Dr Jessica Viven-Wilksch
Adelaide Law School
Email: jessica.viven-wilksch@adelaide.edu.au
Location: Room 2.25, Ligertwood Building
Telephone: (08) 8313 4676 (work)
Course Website: www.myuni.adelaide.edu.au
Consultations: Appointments can be made by booking an appointment slot on the MyUni calendar.

There will be a three hour block each week. Each week will be structured in two main parts: on the one hand content delivery, and on the other a practical problem solving exercise and/or a discussion around a particular theme or reading. 

The content delivery will be staggered so that the lecture theme in one week is the theme for the subsequent week's problem and discussion. This ensures that students have had the advantage of attending the lecture and absorbing the relevant material for that week's theme prior to engaging with it on a deeper level in the seminars.

On successful completion of this course students will be able to:

1. Analyse the foundational principles of private international law, undertake (self-directed) legal research, and evaluate legal information.
2. Apply private international law rules to complex problems and issues, critique the operation of private international rules from a theoretical perspective.
3. Structure and sustain concise and cohesive written arguments for a legal and professional audience.
4. Conduct legal research and analysis both independently and cooperatively in an academic environment.
5. Analyse the impact of private international law from comparative and international perspectives, and in the context of social and cultural diversity.
6. Reflect on their abilities to effectively undertake accepted forms of legal reasoning and analysis to articulate in persuasive fashion reasoned solutions to issues arising from such scenarios.

There is a prescribed textbook  that will be supplemented by additional readings ( including chapters, articles, cases and statutes) during the semester. In compliance with the University Copyright’s policy, links to these readings will be made available on MyUni during the semester.

The Prescribed Textbook for this course will be Reid Mortensen, Richard Garnett, and Mary Keyes Private International Law in Australia, (5th edition, 2023, Lexis Nexis).

You should also have a copy of the  Uniform Civil Rules 2020. You can access these here: https://www.courts.sa.gov.au/rules-forms-fees/ucr2020/

To deepen their understanding, students are encouraged to also access these resources. 

BOOKS:

• Bart Wernaart, International Law and Business (Routledge, 2021)
• Michael Douglas and others, Commercial Issues in Private International Law - a Common Perspective (Hart, 2019)
• Martin Davies, Andrew Bell and Paul Le Gay Brereton, Nygh’s Conflict of Laws in Australia, (10th ed, 2020)
• Michael J Whincop and Mary Keyes, Policy and Pragmatism in the Conflict of Laws (2001, Ashgate)
• Edward I Sykes and Michael C Pryles, Australian Private International Law (3rd ed, 1991, Law Book Co)
• Lawrence Collins (gen ed), Dicey, Morris: the Conflict of Laws (15ed, 2017, Sweet & Maxwell). 
• Peter North and James Fawcett, Cheshire and North’s Private International Law(15ed, 2017, Butterworths)

JOURNALS:

• Journal of Private International Law (2005-)
  

REPORTS: 

• Australian Law Reform Commission, Choice of Law Report No 58 (1992)
• Australian Law Reform Commission, Legal Risk in International Transactions, Report No 80 (1996)
• Australian Law Reform Commission, The Judicial Power of the Commonwealth: A Review of the Judiciary Act 1903 and Related Legislation, Report No 92 (2002)

WEBSITES:

• UNCITRAL (United Nations Commission on International Trade Law) – http://www.uncitral.org/en-index.htm
• UNCCA (UNCITRAL National Coordination Committee for Australia) http://uncca.org
• UNIDROIT (International Institute for the Unification of Private Law) – http://www.unidroit.org 
• Australia, Attorney-General’s Private International Law Site https://www.ag.gov.au/international-relations/private-international-law 
• The Hague Conference on Private International Law http://www.hcch.net/index_en.php 
• Conflict of Laws.Net http://conflictoflaws.net/ 
• University of Chicago Private International Law Webpage http://www2.lib.uchicago.edu/~llou/pil.html 
• ICC (International Chamber of Commerce) – http://www.iccwbo.org 

MyUni is the entry point to online learning at The University of Adelaide: http://www.myuni.adelaide.edu.au./

This course will use MyUni for announcements, pre recorded videos, display of PowerPoint slides, lecture outlines and any other material required to be read for the lectures and seminars.

