Foundations of Law

• • Welcome and getting started
  • Key elements of the Australian legal system
  • The Australian Constitution
  • Australian courts
  • Australian legislation
  • Historical perspectives
  • Building recognition spaces in the law
  • Contemporary constitutional debates
  • The context for global legal practice
  • Comparative lawyering
  • Cultural intelligence and the digital lawyer
  • Global legal systems and international law
  • Professionalism in legal practice

No eligibility requirements

Additional requirements

No additional requirements

This subject introduces you to an array of legal systems including domestic Australian and indigenous legal systems, civil law systems, the European Union framework and international law systems. You will be encouraged to compare, contrast and critically examine all of these systems and consider how they interact with the broader phenomenon of globalisation. You will gain an introduction into how law is made in Australia by courts and the legislature, within Australia’s constitutional framework, and be invited to consider how Tasmania’s legislature and the courts have addressed a range of contemporary and historical social issues. Through a series of case studies, you will consider how a person’s place within society influences the way they perceive and evaluate law and will be introduced to several ethical issues and rules that arise for different actors within the legal system. These case studies will encourage you to adopt a range of perspectives: solicitors, barristers, judges, interest groups, politicians, legal theorists and other members of society. This will be your first opportunity to learn skills that are fundamental to your future studies and careers in law: working effectively in small groups; how to read and take good notes from class and texts; and how to manage study time to achieve success in law.

• Quiz (10%)
• Essay (40%)
• Case Study Presentation (40%)
• Reflection (10%)

Current study term: 20 Feb 22 to 29 May 22