Students

LAWS8013 – Civil and Criminal Procedure

2021 – Session 1, Special circumstances

Notice

As part of Phase 3 of our return to campus plan, most units will now run tutorials, seminars and other small group activities on campus, and most will keep an online version available to those students unable to return or those who choose to continue their studies online.

To check the availability of face-to-face and online activities for your unit, please go to timetable viewer. To check detailed information on unit assessments visit your unit's iLearn space or consult your unit convenor.

General Information

Download as PDF
Unit convenor and teaching staff Unit convenor and teaching staff Convenor
Sonya Willis
Contact via iLearn
Credit points Credit points
10
Prerequisites Prerequisites
(LAWS802 or LAWS8002) and (LAWS803 or LAWS8030) and (LAWS806 or LAWS8006)
Corequisites Corequisites
Co-badged status Co-badged status
Unit description Unit description

This unit examines the principles of civil and criminal procedure in New South Wales. The unit canvasses general principles of civil procedure, the nature of adversarial disputation, case management, pre-litigation issues and protocols, and pre-trial procedures of originating process, gathering of evidence for trial, class actions and the conduct and disposal of civil proceedings. Select topics in criminal procedure, such as classification of offences, police powers and bail, the conduct of criminal trials and sentencing will be covered. Themes of the unit concern procedural fairness, access to justice and the balance between efficiency and individual rights.

Important Academic Dates

Information about important academic dates including deadlines for withdrawing from units are available at https://www.mq.edu.au/study/calendar-of-dates

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:

  • ULO1: Explain, apply and critique the principles and stages of civil and criminal procedure
  • ULO2: Display legal advocacy skills
  • ULO3: Apply statutory interpretation to problems of civil and criminal procedural law
  • ULO4: Communicate an integrated body of procedural law knowledge both orally and in writing
  • ULO5: Analyse civil and criminal procedural law in its historical, social and legal context

General Assessment Information

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.

Assessment Tasks

Name Weighting Hurdle Due
Class Presentation 20% No Twice in tutorial on nominated Weeks
Quizzes 30% No Q1:Wk3,Q2:Wk4,Q3:Wk5,Q4:Wk7,Q5:Wk9,Q6:Wk10,Q7:Wk11,Q8:Wk13
Procedural fairness in criminal procedure 25% No Tuesday, 27 April 2021, 9:00am
Timed Civil Procedure Hypothetical Case Task 25% No Thursday, 10 June 2021, 1:00pm

Class Presentation

Assessment Type 1: Presentation
Indicative Time on Task 2: 12 hours
Due: Twice in tutorial on nominated Weeks
Weighting: 20%

Students must contribute in class through on-call presentations and contributions across the semester
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Explain, apply and critique the principles and stages of civil and criminal procedure
  • Display legal advocacy skills
  • Apply statutory interpretation to problems of civil and criminal procedural law
  • Communicate an integrated body of procedural law knowledge both orally and in writing
  • Analyse civil and criminal procedural law in its historical, social and legal context

Quizzes

Assessment Type 1: Quiz/Test
Indicative Time on Task 2: 20 hours
Due: Q1:Wk3,Q2:Wk4,Q3:Wk5,Q4:Wk7,Q5:Wk9,Q6:Wk10,Q7:Wk11,Q8:Wk13
Weighting: 30%

There will be a number of low-value quizzes across semester on both civil and criminal procedure topics.
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Explain, apply and critique the principles and stages of civil and criminal procedure
  • Apply statutory interpretation to problems of civil and criminal procedural law
  • Analyse civil and criminal procedural law in its historical, social and legal context

Procedural fairness in criminal procedure

Assessment Type 1: Report
Indicative Time on Task 2: 20 hours
Due: Tuesday, 27 April 2021, 9:00am
Weighting: 25%

