Enrolments for 2023 have closed.
Foundations of Law
Undergraduate | TAS-LAW107 | 2023
Course information for 2023 intake View information for 2024 course intake
An introduction to the Australian legal system. You’ll explore legislation and courts, and you’ll touch on international systems too. Work on your study and communication skills. Get to know the Constitution.
- Study method
- 100% online
- Assessments
- Subject may require attendance
- Entry requirements
- No ATAR needed,
- No prior study
- Duration
- 14 weeks
HECS-HELP and FEE-HELP available
Foundations of Law
About this subject
Upon completion of this subject, the student should be able to:
- Describe and explain legal principles and legal systems, recognising local and transnational contexts and theoretical and ethical dimensions.
- Identify and respond to ethical issues at an introductory level.
- Communicate effectively and persuasively in verbal and written formats and support arguments with relevant literature.
- Work collaboratively and independently, including through the development of a coherent piece of work representing a diversity of perspectives within a group.
- 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
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.
- Quizzes (15%)
- Exam (30%)
- Contribution to Workshop Discussions (20%)
- Case Activated Learning (35%)
For textbook details check your university's handbook, website or learning management system (LMS).
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Entry requirements
No entry requirements
Additional requirements
- Other requirements - Lecture: 1 hour weekly (Interactive lectures across the study period) Workshop: 2 hours weekly online tutorial 4:00pm-6:00pm Wednesdays (commencing in Week 2 of semester) concentrating on case studies. Attendance is compulsory.
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.
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What to study next?
Once you’ve completed this subject it can be credited towards one of the following courses
UndergraduateTAS-PLG-DIP
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