Mrs Jessica Viven-Wilksch
Adelaide Law School
Email: jessica.viven-wilksch@adelaide.edu.au 
Location: Room 2.09, Ligertwood Building
Telephone: (08) 8313 4676 (work)
Course Website: www.myuni.adelaide.edu.au 
Consultations: Appointments can be made by booking an appointment slot on MyUni.

Each week there will be a two-hour lecture on Wednesdays. There will also be a one-hour seminar each week. The timetable will be staggered so that the lecture theme in one week is the seminar theme for the subsequent week. This ensures that students have had the advantage of attending the lecture and absorbing the relevant material for that week's theme prior to engaging with it on a deeper level in the seminars.

There will be no seminars in Week 1.

The full timetable of all activities for this course can be accessed from the Course Planner at: https://access.adelaide.edu.au/courses/search.asp 

On successful completion of this course students will be able to:

1.  Analyse the foundational principles of private international law, undertake (self-directed) legal research, and evaluate legal information.
2. Apply private international law rules to complex problems and issues, critique the operation of private international rules from a theoretical perspective.
3. Structure and sustain concise and cohesive written arguments for a legal and professional audience.
4. Conduct legal research and analysis both independently and cooperatively in an academic environment.
5. Analyse the impact of private international law from comparative and international perspectives, and in the context of social and cultural diversity.
6. Reflect on their abilities to effectively undertake accepted forms of legal reasoning and analysis to articulate in persuasive fashion reasoned solutions to issues arising from such scenarios.

There is a prescribed textbook  that will be supplemented by additional readings ( including chapters, articles, cases and statutes) during the semester. In compliance with the University Copyright’s policy, links to these readings will be made available on MyUni during the semester.

The Prescribed Textbook for this course will be Reid Mortensen, Richard Garnett, and Mary Keyes Private International Law in Australia, (3rd edition, 2015).

To deepen their understanding, students are encouraged to also access these resources. 

BOOKS:

• Martin Davies, Andrew Bell and Paul Le Gay Brereton, Nygh’s Conflict of Laws in Australia, (9th ed, 2013)
•  Michael J Whincop and Mary Keyes, Policy and Pragmatism in the Conflict of Laws (2001, Ashgate)
• Edward I Sykes and Michael C Pryles, Australian Private International Law (3rd ed, 1991, Law Book Co)
• Lawrence Collins (gen ed), Dicey, Morris: the Conflict of Laws (15ed, 2017, Sweet & Maxwell). 
• Peter North and James Fawcett, Cheshire and North’s Private International Law(15ed, 2017, Butterworths)

JOURNALS:

• Electronic Journal of Comparative Law – http://www.ejcl.org
• Journal of Private International Law (2005-)
  

REPORTS: 

• Australian Law Reform Commission, Choice of Law Report No 58 (1992)
• Australian Law Reform Commission, Legal Risk in International Transactions, Report No 80 (1996)
• Australian Law Reform Commission, The Judicial Power of the Commonwealth: A Review of the Judiciary Act 1903 and Related Legislation, Report No 92 (2002)

WEBSITES:

• UNCITRAL (United Nations Commission on International Trade Law) – http://www.uncitral.org/en-index.htm 
• UNIDROIT (International Institute for the Unification of Private Law) – http://www.unidroit.org 
• Australia, Attorney-General’s Private International Law Site http://www.ag.gov.au/www/agd/agd.nsf/page/International_civil_procedure 
• The Hague Conference on Private International Law http://www.hcch.net/index_en.php 
• Conflict of Laws.Net http://conflictoflaws.net/ 
• University of Chicago Private International Law Webpage http://www2.lib.uchicago.edu/~llou/pil.html 
• ICC (International Chamber of Commerce) – http://www.iccwbo.org 
• Lex Mercatoria (International/Transnational Commercial Law & E-Commerce Infrastructure Monitor) – http://www.lexmercatoria.net 

MyUni is the entry point to online learning at The University of Adelaide: http://www.myuni.adelaide.edu.au./

This course will use MyUni for announcements, pre recorded videos, display of PowerPoint slides, lecture outlines and any other material required to be read for the lectures and seminars.

This course will also require you to use MyUni for some assessment, including nline quizzes and assignments. Audio recordings of lectures where available will be posted. Students are expected to check MyUni regularly and often to keep up to date with these materials and additional learning resources that will be made available throughout the course. 

