LAWS204-24W (C) Whole Year 2024

The Law of Torts

30 points

Details:
Start Date: Monday, 19 February 2024
End Date: Sunday, 10 November 2024
Withdrawal Dates
Last Day to withdraw from this course:
  • Without financial penalty (full fee refund): Sunday, 17 March 2024
  • Without academic penalty (including no fee refund): Sunday, 25 August 2024

Description

General principles of civil liability. The law as to the various kinds of torts. The law relating to compensation for personal injury by accident in New Zealand.

The law of torts potentially concerns the entire range of misfortunes, injuries and losses which human beings can blame on one another.  It determines whether, or in what circumstances, a person who has caused harm to another is liable to compensate that other for the harm.  The course will provide a thorough grounding in the core principles of this key area of law.

A substantial part of the course will concentrate on the law of negligence.  It will deal with general principles and will focus in particular on such important issues as liability for mental injury, for economic loss and for failing to act, and will consider issues of breach of duty, complex problems of proving causation and remoteness of damage.  The course will also cover various other torts.  These include trespass to land, nuisance, the rule in Rylands v Fletcher, defamation and interference with privacy.  

Torts claims in New Zealand are not much concerned with claims for personal injury, as these generally are barred by the Accident Compensation Act 2001.  The principles of the common law are subject to the Act, and accordingly the course will consider the ambit of the accident compensation scheme and the statutory benefits which are available in replacement of the common law action.

Learning Outcomes

University Graduate Attributes

This course will provide students with an opportunity to develop the Graduate Attributes specified below:

Critically competent in a core academic discipline of their award

Students know and can critically evaluate and, where applicable, apply this knowledge to topics/issues within their majoring subject.

Prerequisites

Co-requisites

Timetable 2024

Students must attend one activity from each section.

Lecture A
Activity Day Time Location Weeks
01 Thursday 10:00 - 12:00 K1 Lecture Theatre
19 Feb - 31 Mar
22 Apr - 2 Jun
15 Jul - 25 Aug
9 Sep - 20 Oct
Lecture B
Activity Day Time Location Weeks
01 Tuesday 14:00 - 15:00 K1 Lecture Theatre
19 Feb - 31 Mar
22 Apr - 2 Jun
15 Jul - 25 Aug
9 Sep - 20 Oct
Tutorial A
Activity Day Time Location Weeks
01 Tuesday 16:00 - 17:00 Elsie Locke 104A
4 Mar - 31 Mar
13 May - 26 May
15 Jul - 25 Aug
23 Sep - 20 Oct
02 Tuesday 09:00 - 10:00 Jack Erskine 340
4 Mar - 31 Mar
13 May - 26 May
15 Jul - 25 Aug
23 Sep - 20 Oct
03 Monday 16:00 - 17:00 E12 (4/3-25/3, 13/5-20/5)
Jack Erskine 443 (15/7-19/8, 23/9-14/10)
4 Mar - 31 Mar
13 May - 26 May
15 Jul - 25 Aug
23 Sep - 20 Oct
04 Tuesday 09:00 - 10:00 Recording Available
4 Mar - 31 Mar
13 May - 26 May
15 Jul - 25 Aug
23 Sep - 20 Oct
05 Tuesday 15:00 - 16:00 Jack Erskine 446
4 Mar - 31 Mar
13 May - 26 May
15 Jul - 25 Aug
23 Sep - 20 Oct
06 Monday 10:00 - 11:00 Beatrice Tinsley 111 (4/3-25/3, 13/5-20/5)
Rehua 529 (15/7-19/8, 23/9-14/10)
4 Mar - 31 Mar
13 May - 26 May
15 Jul - 25 Aug
23 Sep - 20 Oct
07 Tuesday 15:00 - 16:00 Meremere 526
4 Mar - 31 Mar
13 May - 26 May
15 Jul - 25 Aug
23 Sep - 20 Oct
08 Friday 09:00 - 10:00 Ernest Rutherford 225
4 Mar - 31 Mar
13 May - 26 May
15 Jul - 25 Aug
23 Sep - 20 Oct

Timetable Note

Tutorials  will be held according to the timetable you will be given at the start of Term One.
Enrolment in Tutorials will be advised via email closer to the start of the course.

Course Coordinator / Lecturer

Stephen Todd

Lecturer

Ursula Cheer

Assessment

Assessment Due Date Percentage 
Mid-Year Test 30%
Essay 20%
Final Examination 50%


Assessment may include a Test, compulsory Essay and a Final Examination.

The assessment will be confirmed in the first week of lectures.

Textbooks / Resources

Recommended Reading

Todd, Stephen et al; Todd on torts ; 9th edition; Thomson Reuters, 2023 (Forthcoming).

Notes

This is a compulsory core course for the LLB degree.

Indicative Fees

Domestic fee $1,786.00

International fee $9,325.00

* 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.

Limited Entry Course

Maximum enrolment is 280

For further information see Faculty of Law .

All LAWS204 Occurrences

  • LAWS204-24W (C) Whole Year 2024