Comparative Legal Traditions

This subject has the following teaching availabilities in 2016:

120 hours

Completion of at least 100 points of undergraduate study.

For the purposes of considering request for Reasonable Adjustments under the Disability Standards for Education (Cwth 2005), and Student Support and Engagement Policy, academic requirements for this subject are articulated in the Subject Overview, Learning Outcomes, Assessment and Generic Skills sections of this entry.

It is University policy to take all reasonable steps to minimise the impact of disability upon academic study, and reasonable adjustments will be made to enhance a student's participation in the University's programs. Students who feel their disability may impact on meeting the requirements of this subject are encouraged to discuss this matter with a Faculty Student Adviser and Student Equity and Disability Support: http://services.unimelb.edu.au/disability

The rule of law is a hallmark of contemporary Western society. Public perceptions of and attitudes to the law, however, can vary in space and time. This subject explores legal solutions to selected problem scenarios in their broader historical and societal context. The focus is on the main 'families' of law in existence today: the Anglo-American ('common') law and the Continental-European ('civil') law. The use of a comparative approach both facilitates and promotes a deeper understanding of the society in which we live and the rules by which it is shaped.

Particular topics may include:

• Individual responsibility and the law: risk allocation and blame shifting in personal injury scenarios;
• Consumers and the law: liability of manufacturers for defective products;
• Morality and the law: the role of good faith in commercial relations;
• Strangers and the law: duty to the rescue;
• Equality at work: institutionalised forms of employee participation;
• Globalisation and the law: the European Union and its implications for the traditional distinction between civil and common-law legal families.

On completion of this subject students should:

• Recognise that many human dilemmas have a legal connection point;
• Appreciate that different legal traditions may experience similar problems even though the approach to these problems may differ considerably;
• Understand the benefits and pitfalls of a comparative approach to law study.

• A 35% (2,000 word) reflective essay based on the materials in the subject reader due mid-semester; and
• A 65% (2 hour) exam during the examination period.

The due date of the above assessment will be available to enrolled students via the LMS.

Printed subject materials will be available from the University Co-Op Bookshop.

Vranken, M, Western Legal Traditions (Federation Press, Sydney, 2015).

This subject potentially can be taken as a breadth subject component for the following courses:

• Bachelor of Arts
• Bachelor of Biomedicine
• Bachelor of Commerce
• Bachelor of Environments
• Bachelor of Music
• Bachelor of Science
• Bachelor of Engineering

You should visit learn more about breadth subjects and read the breadth requirements for your degree, and should discuss your choice with your student adviser, before deciding on your subjects.

On completion of the subject, students should have developed the following generic skills:

• The capacity for close reading and analysis of a range of textual materials;
• The capacity to engage in critical thinking and to bring to bear a range of conceptual analyses upon a given subject matter;
• The capacity for independent thought and reflection;
• The capacity to articulate knowledge and understanding of complex ideas in oral and written form; and
• The ability to confront unfamiliar and challenging issues and to consider appropriate legal and policy responses to them.