This course will also require you to use MyUni for some assessment, including online quizzes and assignments. Audio recordings of lectures where available will be posted. Students are expected to check MyUni regularly and often to keep up to date with these materials and additional learning resources that will be made available throughout the course.

This course is taught in one weekly three hour block. During Week one, there will be an introduction to the course and some disucssion points. From week 2, the course will start with a seminar, followed by some content delivery. Each week will finish with a discussion on a current development or theory point.

Lectures (90 min per week)

Lecture will generally take the form of an outline of the topic and its key issues. Students are expected to keep up with the corresponding reading as indicated on MyUni. Outlines, slides and additional material will be provided on MyUni. Lectures will be recorded. 

Seminars (60 min week)

Seminars will concentrate on in-depth consideration of questions, including problem-solving, provided in advance of the seminar. Students are expected to read the cases and other materials and prepare answers to questions prior the class. 

Seminars are not recorded.Seminars are an important component of your learning in this course and therefore it is in your interest to make every effort to attend them and participate. The communication skills developed in seminars by regularly and actively participating in discussions are considered to be important by the School, and are highly regarded by employers and professional bodies.

Discussion point (30 min per week)

This course's methods of thinking and solving problem questions are quite particular to the subject. Therefore, each week will finish with a discussion examples of problem solving and particular quotes to help students gain a deeper insight in the subject. Students will be encouraged to bring forward their own disucssion point throughout the semester to tailor the course to the interests of the cohort.

Online activities

Each student will be required to access pre recorded videos, powerpoint slides readings and links before the weekly class. Students will have to complete quizzes online during the course before attending seminars. Students will also have to submit their assignment online through TurnItIn.

The course requires a combined weekly commitment of 3 hours attending lectures and seminars or a total of 36 hours of formal class time across the semester. In addition to the time spent attending the lectures, there is a requirement that students prepare for the lectures and seminars. The University expects full-time students (i.e. those taking 12 units per semester) to devote a total of 48 hours per week to their studies. This means that you are expected to commit approximately 9 hours of private study each week per 3-unit course in addition to your regular classes.

Private International Law, also known as Conflict of Laws, regulates relations and disputes that involve more than one jurisdiction. We will see many examples but these are some possible situations:an Australian company making a contract with a french company, a Englishman booking a holiday in China, a German woman marrying her Canadian partner in the USA.

In today’s global world where travel, business relations and private transactions are borderless, understanding the rules and mechanisms that regulate these relations is extremely relevant to the making of future lawyers.

The topic can be of significant relevance to the practice of law, for which the course aims to prepare its students. Because Australia exists as a collection of separate legal jurisdictions and especially as Australia seeks to increase its international trade connections, understanding the impact of connections that may exist between South Australia and other legal systems is paramount.

This course will expose students to problem-solving techniques relevant to this sub-discipline. These will include:
- Determining the jurisdiction and the court able to hear a particular dispute
- Determining the law applicable to legal situations
- Determining the enforcement and recognition of judgements and decisions.

The course will also provide an insight into international arbitration and the recognition by domestic courts of international arbitral awards. Case studies will be used throughout the course to show how these rules apply in selected areas of law, including contract law, tort law, family law, company law.

Finally, throughout the course and because this area of law is also characterised by theoretical enquiry and scholarship, the course will challenge students to think about the development of this discipline and the rationale for the position taken by certain states. This means that there will be an opportunity to provide critical and theoretical analysis and reflect on the state of this discipline.

This schedule and weekly content is subject to change. 

