units

LAW4651

Faculty of Law

18 September 2017 12 December 2019

Undergraduate - Unit

This unit entry is for students who completed this unit in 2014 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, or view unit timetables.

LevelUndergraduate
FacultyFaculty of Law
OfferedNot offered in 2014
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 unit, a student should be able to:

  1. demonstrate a working knowledge and have an overview of the major general principles of evidence law as they apply to different legal jurisdictions, specifically Australia, Canada, the U.S. and some civilian jurisdictions;
  2. understand and recognise some of the major differences and similarities of the evidence rules in the various jurisdictions;
  3. demonstrate a critical appreciation of the application and meaning of a number of specific rules of evidence by examining statute and case law from the various jurisdictions;
  4. independently research and write a minor memorandum on an evidence topic.

Assessment

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

Chief examiner(s)

Dr Heli Askola

Workload requirements

Students will be required to attend 36 hours of seminars, and undertake approximately an additional 108 hours of private study, including reading, class preparation, and assignment preparation and revision time over the duration of the course.

Prerequisites

None

Co-requisites

None

Prohibitions

None