Units of study

Compulsory Curriculum

The majority of the Sydney JD degree consists of compulsory study for the purposes of recognition for the profession and practice of law. It meets the academic requirements for the purposes of practising law in Australia and may also be recognised overseas. The compulsory areas of law you must study to meet these requirements are:

• Administrative law
• Civil procedure
• Company law
• Contracts
• Criminal law and procedure
• Equity
• Evidence
• Federal and state constitutional law
• Professional conduct (including basic trust accounting)
• Property
• Torts

In addition, Sydney Law School is the only Australian law school where you are able to complete two compulsory units of study in international law - Private International Law and Public International Law. Each compulsory unit of study is summarised below in sequential order to give you a snapshot of its content:

Foundations of Law
The very first unit that you must study, this unit provides you with a foundation core for the study of law. It gives you an overview of the Australian legal system, alongside an introduction to the skills of legal reasoning and analysis. You will cover topics including: judge made and statute law; relationship between courts and parliament; role and function of courts, tribunals and dispute resolution; principles of judicial reasoning; statutory interpretation; the concept of rights in Australian law.

Torts
In this unit, you will examine the concept of liability for civil wrongs. You will learn about the function and scope of modern tort law, as well as the rationale and utility of its governing principles. You will cover topics including: the relationship between torts and other branches of common law such as contract and criminal law; the role of fault as the principal basis of liability; the historical development of the concept of trespass; the concept of intentional injury; defences to trespass, including consent, necessity and contributory negligence; the concept of compensation for personal injuries; defences to negligence.

Civil & Criminal Procedure
In this unit, you will consider the procedures relating to civil dispute resolution and criminal justice. You will examine the features of an adversarial system of justice and its impact on process. You will cover topics including: civil and alternative dispute resolution; procedures for a civil action including case management, evidence gathering and the rules of privilege; crime and society; police powers; bail and sentencing; ethics.

Contracts
This unit provides you with the legal background for transactions involving the supply of goods and services. Its central aim is to provide you with an understanding of the basic principles of contract law; how those principles are applied in practice to solve problems and how to critically evaluate and make normative judgements about the operation of the law. You will cover topics including: the rules that regulate the creation, terms, performance, breach and discharge of a contract; the ownership of property and its transferral from one person to another.

Criminal Law
In this unit, you will examine the general principles of criminal law in context as they operate in the state of New South Wales, Australia. You will receive a critical analysis of these laws and their contemporary social and political relevance. In addition, you will consider a range of theoretical literature as well as critical commentary, with a focus on conventional wisdom concerning the operation of criminal justice. You will cover topics including: the process of proof in a criminal prosecution and its defence; the determination of criminal liability; the contradictions presented by the application of legal principle to complex social problems.

Torts & Contracts II
This unit aims to provide you with an appreciation of the integrated study of the law of obligations and remedies. It is an advanced unit and you examine the impact of related statutory liability and remedies. You will cover topics including: concurrent, proportionate and vicarious liability; the role of statutory duties and powers in tort law; liability for misrepresentation in tort, contract and under statute; liability for economic loss in tort, including some comparative study; consideration of causation and remoteness of damage in tort and contract; damages for breach of contract.

Public International Law
This new unit is currently being developed. More information will follow.

Public Law
This unit provides you with an examination of the fundamental tenets of constitutionalism and constitutional principle, as manifested in the Australian constitutional context, at both federal and state level. You will cover topics including: constitutionalism and the rule of law; representative and responsible government; amendment of the commonwealth and state constitutions; separation of powers; judicial power and implications derived from chapter III of the constitution; the executive and its powers; accountability of the executive to parliament, courts and tribunals; and administrative rule-making.

Administrative Law
In this unit, you will study the relationships of individuals and organisations with government decision makers. You will examine the legal principles which apply to those relationships with the aim of developing an understanding of the extent to which decision-makers within the executive branch of the government are accountable to parliament, to the courts and to other administrators, such as ombudsmen and merits review tribunals. You will acquire an overview of relevant legal principles and encourages an understanding of how values of openness, fairness and participation may be promoted. By adopting a critical perspective, you will develop an appreciation of how political theory and the insights of other disciplines may provide a framework for analysing the choices made by administrators, and by judges in judicial review.