Lectures (one [two –hour] per week)

Lecture will generally take the form of an outline of the topic and its key issues. Students are expected to keep up with the corresponding reading as indicated by the lecturer. Outlines, slides and additional material will be provided on Canvas.

Seminars (one [one –hour] per week)

Seminars will concentrate on in-depth consideration of questions, including problem-solving, provided in advance of the seminar. Students are expected to read the cases and other materials and questions sets prior to the seminar.
Seminars are an important component of your learning in this course and therefore it is in your interest to make every effort to attend them and participate. The communication skills developed in seminars by regularly and actively participating in discussions are considered to be important by the School, and are highly regarded by employers and professional bodies.

Online activities

Each student will be required to access pre recorded videos before the lecture. Students will have to complete quizzes online during the course before attendng seminars. Students will also have to submit their group assignments online through TurnItIn.

The course requires a combined weekly commitment of 3 hours attending lectures or a total of 36 hours of formal class time across the semester. In addition to the time spent attending the lectures, there is a requirement that students prepare for the lectures. The University expects full-time students (i.e. those taking 12 units per semester) to devote a total of 48 hours per week to their studies. This means that you are expected to commit approximately 9 hours of private study each week per 3-unit course in addition to your regular classes.

Private International Law, also known as Conflict of Laws, regulates relations and disputes that involve more than one jurisdiction. In today’s global world where business relations and private transactions are borderless, understanding the rules and mechanisms that regulate these relations is extremely relevant to the making of future lawyers.

The topic can be of significant relevance to the practice of law, for which the course aims to prepare its students. Because Australia exists as a collection of separate legal jurisdictions and especially as Australia seeks to increase its international trade connections, understanding the impact of connections that may exist between South Australia and other legal systems is paramount.

This course will expose students to problem-solving techniques relevant to this sub-discipline. These will include:
- Determining the jurisdiction and the court able to hear a particular dispute
- Determining the law applicable to legal situations
- Determining the enforcement and recognition of judgements and decisions.

The course will also provide an insight into international arbitration and the recognition by domestic courts of international arbitral awards.
Case studies will be used throughout the course to show how these rules apply in selected areas of law, including contract law, tort law, family law, company law.

Finally, throughout the course and because this area of law is also characterised by theoretical enquiry and scholarship, the course will challenge students to think about the development of this discipline and the rationale for the position taken by certain states. This means that there will be an opportunity to provide critical and theoretical analysis and reflect on the state of this discipline.

WEEK	LECTURE THEME	SEMINAR THEME
1	Introduction	No seminar in week 1
2	Jurisdiction : Rationale and Personal Jurisdiction	History of the Discipline
3	Jurisdiction Immunities and Restraint	Personal Jurisdiction
4	Law Applicable: Generalities and Exceptions	Restraint of Proceedings
5	Law Applicable: Proof, Connections and Limits	Law Applicable: General and Exceptions
Mid Semester Break
6	Enforcement and Recognition of Foreign Judgments	Law Applicable: Proof, Connections and Limits
7	International Arbitration	Enforcement and Recognition of Foreign Judgments
8	PIL and Contract	International Arbitration
9	PIL and Tort	PIL and Contract
10	PIL and Family relations	PIL and Tort
11	PIL and Company Law	PIL and Family relations
12	Conclusion	PIL and Company Law
13	Revision Seminars

Assessment Task	Task Type	Due	Weighting	Redeemable	Learning Outcome
Quizzes (5)	Individual	Week 3: Friday 16 March 2018 Week 5: Friday 30 March 2018 Week 7: Friday 27 April 2018 Week 9: Friday 11 May 2018 Week 12: Friday  1 June 2018	10% (5 x 2%)	no	1; 2
Research Assignment	Individual	Monday 16 April 2018	30%	no	2; 3; 4;5;6
Final exam	Individual	Exam Period	60%	no	1;2;3;4;5

10% ONLINE QUIZ

This exercise will require students to answer 10 short questions in five separate quizzes on issues arising in the corresponding teaching weeks. These will count for 10% of the total grade for this course.
Students will have 48 hours from the time of release in which to complete the quiz online on MyUni. Students will only be permitted to attempt each quiz once.

