for students to have reliable internet access in order to participate in and complete your units, regardless of whether they contain an on campus attendance or intensive school component.
• Travel requirements - Travel may be required to attend the Final Examination for this subject.
• Other requirements -

  Textbook requirements:

  Textbook information is not available until approximately 8 weeks prior to the commencement of the Teaching period.

  Students are expected to purchase prescribed material.

  Textbook requirements may vary from one teaching period to the next.

Study load

0.125 EFTSL

This is in the range of 10 to 12 hours of study each week.

Equivalent full time study load (EFTSL) is one way to calculate your study load. One (1.0) EFTSL is equivalent to a full-time study load for one year.

Find out more information on Commonwealth Loans to understand what this means to your eligibility for financial support.