Course Title: Civil procedure

Part A: Course Overview

Program: C6106

Course Title: Civil procedure

Portfolio: BUS

Nominal Hours: 51.0

Regardless of the mode of delivery, represent a guide to the relative teaching time and student effort required to successfully achieve a particular competency/module. This may include not only scheduled classes or workplace visits but also the amount of effort required to undertake, evaluate and complete all assessment requirements, including any non-classroom activities.

Course Code	Campus	Career	School	Learning Mode	Teaching Period(s)
LAW5193	City Campus	TAFE	650T Vocational Business Education	Distance / Correspondence or Face-to-Face or Internet or Workplace	Term1 2012, Term2 2012, Term1 2013, Term1 2014, Term2 2014, Term1 2015, Term2 2015, Term1 2016

Course Contact: Doug Gourlay

Course Contact Phone: +61 3 9925 5944

Course Contact Email: doug.gourlay@rmit.edu.au

Course Description

This course provides skills and knowledge in the area of litigation and civil procedure including the civil jurisdiction, structure, procedure and operation of the courts in Victoria.

Pre-requisite Courses and Assumed Knowledge and Capabilities

Pre-requisites: VU20111 Legal Process and VU20110 Law of Evidence

National Competency Codes and Titles

National Element Code & Title:

VU20117 Civil procedure

Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion of this course you will be able to:

Learning Outcome 1 - Analyse, outline and assess the structure and purpose of the civil courts system as it presently operates within Victoria.
Assessment criteria
1.1 Identify the jurisdictional limits of the Supreme Court, County Court and Magistrates’ Court courts.
1.2 Assess the role and jurisdiction of the Federal Court.
1.3 Examine the role of administrative tribunals in relation to dispute resolution.
1.4 Identify the roles of court personnel.Learning Outcome 2 - Determine and analyse the standard of proof and burden of proof in civil and criminal cases, and specify types of presumptions.

Learning Outcome 2 - Assess the sources of procedural rules and practices in the Supreme Court.
Assessment criteria
2.1 Outline the nature of Court Rules, judicial interpretation of Rules, the Court’s inherent power to control procedure, and practice directions.
2.2 Identify the circumstances in which no rules apply and examine the action to be followed in these situations.
2.3 Examine the power of the Court to prevent abuse of its processes.

Learning Outcome 3 - Analyse the steps prior to litigation and the commencement of litigation.
Assessment criteria
3.1 Analyse and evaluate the steps prior to litigation.
3.2 Examine the commencement of a Supreme and County Court action.
3.3 Examine the requirements of a Magistrates’ Court Complaint.
3.4 Examine the method of .issue of a Writ and Complaint
3.5 Identify the means by which an originating process may be served.
3.6 Examine the requirements of Notice of Appearance (Supreme and County Courts) and Notice of Defence (Magistrates’ Court) including
• conditional appearance
• interlocutory and final judgments in default of .appearance
• judgment in default in the Magistrates’ Court.

Learning Outcome 4 - Assess the nature, function and form of pleadings, particulars and third party procedures.
Assessment criteria
4.1 Identify the course of pleadings.
4.2 Describe the content, form and requirements of a pleading
4.3 Outline the methods of answering an opponent’s pleading.
4.4 Analyse the procedures relating to counterclaims and compare with set-offs.
4.5 Examine the nature and purpose of particulars.
4.6 Examine the procedures relating to the joinder of third and subsequent parties and claims for indemnity or contribution between parties.

Learning Outcome 5 - Analyse interlocutory procedures in defended actions.
Assessment criteria
5.1 Examine the circumstances in which summary judgment is available under Order 22 of the Supreme Court Rules and the applicable procedures.
5.2 Examine the process of discovery of documents.
5.3 Examine the nature and purpose of interrogatories.
5.4 Analyse the uses and effect of Notices to Admit.
5.5 Examine settlement procedures.
5.6 Examine the role of judges, masters and magistrates in the pre-trial stages of litigation.
5.7 Analyse the methods of fixing a date for hearing in the Supreme, County and Magistrates’ Courts.
5.8 Apply the procedures listed above to a court setting using relevant case study material.

Learning Outcome 6 - Analyse and evaluate the process of preparation for trial, the enforcement of judgments or orders and costs.
Assessment criteria
6.1 Analyse the process of preparation for trial.
6.2 Evaluate the process of enforcement of judgments or orders.
6.3 Examine costs considerations in relation to litigation.

Learning Outcome 7 - Evaluate and analyse non-litigious avenues of dispute resolution.
Assessment criteria
7.1 Evaluate mediation as an alternative avenue of dispute resolution with reference to:
• the nature of the process of mediation
• the roles of the parties
• the legal status of outcomes
• pre-issue mediation in the Magistrates’ Court
7.2 Evaluate arbitration as an alternative avenue of dispute resolution with reference to:
• the nature of the process of arbitration
• the roles of the parties
• the legal status of the outcomes
7.3 Analyse the operation of and advantages/disadvantages of alternative avenues of dispute resolution including collaborative law using case study examples.

Overview of Assessment

Assessment methods have been designed to measure achievement of the requirements in a flexible manner over a range of assessment tasks, for example:

• Test
• Practical exercise
• Assignment
• Class discussion
• Case study analysis
• Short answer questions
• Oral presentation
• Project (s)

Students are advised that they are likely to be asked to personally demonstrate their assessment work to their teacher to ensure that the relevant competency standards are being met.