LAWS101-12W (C) Whole Year 2012

Legal System: Legal Method and Institutions

30 points

Details:
Start Date: Monday, 20 February 2012
End Date: Sunday, 11 November 2012
Withdrawal Dates
Last Day to withdraw from this course:
  • Without financial penalty (full fee refund): Sunday, 4 March 2012
  • Without academic penalty (including no fee refund): Sunday, 2 September 2012

Description

The course aims to provide a foundation in the skills of legal method, comprising case analysis, statutory interpretation and legal reasoning. It also introduces , and gives a descriptive outline of, the legal systems in New Zealand and England, including the structure of the courts, the sources of law, the classification of substantive law, dispute resolution and legal services.

The objectives of Laws 101 are:
•  To introduce you to the framework of the law, the techniques of legal reasoning and the analysis of legal materials;
•  To provide you with practice in case analysis and feedback on your progress through the tutorial programme;
•  To familiarise you with New Zealand's contemporary legal institutions; and
•  To interest you in current issues of importance to the New Zealand Legal System.

Learning Outcomes

  • A successful student will, by the end of this course, be able to demonstrate an understanding of legal institutions, including:
  •  The structure of the New Zealand courts;
  •  The role of legal services in the legal system; and
  •  The role of dispute resolution in the legal system.

    A successful student will also be able to demonstrate competence in legal method, including:
  •  Case Analysis;
  •  Statutory Interpretation; and
  •  Legal Reasoning.

Co-requisites

Timetable Note

The stipulated rooms have only sufficient seats for students allocated for each lecture stream at enrolment.  Serious seating problems will arise if students arbitrarily shift streams.
TUTORIALS
Tutorials in Laws 101 will be held according to the timetable in the "Laws 101 Tutorial Book".

Assessment

Assessment Due Date Percentage 
First Test 08 May 2012 10%
Essay 18 Jul 2012 10%
Second Test 11 Sep 2012 10%
Final Examination 1 40%
Final Examination 2 40%


Each student’s final mark is arrived at by a combination of marks for in-term assessment(s) and the final examinations.

In-term Assessments -
It is compulsory to complete at least two of three in-term assessments.  The best (or only) two assessment will contribute up to 20% (10% each) of the final mark for the course.

•  Two In-term Tests will be held as follows (dates to be advised):

TEST 1 Term 2; and
TEST 2 Term 4.

•  One Essay of not more than 1700 words, including footnotes, on a topic to be announced. The essay will be due in Term 3.

Although students may choose to do only two assessments, students are strongly recommended to do all three. If a student does the 3rd assessment, it will also contribute up to a further 10% of the total course assessment if the effect will be to improve a student's final mark, for example:

A student completes all three pieces of in-term assessment and sits both final examinations.  Over the course of the year the student is awarded the following grades for the in-term assessments:  C+, B & A.  For the two final examinations the student is awarded a combined grade of a B-. The marks for the in-term “A” and “B” grades automatically contribute up to 20% of the student’s final result. The “C+” does not count because it is lower than the examination grade.  In the case of this student the final examinations count for 80% of the final result and the in-term assessments count for 20%.

Each item of in-term assessment may be submitted only once. There is no system for re-submitting in-term assessment work.  


No Aegrotat Consideration For In-term Assessments -
A student may not apply for aegrotat consideration for the in-term Essay and Tests as these in-term assessments are excluded from aegrotat consideration.


Final examinations -
The final examinations will count for a maximum of 80% and a minimum of 70% of the final mark.  At the end of the year students will be examined in TWO papers.

Students will be advised of the dates of the two examinations after the commencement of Semester Two.

NOTE: The division of the class into lecture streams is in no way related to the two examination papers - all students are required to sit both final examinations.

The examinations will test students' skills and knowledge. Examination papers from previous years are held in the Law Library.


NOTE: Assignments, tests and examinations will be assessed only once. Resubmissions or resits are not permitted.

Textbooks / Resources

Required Texts

Scragg, Richard J; The principles of legal method in New Zealand ; 2nd ed; Oxford University Press, 2008.

Recommended Reading

Burrows, J F and Carter, R I; Statute Law in New Zealand ; 4th ed; LexisNexis, 2009.

Krever, Richard E., Barkehall Thomas, Susan; Master law studies and law exam techiques ; 7th ed; LexisNexis NZ, 2011.

Morris, Grant; Law alive : the New Zealand legal system in context ; 2nd ed; Oxford University Press, 2012.

Orange, Claudia; The Treaty of Waitangi ; Bridget Williams Books, 2011.

Spiller, Peter., Hinde, M.S., Hinde, G.W; Butterworths New Zealand law dictionary ; 7th ed; LexisNexis NZ, 2011.

Webb, Duncan et al; The New Zealand legal system : structures and processes ; 5th ed; LexisNexis, 2010.

Williams, Glanville Llewelyn , Smith, A. T. H; Glanville Williams - learning the law ; 14th ed. ; Sweet & Maxwell /Thomson Reuters, 2010.

Notes

Successful completion of this course makes students eligible for consideration for selection for Laws 200 courses.

Indicative Fees

Domestic fee $1,311.00

International fee $6,275.00

* All fees are inclusive of NZ GST or any equivalent overseas tax, and do not include any programme level discount or additional course-related expenses.

For further information see Faculty of Law .

All LAWS101 Occurrences

  • LAWS101-12W (C) Whole Year 2012
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