In the absence of a successful application for special consideration due to a disruption to studies, any assessment task submitted after its published deadline will not be graded and will receive a mark of zero.  Applications for a Disruption to Studies are made electronically via ask.mq.edu.au and should be accompanied by supporting documentation.  Students should refer to the Disruption to Studies Policy for complete details of the policy and a description of the supporting documentation required.

Word limits will be strictly applied and work above the word limit will not be marked.  Citations should conform to the AGLC3

All assessments in the unit are to be submitted electronically.  Plagiarism software is used in this unit.

With respect to Moderation, detailed marking rubrics will be made available on iLearn.  All Fail papers are double-marked by the Unit Convenor

This unit is taught through a combination of lectures and tutorials.  The lectures are offered live and via iLearn.

The prescribed casebook is Nygh's Conflict of Laws 9th Ed (2014).  If students feel that they would benefit from a textbook, Private International Law in Australia by Reid Mortensen et al 3d Edition (2015) may be helpful but will not be referred to in the course.

Attendance at tutorials is an essential element of this course because exercises are conducted during tutorials.  As part of the art of lawyering, conflict of laws issues are best addressed through problem solving.  Success in the examinations is invariably associated with active participation in the tutorials.  During the tutorials, we will review current cases that are not in the casebook and students will attempt to solve conflict of laws problems.  While participation is mandatory, tutorial work is not graded - it is an opportunity to see how the doctrines actually work to solve problems.  It is a time for students to support each other as we work through challenging real-life situations based on recent Australian, UK, Canadian and US case decisions.  Students who are not prepared to attend and participate in tutorials should not enroll in this course.

Conflict of laws is sometimes called private international law.  However, in Australia, Canada and the United States, conflict of laws is a more apt title because the situations are typically domestic as opposed to international.

Conflict of laws issues are central to the actual practice of law. Essentially conflicts, as it is commonly known, deals with many aspects of procedural law - some of which may be outcome determinative.  The most well-known aspect of this subject is the subject of choice of law.  This is the doctrine that enables a lawyer to advise the court as to the body of law that is to be applied to a dispute. The subject also deals with jurisdiction, injunctions in aid of jurisdiction, restraints on local proceedings and enforcement of judgments. Conflicts may be unique among law courses because it is perhaps the only subject in which non-lawyers do not have any knowledge or even awareness of the concept’s existence. It is not unfair to say the conflict of laws is a subject known only to the legal profession and is essential to the lawyer's art.

Conflicts is not just a matter of following rules. Rather, knowledge of conflicts guides skilled practitioners in obtaining better outcomes for their clients. While based on legal theory, in practice, conflicts permits lawyers to attempt to utilise the most desirable venues and bodies of law to benefit their clients’ interests. Conflict of laws is somewhat of a misnomer; the real concept is choice of law or forum and this unit will examine essential concepts of jurisdiction and theoretical grounds for selection of substantive and procedural laws.

Using a problem-based approach, this course will examine a variety of circumstances to see how conflicts theory can be strategically applied to influence the ultimate outcome of a dispute. Perhaps the centrality of a working knowledge of conflict of laws is exemplified by the following example:

An independent contractor called Alan resides in Victoria. He is assigned projects by Apex Corporation.  Apex trained him in Victoria and required him to purchase various specified equipment including a stepladder manufactured by Bosco Specialties in Brisbane, Queensland.  Most of the work performed by Alan for Apex is in Victoria.  Apex trained Alan in Victoria.  While working on a project for Apex just across the border in New South Wales, Alan fell from the stepladder and sustained extremely serious injuries.  Alan believes that he fell because the ladder was defectively designed and manufactured.  Alan's claim against Apex has been resolved through Workers' Compensation.

Alan presents himself to you at your law office in Victoria.  A decision is made to proceed by way of litigation in the Supreme Court of Victoria.  The plaintiff was tardy coming to you for advice but you ascertain that the statute of limitations for pursuing an action in tort is not time barred under Victorian law.  But, you also note that under both NSW and Queensland laws, the action appears to be time-barred.  If the action is commenced in Victoria, will it likely be time-barred?

While the common law of tort is uniform across Australia; statutes of limitation vary among the States.  Here, the correct statute of limitation may be outcome determinative.

Weekly Schedule

There are several changes.  From an assessment standpoint, all of the Quizzes are now formative and do not count toward the final grade.  There has been added a mid-term exam.  Content-wise, based on student feedback, family law matters have been excluded as they are dealt with in family law courses.  More time is now spent on interlocutory and anti-suit injunctions which have emerged as controversial topics.  Comity has been added to the discussion.