Federal Constitutional Law
In this unit, you will develop an understanding of the fundamentals of federal constitutional law through the study of key judicial decisions on powers and prohibitions in the Commonwealth Constitution. The course is designed to give you a general conceptual framework for solving problems about federal constitutional law by a detailed treatment of selected topics, that include: the function of the High Court as the final arbiter of constitutionality; the techniques of judicial review as applied in Australia; the adequacy of the Constitution as Australia’s basic instrument of government and on the scope for ‘reform’ by interpretation; Trade and commerce, severance and reading down, inconsistency, external affairs, defence, corporations, freedom of interstate trade, general doctrines of characterisation and interpretation, grants, revenue powers, excise duties, and constitutional rights; the US Constitution as a point of comparison and contrast.

Introduction to Property & Commercial Law
This unit provides you with an introduction to two key sources of rights and obligations in modern western law. It is designed to give you an opportunity to consider the role these areas of law play in Australian society, as well as giving a good grounding in legal principle. You will cover topics including: notions of “property”; an introduction to personal property; an introduction to real property including rights to fixtures and airspace; the different title systems relating to land in NSW (e.g., Torrens; strata; Crown lands and including indigenous systems); the nature and classification of equitable interests in land and personality; the principles governing assignment of rights to property at common law and in equity (including by sale and by compulsion – such as by bankruptcy), and an introduction to the principles for resolving competing claims to property.

The Legal Profession
In this unit, you will concentrate on the regulation of legal practice and its practitioners. You will examine lawyers’ duties to their clients and the Court, and the ways in which the rules and principles of confidentiality and conflicts of interest shape the advice and representation lawyers provide for their clients. Topics covered include: the nature and structure of the legal profession; historical struggles to regulate the profession; the current regulatory regime in New South Wales; the major cultural and economic forces that challenge attempts to regulate the profession; alternative ways of organising legal practice and providing legal services; the manner in which clients are treated by lawyers.

Corporations Law
In this unit of study, you will consider the legal structure of the corporation as an organisational form for both public and proprietary companies. You will receive an introduction to both the law of corporations and the Australian context in which that operates. You will focus on the nature of the corporation and its governance structure. You will cover topics including: the implications of the company as a separate legal entity; power to bind the company; duties of directors, and shareholders rights and remedies.

Equity
This unit provides you with an appreciation of equitable principles and remedies, which is fundamental to understanding the Australian legal system. You will receive an explanation on the origins of the equitable jurisdiction and examines its role today. You will cover topics including: the law of trusts, including remedial constructive trusts; property in equity; fiduciary obligations; the doctrines of undue influence and unconscionable dealing; estoppels; equitable remedies.

Evidence
In this unit, you will focus on the operation of the laws of evidence in civil and criminal trials. You will consider the laws of evidence contained in statute and the common law. It aims to introduce you to the contexts within which lawyers might encounter evidential issues in the course of a trial. You will also give consideration to the capacity to think critically about the doctrines that govern the laws of evidence. You will cover topics including: rules for adducing evidence; the rules of admissibility (relevance, hearsay, opinion, tendency and coincidence, credibility, character, privilege and the discretions to exclude evidence); issues relating to proof; ethical problems that may arise in the conduct of a trial.

Real Property
The law of real property has always played an important role in the economic, social and political life of England and of those countries, such as Australia, which adopted its legal system. This unit of study aims to provide you with a study of the modern-day law of real property. You will cover topics including: the nature of the various interests in land; the law of co-ownership (joint tenancies and tenancies in common); priorities between competing interests in land; legislation governing the registration of instruments affecting land; the Mabo and Wik cases and concepts of native title; the Torrens system; the law relating to easements and covenants; the law of mortgages and leases.

Private International Law A
This new unit is currently being developed. More information will follow.

Elective Curriculum

In your final elective year of the Sydney JD, you must enrol in seven elective units of study which can be taken from the following:

1. A minimum of one unit of study taken from the Juris Doctor Table C (comprising Jurisprudence units)
2. A minimum of one unit of study taken from the Juris Doctor Table A (comprising International, Comparative, Transnational Units);
3. A maximum of five units of study as specified in the Juris Doctor Table B.
4. A maximum of two advanced level Master’s level units of study can be taken. Enrolment in Master’s units will be subject to availability and unit admission criteria, which may include relevant industry experience or prior specialist study.

You will also be required to complete a capstone experience in their final year to draw together and synthesise prior learning and experience, and form the basis for further intellectual and professional growth. You will meet this requirement by completing a Jurisprudence elective. Other electives taken in final year which include external placements, mooting activities or research projects, may also provide a capstone experience.

* Advanced level Master’s units of study