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Unit of study_
LAWS5157: Private International Law B
2025 unit information
Private international law is the part of local or municipal private law which is concerned with questions which contain a foreign element i.e. a relevant connection between a fact or party and a foreign legal system. For example, private international law issues will require consideration if a question arises in New South Wales concerning the distribution of the property of a person who died domiciled in France or the validity of a mortgage of shares in a New York corporation or the recognition of the dissolution of a marriage by a Norwegian court. In seeking to develop your understanding of the international dimension of private law and your appreciation of the fact that many legal questions which arise in everyday life are not confined within one legal system, this unit of study will address the following topics: (1) personal connecting factor (domicile, nationality, residence); (2) renvoi and the incidental question; (3) transactions involving immovable property (e.g. land, intellectual property rights) and movable property (e.g. ships, aircraft, artworks, shares, contractual rights); (4) devolution of property on death (succession); (5) marriage validity; and (6) dissolution and annulment of marriage, including the recognition of foreign dissolutions and annulments of marriage. In addition to these topics, an introductory survey will address the function, purpose and rationale of private international law, theories and methods (e.g. the territorial theory of law, the vested rights theory), historical development and the relationship between statutes and the common law rules of private international law.
Unit details and rules
Managing faculty or University school:
Sydney Law School
| Study level | Postgraduate |
|---|---|
| Academic unit | Law |
| Credit points | 6 |
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Prerequisites:
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None |
|---|---|
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Corequisites:
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None |
| Prohibitions:
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LAWS3015 or LAWS3457 |
| Assumed knowledge:
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None |
At the completion of this unit, you should be able to:
- LO1. demonstrate an acquisition of knowledge and understanding of private international law and appreciate the historical background which informs modern Australian law
- LO2. develop professional skill in the analysis and interpretation of primary materials (decided cases and statutes)
- LO3. appraise hypothetical questions involving private international law and apply relevant legal principles in answering those questions
- LO4. express, in clear and concise language, well-structured and logical arguments with particular reference to private international law.
Unit availability
This section lists the session, attendance modes and locations the unit is available in. There is a unit outline for each of the unit availabilities, which gives you information about the unit including assessment details and a schedule of weekly activities.
The outline is published 2 weeks before the first day of teaching. You can look at previous outlines for a guide to the details of a unit.
| Session | MoA ? | Location | Outline ? |
|---|---|---|---|
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Semester 2 2025
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Normal day | Camperdown/Darlington, Sydney |
Outline unavailable
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Modes of attendance (MoA)
This refers to the Mode of attendance (MoA) for the unit as it appears when you’re selecting your units in Sydney Student. Find more information about modes of attendance on our website.
