The Bachelor of Laws requires three-and-a-half years of full-time study (or the equivalent part-time), or three years of full-time study (or the equivalent part-time) for graduate-entry students. It is only available as an exit award for students who are enrolled in a Bachelor of Laws and Legal Practice or a Bachelor of Laws and Legal Practice (Graduate Entry) and who do not wish to undertake the Legal Practice component. The course is offered by the Faculty of Education, Humanities and Law.
Students who complete this exit award cannot be admitted to Legal Practice without completing further practical training.
Note: Students who do not intend to undertake the Legal Practice component of the award are encouraged to notify the Faculty Administrative Officer (Academic and Student Services) via an Ask Flinders request only during their final 12 months to ensure that they are recorded as a graduate of the Bachelor of Laws.
Course aims
The course aims to:
- provide students with a sound training in law and legal skills
- emphasise the acquisition of foundation legal skills through the integration of skills training with the teaching of substantive subjects
- instil in students a desire for just outcomes, a broad outlook on law and a commitment to ethical conduct.
Learning outcomes
At the completion of the course, students will be able to demonstrate:
- an extensive and well-founded knowledge of key areas of current Australian law, including new and developing areas
- the ability to find, interpret, understand and critique Australian law within its historical and comparative contexts, using effective learning strategies and appropriate methods, including both recent and traditional technologies
- the ability to use their knowledge to plan, analyse and think critically, logically and creatively, including by reflecting upon and evaluating facts, ideas, options and resolutions to disputes and debates, and considering the requirements of procedural and jurisdictional contexts
- the capacity to use plain English vocabulary, legal terminology and conventions as appropriate to the situation, to convey their knowledge, reasoning and decisions in a clear and fluent manner
- the capacity to listen well and respond constructively in written and spoken formats as they apply skills of oral advocacy, persuasion, interviewing, negotiation, argument and counter-argument, as appropriate to particular audiences and settings
- professionalism and self-reliance in their learning and their work within legal contexts, including skills and attributes such as initiative, goal setting, organising activities, prioritising tasks and managing time productively
- the capacity for, and a commitment to, lifelong learning: recognising that the world is dynamic and changing and therefore being prepared constantly to review, update and adapt their knowledge and skills
- the willingness and ability to take responsibility for their decisions and actions and to operate effectively within any relevant contextual framework
- the capacity to interact effectively with others in a variety of settings, including, where appropriate, working cooperatively and productively towards a common outcome as a team member and leader. This also includes group dynamics, showing respect for others and for their ideas and perspectives and learning to negotiate and resolve conflict or difficulties in a constructive manner
- awareness of the philosophy and the social and global contexts of law, and willingness to uphold their community responsibility to advocate for justice and to act with integrity in all matters in their professional work and personal lives. As potential officers of the court, they must learn and apply ethical standards applicable to the legal profession and the practice of law, and to show understanding of the complexity of ethical issues and debates, applying relevant decision-making models to arrive at ethical solutions to problems and taking responsibility for their actions
- the capacity to recognise the colonial and immigrant context of Australian law and the practice of law, and to engage positively with people and ideas beyond the limit of their own geographical, disciplinary, social and cultural background, including by synthesising ideas and principles across various legal doctrinal areas; critically analysing and taking appropriate action in complex global and cultural contexts; and forging constructive links between the world of study and the world of work.
Credit
Credit may be granted for topics taken at other institutions. However, except in exceptional circumstances approved by the Faculty Board, a majority of units towards the degree must be obtained from topics offered by Flinders University.
Program of study
To qualify for the Bachelor of Laws as a first degree, a student must complete 126 units with a grade of P or NGP or better in each topic, comprising 90 units of compulsory topics and 36 units of option topics, as set out below.
To qualify for the Bachelor of Laws as a graduate entry student, a student must complete 108 units with a grade of P or NGP or better in each topic, comprising 90 units of compulsory topics and 18 units of option topics, as set out below.
Students who complete at least 75% of their degree at Flinders and have achieved an overall GPA of 5.5 or greater in the course may be awarded the degree ‘with distinction’.
All students must complete at least one option topic that has been designated by the Faculty Board as an international/comparative option; and at least one option topic that has been designated by the Faculty Board as an Indigenous/Social Justice option.
Option topics may be taken from topics not offered or cross-listed by the School of Law only with the written permission of the Faculty Board. Under no circumstances will permission be given to take topics where entry and course requirements are not met, or the Faculty Board has designated them as unacceptable.
The award of a grade of Fail (F) on more than one occasion in the same topic, which may include attempts of the same topic undertaken in other awards, may constitute prima facie evidence of unsatisfactory progress for the purposes of the University's Policy on Student Progress.
Not all option topics are necessarily available in a given year.
The Faculty Board may specify that two or more topics represent unacceptable combinations.
