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ANU Law School · ANU College of Law, Governance and Policy
The Constitution is the highest law. Beneath the Constitution, there are two main sources of law: statutory law and the common law. Correspondingly, other than constitutional interpretation, there are two main modes of legal reasoning: statutory interpretation and common law reasoning. Common law reasoning is, in many ways, more fundamental than statutory interpretation. In contrast to the civil law legal system, we call our system a common law legal system. Common law reasoning is foundational to our legal system. Besides a common law approach to case law, we also speak of a common law approach to constitutional interpretation and a common law approach to statutory interpretation. Common law reasoning permeates all areas of law in our legal system. The course will cover the following topics: history and theory of the common law; the doctrine of stare decisis; separating ratio from obiter; deductive and inductive reasoning; reasoning by analogy and disanalogy.
The proposed means of assessment for this course will provide students with at least two pieces of assessment, including one piece during the teaching period. More information about the means of assessment, including the relationship between the assessment and the learning outcomes of the course, will be available in the class summary and on the course WATTLE page.
Learning outcomes 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
Classes offered in non-standard sessions will be taught semi-intensively with compulsory contact hours of approximately 26 hours of face to face teaching. The course will also require advanced preparation through assigned readings. In total, it is anticipated that the hours required for completion of this course (class preparation, teaching and completion of assessment) will not exceed 120 hours. Classes offered during semester periods are expected to have three contact hours per week. Students are generally expected to devote at least 10 hours overall per week to this course. In total, it is anticipated that the hours required for completion of this course (class preparation, teaching and completion of assessment) will not exceed 120 hours
Students must rely on the approved Class Summary which will be posted to the Programs and Courses site approximately two weeks prior to the commencement of the course. Preliminary Reading Students must rely on the approved Class Summary which will be posted to the Programs and Courses site approximately two weeks prior to the commencement of the course.