Year
2023Credit points
10Campus offering
No unit offerings are currently available for this unit.Prerequisites
LAWS104 Foundations of Law and Legal Research , LAWS105 Contract Law
Teaching organisation
4 hours per week for twelve weeks or equivalent.Unit rationale, description and aim
Commercial Law covers a number of discrete areas of law which have in common that they are specialised applications of, or linked to, Contract Law. These are agency (the law relating to the conduct of transactions through intermediaries); bailment; consumer credit; guarantees; e-commerce; insurance contracts; restraint of trade/competition law; contracts for the sale of goods and services; property bankruptcy; and commercial dispute.
Learning outcomes
To successfully complete this unit you will be able to demonstrate you have achieved the learning outcomes (LO) detailed in the below table.
Each outcome is informed by a number of graduate capabilities (GC) to ensure your work in this, and every unit, is part of a larger goal of graduating from ACU with the attributes of insight, empathy, imagination and impact.
Explore the graduate capabilities.
On successful completion of this unit, students should be able to:
LO1 - Describe and critically evaluate key legal aspects of commercial law (GA4, GA5, GA9)
LO2 - Apply the law to factual situations and thereby advise clients and others of the rights and obligations in those situations (GA2, GA3, GA4, GA5, GA6, GA9)
LO3 - Critically analyse how Australian law may affect common commercial transactions and make reasoned choices among alternatives (GA2, GA3, GA4, GA5, GA6, GA9)
Graduate attributes
GA2 - recognise their responsibility to the common good, the environment and society
GA3 - apply ethical perspectives in informed decision making
GA4 - think critically and reflectively
GA5 - demonstrate values, knowledge, skills and attitudes appropriate to the discipline and/or profession
GA6 - solve problems in a variety of settings taking local and international perspectives into account
GA8 - locate, organise, analyse, synthesise and evaluate information
GA9 - demonstrate effective communication in oral and written English language and visual media
Content
Topics will include:
- agency
- bailment
- bankruptcy
- consumer law/consumer credit/guarantees
- restrictive trade practices/competition law
- commercial dispute resolution
- insurance
- property
- sale of goods and services
Learning and teaching strategy and rationale
Mode: Lectures, tutorials, electronic consultation, library tasks and presentations or Online lectures and activities.
Duration: 3 hours per week over 12 weeks or equivalent. Students are expected to spend 150 hours in total for this unit.
This level one compulsory Law unit allows students to demonstrate knowledge, skills and understanding in a specialist area of law to meet the requirements of accreditation.
Our strategy is to encourage students to creatively engage with unit content and to apply fundamental legal knowledge, skills and understandings to address legal problems.
The unit is designed to be delivered in intensive, weekly or online mode. We have taken a blended learning approach to provide accessibility and flexibility to our students and a student focused approach that increases depth of learning and engagement through actively utilising LEO.
Assessment strategy and rationale
The assessment strategy is designed to assess knowledge, skills and understanding in a specialist area of law required for accreditation.
The assessment tasks for this unit are designed to demonstrate achievement of each of the learning outcomes listed.
Overview of assessments
| Brief Description of Kind and Purpose of Assessment Tasks | Weighting | Learning Outcomes | Graduate Attributes |
|---|---|---|---|
Task 1: Communication and Engagement: Students are required to participate in tutorials, in recognition that the development of skills in locating, referencing and analysing research materials. This assessment requirement can be achieved via an online quiz whereby student participation will be monitored online. The online quiz will be upto 90 mintues duration and students will be given upto a week to complete the quiz. A rubric will be utilised to assess students. Should a student fail to achieve the minimum participation requirements and/or complete the online quiz due to illness and/or personal circumstances beyond their control, an alternative assessment may be negotiated with the National Lecturer in Charge | 20% | LO1-LO3 | GA4, GA5, GA6 & GA8 |
Task 2: Individual Assignment/or On line Quiz. Either a 1250-1500 individual written assignment to be uploaded via Turnitin or alternatively, a 20-30 multiple choice online quiz to be administered via LEO. The online quiz will be 90 minutes to 120 minutes in duration. | 30% | LO1-LO3 | GA4, GA5, GA6, GA8, GA9 |
Task 3: Final Examination to be administered centrally by examinations during the exam period. The final examination will be open book. | 50% | LO1-LO3 | GA2, GA3, GA4, GA5, GA6, GA8, GA9 |
Representative texts and references
Turner, Clive and John Trone, Australian Commercial Law (Thomson Reuters, 32 ed, 2019 or latest edition compilation by National Lecturer in Charge)
Carter, John W, Carter’s Guide to Australian Contract Law (LexisNexis, 2nd ed, 2010)
Carter, John W, Cases and Materials on Contract Law in Australia (LexisNexis, 6th ed, 2011)
Clarke, Philip and Julie Clarke, Contract Law: Commentaries, Cases and Perspectives (Oxford University Press, 2nd ed, 2012)
Latimer, Paul, Australian Business Law (Oxford University Press, 35th ed, 2016)
Seddon, N C and M P Ellinghaus, Cheshire and Fifoot’s Law of Contract (LexisNexis Butterworths, 9th Aus ed, 2008)
Thampapillai, Dilan, Vivi Tan, Claudio Bozzi and Anne Matthew, Australian Commercial Law (Cambridge University Press, 2015)
Traves, Samantha, Commercial Law (LexisNexis Butterworths, 3rd ed, 2014)