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Current Issues in Civil Litigation (LAWS70202)
Graduate coursework level 7Points: 12.5On Campus (Parkville)
For information about the University’s phased return to campus and in-person activity in Winter and Semester 2, please refer to the on-campus subjects page.
About this subject
- Overview
- Eligibility and requirements
- Assessment
- Dates and times
- Further information
- Timetable(opens in new window)
Contact information
March
Lecturers
Dr Andrew Higgins, Coordinator
Mr Bernie Quinn QC
Email: law-masters@unimelb.edu.au
Phone: +61 3 8344 6190
Website: law.unimelb.edu.au
Please refer to the LMS for up-to-date subject information, including assessment and participation requirements, for subjects being offered in 2020.
Overview
Availability(Quotas apply) | March |
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Fees | Look up fees |
Civil litigation is experiencing unprecedented levels of reform. Legislative changes, court decisions, changes to court rules and economic pressures are changing the way litigation is practised across the common law world. The proper roles of parties, lawyers, judges and courts are under scrutiny and discussion. The focus of this subject is current and significant issues in civil litigation, with an emphasis on new and emerging developments.
Andrew Higgins is an Associate Professor in Civil Procedure at the Faculty of Law, University of Oxford, and a Fellow in Law at Mansfield College. He is also a practising barrister specialising in mass tort litigation and General Editor of Civil Justice Quarterly.
Bernie Quinn is a Queens Counsel at the Victorian Bar who practices in a wide range of areas including commercial law, public law and product liability law. He speaks Bahasa Indonesian and was an Associate to Justice Michael Kirby. The subject will include guest lecturers drawn from the judiciary and the profession.
Principal topics include:
- Significant procedural reforms in Australia and overseas
- Law reform proposals
- The role of the judge, including case management trends
- Principles of apprehended bias
- ‘Overarching’ obligations of participants in the civil justice system
- Summary and interim relief
- Discovery
- Client legal privilege
- Expert evidence
- Procedural issues in conflict of laws
- Procedural issues in collective redress
- Costs and funding rules
- Appeal processes
- Enforcement
- Alternative dispute resolution
- Online dispute resolution and its impact on civil procedure.
Intended learning outcomes
A student who has successfully completed this subject will:
- Have an advanced and integrated understanding of the elements of and current issues in civil litigation
- Be able to critically examine, analyse, interpret and assess these elements and issues
- Be an engaged participant in debate regarding contemporary and emerging issues
- Have a sophisticated appreciation of the factors driving recent reforms in civil procedure
- Have an advanced understanding of the practical effects of reforms and current practices on civil litigation
- Have a detailed understanding of critical elements in civil litigation processes
- Have the cognitive and technical skills to generate critical and creative ideas relating to possible future reforms and methods to deal with current problems in civil litigation procedure
- Have the cognitive and technical skills to independently examine, research and analyse aspects of civil procedure
- Have the communication skills to clearly articulate and convey complex information regarding civil procedure both to specialist and non-specialist audiences
- Be able to demonstrate autonomy, expert judgment and responsibility as a practitioner and learner in the field.
Last updated: 3 November 2022
Eligibility and requirements
Prerequisites
None
Corequisites
None
Non-allowed subjects
None
Recommended background knowledge
Applicants without legal qualifications should note that subjects are offered in the discipline of law at an advanced graduate level. While every effort will be made to meet the needs of students trained in other fields, concessions will not be made in the general level of instruction or assessment. Most subjects assume the knowledge usually acquired in a degree in law (LLB, JD or equivalent). Applicants should note that admission to some subjects in the Melbourne Law Masters will be dependent upon the individual applicant’s educational background and professional experience.
Inherent requirements (core participation requirements)
The University of Melbourne is committed to providing students with reasonable adjustments to assessment and participation under the Disability Standards for Education (2005), and the Assessment and Results Policy (MPF1326). Students are expected to meet the core participation requirements for their course. These can be viewed under Entry and Participation Requirements for the course outlines in the Handbook.
Further details on how to seek academic adjustments can be found on the Student Equity and Disability Support website: http://services.unimelb.edu.au/student-equity/home
Last updated: 3 November 2022
Assessment
Due to the impact of COVID-19, assessment may differ from that published in the Handbook. Students are reminded to check the subject assessment requirements published in the subject outline on the LMS
Description | Timing | Percentage |
---|---|---|
Research paper on a topic approved by the subject coordinator
| 10 June | 100% |
Hurdle requirement: A minimum of 75% attendance | Throughout the teaching period | N/A |
Last updated: 3 November 2022
Quotas apply to this subject
Dates & times
- March
Principal coordinator Andrew Higgins Mode of delivery On Campus (Parkville) Contact hours 24-34 hours Total time commitment 150 hours Pre teaching start date 12 February 2020 Pre teaching requirements The pre-teaching period commences four weeks before the subject commencement date. From this time, students are expected to access and review the Reading Guide that will be available from the LMS subject page and the subject materials provided by the subject coordinator, which will be available from Melbourne Law School. Refer to the Reading Guide for confirmation of which resources need to be read and what other preparation is required before the teaching period commences. Teaching period 11 March 2020 to 17 March 2020 Last self-enrol date 17 February 2020 Census date 11 March 2020 Last date to withdraw without fail 1 May 2020 Assessment period ends 10 June 2020 March contact information
Lecturers
Dr Andrew Higgins, Coordinator
Mr Bernie Quinn QCEmail: law-masters@unimelb.edu.au
Phone: +61 3 8344 6190
Website: law.unimelb.edu.au
Additional delivery details
This subject has a quota of 30 students.
Enrolment is on a first come, first served basis. Waitlists are maintained for subjects that are fully subscribed.
Students should note priority of places in subjects will be given as follows:
- To currently enrolled Graduate Diploma and Masters students with a satisfactory record in their degree
- To other students enrolling on a single subject basis, eg Community Access Program (CAP) students, cross-institutional study and cross-faculty study.
Please refer to the Melbourne Law Masters website for further information about the management of subject quotas and waitlists.
Last updated: 3 November 2022
Further information
- Texts
Prescribed texts
Specialist materials will be made available free of charge from Melbourne Law School prior to the pre-teaching period.
- Related Handbook entries
This subject contributes to the following:
- Links to additional information
- Available through the Community Access Program
About the Community Access Program (CAP)
This subject is available through the Community Access Program (also called Single Subject Studies) which allows you to enrol in single subjects offered by the University of Melbourne, without the commitment required to complete a whole degree.
Entry requirements including prerequisites may apply. Please refer to the CAP applications page for further information.
Additional information for this subject
If required, please contact law-admissions@unimelb.edu.au for subject coordinator approval.
- Available to Study Abroad and/or Study Exchange Students
This subject is available to students studying at the University from eligible overseas institutions on exchange and study abroad. Students are required to satisfy any listed requirements, such as pre- and co-requisites, for enrolment in the subject.
Last updated: 3 November 2022