Students are required to consider procedural fairness in the context of New South Wales criminal courts. This may involve court observation. Findings are to be critically assessed drawing on literature provided in readings and independent research.
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Explain, apply and critique the principles and stages of civil and criminal procedure
  • Display legal advocacy skills
  • Apply statutory interpretation to problems of civil and criminal procedural law
  • Analyse civil and criminal procedural law in its historical, social and legal context

Timed Civil Procedure Hypothetical Case Task

Assessment Type 1: Professional writing
Indicative Time on Task 2: 20 hours
Due: Thursday, 10 June 2021, 1:00pm
Weighting: 25%

Problem-based scenario requiring students to demonstrate professional writing skills in a number of civil procedure tasks which would be performed by lawyers in practice.
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Explain, apply and critique the principles and stages of civil and criminal procedure
  • Apply statutory interpretation to problems of civil and criminal procedural law
  • Communicate an integrated body of procedural law knowledge both orally and in writing
  • Analyse civil and criminal procedural law in its historical, social and legal context

1 If you need help with your assignment, please contact:

  • the academic teaching staff in your unit for guidance in understanding or completing this type of assessment
  • the Writing Centre for academic skills support.

2 Indicative time-on-task is an estimate of the time required for completion of the assessment task and is subject to individual variation

Delivery and Resources

There is a weekly 2-hour online lecture commencing Week 1.

Tutorials begin in Week 1 (for internal students).

The readings will be available on iLearn. There is no textbook for Civil and Criminal Procedure. 

Students looking for a textbook which covers the key topics addressed in the civil procedure aspect of this Unit may wish to acquire: Sonya Willis, Civil Procedure: Law, Principles and Practice (Palgrave Macmillan Australia, 2012) although this text is somewhat out of date.

Unit Schedule

Week                       Lecture Topic

1                              Introduction to Civil and Criminal Procedure and Criminal Process I

2                              Criminal Process II

3                              Police Powers

4                              Bail

5                              Sentencing I

6                              Sentencing II

7                              Exploring key themes of civil procedure

8                              ADR and case management                       

9                              Commencing proceedings and pleadings                      

10                            Discovery and privilege                     

11                            Other documentary evidence and interlocutory applications                    

12                            Trials, appeals and enforcement   

Policies and Procedures

Macquarie University policies and procedures are accessible from Policy Central (https://policies.mq.edu.au). Students should be aware of the following policies in particular with regard to Learning and Teaching:

Students seeking more policy resources can visit Student Policies (https://students.mq.edu.au/support/study/policies). It is your one-stop-shop for the key policies you need to know about throughout your undergraduate student journey.

To find other policies relating to Teaching and Learning, visit Policy Central (https://policies.mq.edu.au) and use the search tool.

Student Code of Conduct

Macquarie University students have a responsibility to be familiar with the Student Code of Conduct: https://students.mq.edu.au/admin/other-resources/student-conduct

Results

Results published on platform other than eStudent, (eg. iLearn, Coursera etc.) or released directly by your Unit Convenor, are not confirmed as they are subject to final approval by the University. Once approved, final results will be sent to your student email address and will be made available in eStudent. For more information visit ask.mq.edu.au or if you are a Global MBA student contact globalmba.support@mq.edu.au

Student Support

Macquarie University provides a range of support services for students. For details, visit http://students.mq.edu.au/support/

Learning Skills

Learning Skills (mq.edu.au/learningskills) provides academic writing resources and study strategies to help you improve your marks and take control of your study.

The Library provides online and face to face support to help you find and use relevant information resources. 

Student Services and Support

Students with a disability are encouraged to contact the Disability Service who can provide appropriate help with any issues that arise during their studies.

Student Enquiries

For all student enquiries, visit Student Connect at ask.mq.edu.au

If you are a Global MBA student contact globalmba.support@mq.edu.au

IT Help

For help with University computer systems and technology, visit http://www.mq.edu.au/about_us/offices_and_units/information_technology/help/. 

When using the University's IT, you must adhere to the Acceptable Use of IT Resources Policy. The policy applies to all who connect to the MQ network including students.

Unit information based on version 2021.02 of the Handbook