Narrabundah College

Course : Legal Studies (T/A)

Unit: Introduction to Legal Systems

SESSION: 1 YEAR: 2016 0.5 Standard Unit

Class Lines: 2 & 5 Teachers: Thom Robertson

Specific Unit Goals:

A Course
This unit should enable students to:
Demonstrate an understanding of the legal concepts,
principles, and use of legal terminology and cultural
awareness
Effectively analyse information to develop a
balanced, logical and empathic argument
Define, locate, select and organise relevant
information for the argument
Communicate accurately, and clearly, with
appropriate referencing, and with a sense of
audience
Understand how law is defined and the nature of
justice
T Course
This unit should enable students to:
Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the
legal concepts, principles, appropriate use of legal
terminology and cultural awareness
Critically analyse information to develop a balanced,
logical and empathic argument
Define, locate, select and organise relevant
information for the argument
Communicate clearly, concisely, with technical
accuracy, appropriate referencing, and with a sense
of audience
Knowledge and understanding of how law is defined
and the nature of justice

Content
For both A and T Courses:
The following provides an overview of the content that can be studied at different depths as required.

Defining the Law Nature of Justice

Laws, rules, norms, customs Characteristics of a just law or judicial decision
Concept of the rule of law Relationship between justice, fairness and
Influences on the law: social, cultural, moral, equity
political, economic, physical Notion of equality
Principles of jurisdiction Access to justice in Australia
World systems (e.g. common law, civil law).
Different types of laws-public/private; Classification of Laws
civil/criminal Public and Private Law- eg administrative,
common, customary, canon, military,
environment, family, etc
Civil vs Criminal Laws

ASSESSM ENT I TEM S

Item Weighting Due

In-class document study 50% Thursday Week 5

Test 50% Test Week

TOTAL 100 %

ASSESSMENT POLICY
There are a number of ACT Board of Senior Secondary Studies (BSSS) requirements that students must meet to be
assessed in a unit and be awarded scores and/or grades. These requirements also ensure consistent procedures
across the college and the system. Notably these include minimum attendance and completion of assessment task
requirements. There are also detailed penalties for late or plagiarised work. Assessments are subjected to
rigorous moderation procedures within the college to ensure comparability of marking and, at the end of Year 12,
college marks are scaled to allow comparability across the ACT system. Grades are allocated on the basis of
student performance against set criteria that are available in course framework documents. Students are
encouraged to consider carefully the marks and feedback given on assessments and, if there are issues with
marking, the college has open and transparent appeals procedures. Further details of these assessment policies
and procedures are located on the colleges website under the Students tab http://www.narrabundahc.act.edu.au.
 Session 1 2016

WEEK # UNIT CONTENT PLANNED NOTES

01 Influences N-DAY
Defining the Law
N-DAY on the law (THURSDAY 4 FEB)
(01 FEB 05 FEB) Potted history

02 Australian Court Structure, Principles & Procedures;

(08 FEB 12 FEB) Classification of Laws

03 Nature of Justice PRACTICE

DOCUMENT STUDY
(15 FEB - 19 FEB)
(THURSDAY 18 FEB)

04
Reading the law (cases and legislation)
(22 FEB 26 FEB)

Access MODERATION DAY

05 MOD (TUESDAY 1 MAR)
to Access to Justice in Australia
(29 FEB 04 MAR) DAY DOCUMENT STUDY
Justice (THURSDAY 25 FEB)

06
Access to Justice Around the World
(07 MAR 11 MAR)

07 CANB CANBERRA DAY

Exam prep and revision (MONDAY 14 MAR)
(14 MAR 18 MAR) DAY

08 Exam prep and Good

Test Week
(21 MAR 25 MAR) revision Friday
TEST
(DATE TBA)
09 Easter
Test Week STUDENT
(28 MAR 01 APR) Monday
FREE

10 STUDENT FREE
(04 APR 08 APR) (Assessment Week)