Research Assignment

Due date: 1 April 2021, 5pm (Week 6)

Weighting: 50%

2021 Research Assignment Question

What legal challenges are raised by the use of smart contracts? Is present Australian law effective in governing the formation, performance and enforcement of smart contracts? Discuss with close reference to relevant legislation, case law and reform discourse.

Independent legal research: Please note that responding to this assignment question will require independent legal research that goes beyond the prescribed materials provided in lectures, tutorials and readings.

Word limit = 2,000 words, not including footnotes and bibliography. Footnotes need to be confined to citations. Citations should be in compliance with the Australian Guide to Legal Citation.

Submission method: All papers have to be submitted via Turnitin on the LAWS8068 ilearn. Please ensure that you are wholly happy with your paper before submitting. The system does not allow for automatic re-submission.

Marking Rubric for Research Assignment: Please see LAWS8068 ilearn page.

Moderation: The markers and convenor have a series of meeting to moderate the papers. The markers and convenor then undertake a process of blind marking  of 10% of papers to establish an accurate and equitable marking standard. All Fail papers are double marked by the convenor.

Late Submission Penalty

Unless a Special Consideration request has been submitted and approved, (a) a penalty for lateness will apply – two (2) marks out of 100 will be deducted per day for assignments submitted after the due date – and (b) no assignment will be accepted more than seven (7) days (incl. weekends) after the original submission deadline. No late submissions will be accepted for timed assessments – e.g. quizzes, online tests.

Other relevant information

Please note that plagiarism detection software is used in this unit.

 On successful completion you will be able to:

• Undertake in-depth research of critical issues in information technology law utilising scholarly legal publications from both national and international sources.

Professional Writing Task

Due: Friday 4 June, 5pm (Week 13)

Weighting: 50%

2021 Professional Writing Task Question

How effective is Australia's current competition law in supporting competition in digital platforms? What law reforms can be enacted to strengthen Australian law in this area? Write a Law Reform Submission for consideration by the Australian Government. In your Submission, analyse the effectiveness of present Australian law in this area and present option(s) for reform to enhance competition in digital platforms. You may anlayse the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission’s reports on this topic and the federal government’s response to these reports.

Word length

A maximum word length of 1,200 applies to each answer. This amounts to a total of 2,400 words for the two answers.

Rubric: The Rubric for the Research Assignment II is available on ilearn LAWS8068.

Moderation

The markers and convenor have a series of meeting to moderate the papers. the markers and convenor undertake a process of blind marking  of 10% of papers to establish an accurate and equitable marking standard. The rubric used in marking is available on ilearn. All Fail papers are double marked by the convenor.

Application for an extension

All applications for Special Consideration need to be made electronically via ask.mq.edu.au and should be accompanied by supporting documentation.

Please do not email to request an extension or email to seek the outcome of a lodge application via email. No information can be provide via email, all information will be provided via the Ask system.

Late Submission Penalty

Unless a Special Consideration request has been submitted and approved, (a) a penalty for lateness will apply – two (2) marks out of 100 will be deducted per day for assignments submitted after the due date – and (b) no assignment will be accepted more than seven (7) days (incl. weekends) after the original submission deadline. No late submissions will be accepted for timed assessments – e.g. quizzes, online tests.

Other relevant information

All assessments in the unit are to be submitted electronically via the Turnitin link on the iLearn LAWS8068 page for this unit. Please note that plagiarism detection software is used in this unit.

On successful completion you will be able to:

• Demonstrate an understanding of the fundamental principles of information technology law.
• Articulate the specific rules of information technology law through closely examining legislation and case law.
• Apply the law to hypothetical fact situations through analogising and distinguishing.
• Provide legal advice through properly identifying legal issue(s), applying the relevant law to the identified issues, and accurately assessing the likely outcome.
• Develop skills for designing new laws and for reforming existing laws by examining policy debates and law reform discourse as applied to new or emerging technologies areas.
• Undertake in-depth research of critical issues in information technology law utilising scholarly legal publications from both national and international sources.

Prescribed textbook

• B Fitzgerald, A Fitzgerald, et al, Internet and E-Commerce Law: Technology, Law and Policy, Thomson Lawbook Co, 2nd edition, 2011. (Whilst old, this is the only comprehensive textbook on Australian IT law. Being a niche market, there is a lack of in-depth textbooks in this area)

Tutorial readings

• In addition to the prescribed text book, it is necessary to read the materials cited in the Tutorial Questions. The Tutorial Questions are found on the iLearn site. The Tutorial Readings are also found on the iLearn site. Additional optional readings are also provided at this location.

Useful Journals

• International Journal of Law and Information Technology, Oxford University, UK.
• Harvard Journal of Law and Technology, Harvard University Press, USA.
• Information Journal of Technology Policy and Law, Inderscience Publications, Switzerland.
• Media and Art Law Review, University of Melbourne Press, Australia.
• Northwestern Journal of Technology and Intellectual Property, Northwester University Press, Chicago, USA.
• Telecommunications Journal of Australia, Monash University Press, Australia.
• Pittsburgh Journal of Technology Law and Policy, Pittsburgh University Press, USA.
• Information and Communications Technology Law 299-314, University of Surrey, UK.
• Computer and Telecommunications Law Review, Sweet & Maxwell, UK.
• Computer Law and Security Review, Elsevier, UK.

Legislation:

All Commonwealth and State statutes and regulations can be found at http://www.austlii.edu.au.

Ensure reference is made, wherever possible, to consolidated legislation.

Case Law:

For reported case law, use the Macquarie University library to access the:

Lawbookonline database (e.g. CLR, FCR, FLR, NSWLR);

Lexisnexis (Aus) database (e.g. ALR, IPR).

For unreported case law, use: http://www.austlii.edu.au.

Websites

See links to useful websites provided on LAW iLearn page.

This unit was formerly called "Technology and E-Commerce Law" and was offered in Semester 2 of the year.