30% RESEARCH ASSIGNMENT

This aspect of the assessment will provide students with feedback regarding their level of understanding of the course material and their research, written communication and critical thinking skills. Students will work independently to complete a assignment, which will be due on Monday 16 April 2018 at 1pm. Students will select their topic from a number of private internal law topics topics which will be available on MyUni early in the semester. The assignment will be submitted online (instructions will be provided on MyUni) with a 2500 word paper.

The assignment must be written in prose style (using complete sentences), adhere to grammatical rules and use correct spelling. It should be typed in Times New Roman font, using double spaced paragraphs and at least 12pt font size. The pages must be numbered. The essay should include a table of contents and a bibliography. The assignment will need to comply with the Australian Guide to Legal Citation. Each paper must be clearly marked with the student’s University of Adelaide number. A word count should be noted on the cover sheet.

Assessment Criteria

• level of insight and innovative thought
• depth of analysis and level of critical examination of the issues raised
• clarity of expression
• logical planning and sequence
• evidence of comprehensive research and consideration of the relevant literature
• demonstrated understanding of the comparative law method
• demonstrated understanding of relevant legal materials
• correct application of relevant material
• overall presentation, including correct grammar, spelling and punctuation
• use of resources in formulating the paper including proper acknowledgment and correct referencing

Students will be advised of the results of this exercise within three weeks of the due date. The results will be displayed on the course website. Students are encouraged to check their marks and notify the lecturer-in-charge of any discrepancies.

ASSIGNMENT GUIDELINES FOR REFERENCING

All written work in the Law school is required to comply with, The Australian Guide to Legal Citation available on http://www.law.adelaide.edu.au/library/resources/style/. Hard copies of The Australian Guide to Legal Citation are on Reserve in the Law Library and can also be purchased from UniBooks. Please make sure you have looked at this before you submit any written work.

60% FINAL EXAMINATION:

The final exam will be two hours in duration (plus 10 minutes reading time). The format of the exam will be a problem question based on notions seen in class throughout the semester. Further information regarding the Exam will be delivered to students closer to the date.

The examination will be of open-book type: with the exception of any books, reports or other materials borrowed from the Library, students will be permitted to take into the examination venue any notes or texts of their choosing.

Students must retain a copy of all assignments submitted.

All assignments in this course are to be submitted in hard copy and electronically through Turnitin. All hardcopy submissions must be accompanied by the Assignment Cover Sheet that sets out the word length, and contains a signed declaration that the assignment consists of the student’s own work. A student’s results will be withheld until such time as the student has signed the Assignment Cover Sheet. Markers can refuse to accept assignments which do not have a signed acknowledgement of the University’s policy on plagiarism.

Details for electronic submission through Turnitin will be provided with the assignment instructions. Turnitin is unable to process files in the .pages format, and Turnitin word counts are known to be inaccurate, which makes .pdf submissions undesirable (as it is harder to determine the number of words). For this reason, submissions to Turnitin are to be in Microsoft Word format (NOT in pdf).

All written work in the Law school is required to comply with the approved Law School style guide, The Australian Guide to Legal Citation.

Extensions: Requests for extensions must be made electronically according to law school policy. Extensions will be granted only for unexpected illness, hardship or on compassionate grounds in accordance with University Policy. Work commitments, travel, holidays or sporting engagements are not unexpected circumstances.

Penalties:

1. Late Submission: Submission penalties of 5% (of the total mark of the assignment) each day (or part thereof) will be deducted for late submission (including weekends and public holidays), (ie an essay graded 63% will have 5 % deducted if it is one day late, for a final mark of 58%, 10% if it is two days, etc).
2. Word Length: Assignments which exceed the allocated length (word length or page limit) will be subject to a penalty of 5% of total marks available per 100 words or part thereof (ie with a word limit of 3,000, an essay graded 63% will have 5% deducted if it is 3001 words long, for a final grade of 58%, 10% if it is 3101 words long, etc).  Words are calculated including all footnotes and headings within the text but excluding cover page information.  Quotations and all referencing information are included in the word count.

Turnaround time: The interim assignment for this course will be returned to students within 2 weeks of the submission date. Group feedback, together with written, individual feedback will be provided, from which students can learn from in the final assignment. The final assignment will be returned to students within 4 weeks of the submission date with written individual feedback. Students will be notified by email when assignments are ready for collection from the Law School Front Office.