Core - Year 1 topics
LLAW1211 Legal Research and Writing [Research I, Writing I] (4.5 units)
LLAW1212 Criminal Law and Legal Method [Statutory Interpretation I] (4.5 units)
LLAW1213 Introduction to Public Law [Group Work] (4.5 units)
LLAW1214 Contract (4.5 units)
LLAW1221 Professional Skills and Ethics [Ethics I] (4.5 units)
LLAW1222 Issues in Criminal Law (4.5 units)
LLAW1223 Torts 1 (4.5 units)
LLAW1224 Advanced Contract [Writing II] (4.5 units)
Core - Year 2 topics
LLAW2211 Torts 2 [Interviewing] (4.5 units)
LLAW2212 The Constitution and the Australian Federation [International / Comparative I] (4.5 units)
LLAW2213 Administrative Law 1: Judicial Review [Statutory Interpretation II] (4.5 units)
LLAW2214 Property, Equity and Trusts (4.5 units)
LLAW2221 The Constitution and the Australian People [Indigenous / Social Justice I] (4.5 units) LLAW2222 The History of Legal Ideas [Research II] (4.5 units)
LLAW2223 Administrative Law: Merits Review (4.5 units)
LLAW2224 Corporate Law 1 [Drafting] (4.5 units)
Core - Year 3 topics
LLAW3211 Corporate Law 2 [Ethics II] (4.5 units)
LLAW3212 Civil Litigation (4.5 units)
LLAW3221 Real Property Law (4.5 units)
LLAW3223 Evidence (4.5 units)
Option - Year 3 & 4 topics
Not all topics are necessarily available in a given year.
Graduate-entry students select 18 units of options, all other students complete 36 units of options, from the following:
BIOL4731 Evidence Evaluation (4.5 units)
BUSN3054 Taxation Law and Practice (4.5 units)
CRIM2201 Crime and Punishment (4.5 units)
CRIM2202 Policing and Law Enforcement (4.5 units)
CRIM3011B Current Issues in Criminal Justice B - Organised Crime and Criminal Networks (4.5 units)
CRIM3203 Corporate Crime (4.5 units)
CRIM3301 Crime, Law and Trauma (4.5 units)
CRIM3302 International Criminal Justice (4.5 units)
CRIM3303 Psychology, Crime and the Law (4.5 units)
LEGL3113 Socio-Legal Research Methods (4.5 units)
LEGL3114 Introduction to India's Law and Legal System (4.5 units)
LLAW3230 Advanced Public Law (4.5 units)
LLAW3231 Australian Legal History (4.5 units)
LLAW3232 Banking and Finance Law (4.5 units)
LLAW3233 Children, Young People and the Law (4.5 units)
LLAW3234 Commercial Equity (4.5 units)
LLAW3236 Conflict of Laws (4.5 units)
LLAW3237 Consumer Protection Law (4.5 units)
LLAW3238 Current Issues in Law: Mining Law (4.5 units)
LLAW3239 Defamation Law and Policy (4.5 units)
LLAW3240 Disability, Mental Health and the Law (4.5 units)
LLAW3241 Dispute Management (4.5 units)
LLAW3242 Environmental Law (4.5 units)
LLAW3243 Family Law (4.5 units)
LLAW3244 Health Law (4.5 units)
LLAW3245 Immigration and Refugee Law (4.5 units)
LLAW3246 Indigenous Australians and the Law (4.5 units)
LLAW3247 Intellectual Property (4.5 units)
LLAW3248 International Criminal Law (4.5 units)
LLAW3249 International Humanitarian Law (4.5 units)
LLAW3250 International Law (4.5 units)
LLAW3251 The International Protection of Human Rights (4.5 units)
LLAW3252 International Trade Law and Development (4.5 units)
LLAW3253 Labour Law (4.5 units)
LLAW3254 Land Use Planning Law (4.5 units)
LLAW3255 Legal Aspects of Housing and Homelessness (4.5 units)
LLAW3256 Legal Theory (4.5 units)
LLAW3257 Occupational Health and Safety Law (4.5 units)
LLAW3259 Remedies (4.5 units)
LLAW3260 Securities Regulation (4.5 units)
LLAW3261 Selected Issues in Human Rights (4.5 units)
LLAW3262 Selected Issues in Media Law (4.5 units)
LLAW3263 Selected Issues in Law: Natural Resources and Climate Law (4.5 units)
LLAW3264 Social Justice Internship (4.5 units)
LLAW3265 Succession (4.5 units)
LLAW3266 Women's Rights and the International Protection of Human Rights (4.5 units)
LLAW3267 Workplace Compensation Law (4.5 units)
LLAW3268 Animal Law (4.5 units)
LLAW3269 Personal and Corporate Insolvency Law (4.5 units)
LLAW3270 Introduction to China's Law and Legal System (4.5 units)
LLAW3271 Miscarriages of Justice – Australia, Canada, Britain (4.5 units)
LLAW3273 Mooting and International Appellate Advocacy (4.5 units)
LLAW3274 Indonesia’s law and legal system: an introduction (4.5 units)
LLAW4042A Legal Research Paper (Part 1) (4.5 units)
LLAW4042B Legal Research Paper (Part 2) (4.5 units)
PHIL2601 Ethics for Professionals (4.5 units)
PHIL2608 Freedom, Law and Society (4.5 units)
PHIL3601 Moral Philosophy (4.5 units)
WMST2015 Sex, Gender and the Law (4.5 units)