LAW4225: Non-Adversarial Justice

Workload:
144 hours per semester.

Prescribed Prerequisites/Recommended Prerequisites:
Prescribed Pre-Requisites

For students who commenced their LLB (Hons) course in 2015 or later: LAW1111; LAW1114; LAW1112; LAW1113; LAW2101; LAW2102; LAW2112; LAW2111. For students who commenced their LLB course prior to 2015: LAW1100 OR LAW1101 and LAW1102 or LAW1104.

Prescribed Co-Requisites

For students who commenced their LLB (Hons) course in 2015 or later: LAW3111 and LAW3112.

Assessments:
Research essay or placement assignment (2500 words) (50%) AND take home exam (2500 words) (50%).

Recorded Lectures:
No.

Past exams available:
Yes.

Textbook recommended?
Yes.

Comments:
Semester 2, 2016

The course was primarily taught by one lecturer, with guest lecturers coming in to discuss their area of expertise in relation to which non-adversarial processes they employ in their respective fields.

I thoroughly enjoyed connecting with the course content as I thought it provided a nice complement to traditional law units which focus on adversarial and more ‘top end’ legal processes, such as those employed by appellate courts.

The highlight of the unit for me personally was the ability to do placement in an area of law which was of particular interest to me, human rights. I was placed at the Assessment and Referral Court List of the Magistrate’s Court; the practical experience of shadowing a barrister working on the List was one of the most professionally valuable experiences I’ve had in my law studies to date.

The unit itself was very straightforward and focused on theories of Non-Adversarial Justice. The ability to engage with specialists from diverse fields such as Family and Criminal Law brought an element of practicality to the unit. The only challenge I found was writing the Placement Assignment within the parameters of the topic in only 2,500 words.

For students planning to study this unit I would only advise that you keep up with the readings and coursework weekly, as it aids in the depth of your understanding of the course (although the same can be said for all law units). The unit can be done with a heavy unit work load as it is straightforward and complements compulsory law units nicely.

Studying Non Adversarial Justice is something I’m very happy I’ve done because it has taught me the importance of non-adversarial processes, such as negotiation, in legal disputes, and it has opened up new opportunities of dealing with legal disputes that are more beneficial to parties in the long run.