Courses for which a result of conceded pass has been obtained may not be presented towards the degree requirements for the Bachelor of Laws or the Honours Degree of Bachelor of Laws programs, or any postgraduate law program, nor to satisfy prerequisite requirements within any law course.

Finality of Assessment Grades

Students are advised that Course Coordinators will not enter into negotiations of any kind with any student regarding changes to their grades. It is irrelevant, in any given circumstance, that only a minimal number of additional marks are required to inflate a student’s grade for any individual assessment item or course as a whole. Pursuant to the University’s Assessment for Coursework Programs Policyand the Adelaide Law School Assessment Policies and Procedures, grades may only be varied through the appropriate channels for academic review (such as an official re-mark).

Moderation

In accordance with the University’s Assessment for Coursework Programs Policy, course coordinators ‘ensure that appropriate marking guidelines and cross-marking moderation processes across markers are in place’ in each course. Procedures adopted by Adelaide Law School to ensure consistency of marking in courses with multiple markers include:

• assurance of the qualifications of markers, and their knowledge of the content covered in each course;
• detailed marking guidelines and assessment rubrics to assist in the marking of items of assessment;
• sharing of example marked assessments at various grade bands across markers;
• reviewing of selected marked assessments from each marker by the course coordinator;
• comparison of the marks and their distribution across markers;
• automatic double-marking of all interim assessment receiving a fail grade, and of final assessments where a student’s overall result is a fail grade;
• the availability of re-marking of assessments in accordance with Adelaide Law School’s Assessment Policies and Procedures.

Approval of Results by Board of Examiners

Students are reminded that all assessment results are subject to approval (and possible moderation/change) by the Law School’s Board of Examiners. Assessment results at the University are not scaled. Under the Assessment for Coursework Programs Policy, students are assessed ‘by reference to their performance against pre-determined criteria and standards … and not by ranking against the performance of the student cohort in the course’. However, under that same policy, the Board of Examiners (as the relevant Assessment Review Committee for courses at Adelaide Law School) is required to ‘ensure comparability of standards and consistency’ in assessment. On occasions, the Board of Examiners will form the view that some moderation is required to ensure the comparability of standards and consistency across courses and years, and accordingly provide fairness to all law students. All assessment results are therefore subject to approval (and possible change) until confirmed by the Board of Examiners and posted on Access Adelaide at the end of each semester.

The University Writing Centre provides academic learning and language development services and resources for local, international, undergraduate and postgraduate coursework students enrolled at the University of Adelaide.

The centre offers practical advice and strategies for students to master reading, writing, note-taking, time management, oral presentation skills, referencing techniques and exam preparation for success at university through seminars, workshops and individual consultations.

Lex Salus Program

Lex Salus (law and wellbeing) is an initiative of the Adelaide Law School aimed at destigmatising mental health issues; promoting physical, mental and emotional wellness; building a strong community of staff and students; and celebrating diversity within the school. It also seeks to promote wellness within the legal profession, through the involvement of the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of South Australia, the Honourable Chris Kourakis, as the official Patron of the program.

Students can participate in the Lex Salus program by attending barbecue lunches, pancake breakfasts, knitting and crochet circles, seminars, guest speakers, conferences and other activities. Our Facebook page, website and regular all-student emails promote upcoming events, and have tips and information on wellness.

Our Lex Salus YouTube channel also includes videos on topics like managing stress, and interviews with LGBTQ lawyers and their supporters which celebrate diversity and individuality. Students who commit to 10 hours of volunteering with Lex Salus in one year can have their service recognised on their academic transcript and through a thank you morning tea with the Chief Justice and law school staff.

Student Life Counselling Support

The University’s Student Life Counselling Support service provides free and confidential service to all enrolled students. We encourage you to contact the Student Life Counselling Support service on 8313 5663 to make an appointment to deal with any issues that may be affecting your study and life.

Academic Honesty

Academic dishonesty is a serious act of academic misconduct. All students must be familiar with the University’s Academic Honesty Policy.

Academic dishonesty is a serious matter and is treated as such by the Law School and the University. Academic dishonesty (which goes beyond plagiarism) can be a ground for a refusal by the Supreme Court of South Australia to admit a person to practice as a legal practitioner in South Australia.

Academic honesty is an essential aspect of ethical and honest behaviour, which is central to the practice of the law and an understanding of what it is to be a lawyer.