Week 1	Introduction
Week 2	Jurisdiction : Rationale and Personal Jurisdiction
Week 3	Jurisdiction Immunities and Restraint
Week 4	Law Applicable: Generalities and Exceptions
Week 5	Law Applicable: Proof, Connections and Limits
Week 6	Enforcement and Recognition of Foreign Judgments
Week 7	International Arbitration
Week 8	PIL and Tort
Week 9	PIL and Contract
Week 10	PIL and Contract
Week 11	PIL and Company Law
Week 12	Conclusion and Revision

Assessment item	% of final mark	Dates	Length	Individual or Group Activity?	Redeemable in exam?	Learning Outcomes
Quizzes	10% (5 x 2%)	Week 3: Wednesday 9 August 2023 5pm Week 5: Wednesday 23 August 2023 5pm Week 7:  Wednesday 6 September 2023 5pm Week 10:  Wednesday 11 October 2023 5pm Week 12: Wednesday 25 October 2023 5pm	10 questions per quiz	individual	no	1; 2
Mid term Assignment	30%	Wednesday 20 September 2023 2pm	2500 words	individual	no	2;3;4;5;6
Multimedia Library	20%	throughout the semester	combination of video, audio and written entries	group activity	no	1;2;4;5
Final Assignment	40%	Friday 2 November 2023 3pm	3500 words	individual	no	1;2;3;4;5

10% ONLINE QUIZZES

This exercise will require students to answer 10 short questions in five separate quizzes on content covered in class during the previous weeks. These will count for 10% of the total grade for this course.
The quizzes will open on Friday morning and close on Wednesday 5pm. Reminders and schedules will be provided on MyUni.

Students will only be permitted to attempt each quiz once. No extension will be granted. 

30% MID TERM ASSIGNMENT

This piece of assessment will provide students the opportunity to demonstrate their ability to articulate different notions of the course. 
The assessment will include a problem based question and a research component. Students will get feedback regarding their level of understanding of the course material and their research, written communication and problem solving and critical thinking skills. These skills will be further assessed in the final assignment. 
Students will work independently to complete a assignment, which will be due on Wednesday 20 September 2023 at 2pm. The assignment will be submitted online (instructions will be provided on MyUni) with a 2500 word paper. The assignment must be written in prose style (using complete sentences), adhere to grammatical rules and use correct spelling. The pages must be numbered. The essay should include a table of contents and a bibliography.

Students will be advised of the results of this exercise in Week 10. The results will be displayed on the course website. Students are encouraged to check their marks and notify the lecturer-in-charge of any discrepancies.

All written work in the Law school is required to comply with the approved Law School style guide, The Australian Guide to Legal Citation. Hard copies of The Australian Guide to Legal Citation are on Reserve in the Law Library and can also be purchased online. Please make sure you have looked at this before you submit any written work. 

Extensions: Requests for extensions must be made electronically according to law school policy. Extensions will be granted only for unexpected illness, hardship or on compassionate grounds in accordance with University Policy. Work commitments, travel, holidays or sporting engagements are not unexpected circumstances.

20% RESEARCH LIBRARY

Students will contribute to the establishment of a Private International Law Library. Once in groups, students will be working on entris to populate the library. Each group will submit a number of entries across the semester. Each group will have to provide a contribution that will establish a library of resources in Private International Law. Content to be submitted will include short videos, case reports and commentaries on scholarly opinions. These entries will form the basis of class discussion and, after refinement, will ultimately contribute to the creation of a multimedia library based on the collective research undertaken throughout the semester.

40% FINAL ASSIGNMENT

This piece of assessment will provide students the opportunity to demonstrate their ability to articulate different notions of the course. The assessment will include a problem based question and a research component. Students will get feedback regarding their level of understanding of the course material and their research, written communication and problem solving and critical thinking skills. 

Students will work independently to complete a assignment, which will be due on Friday 2 November 2023 at 3pm.
The assignment will be submitted online (instructions will be provided on MyUni) with a 3500 word paper. The assignment must be written in prose style (using complete sentences), adhere to grammatical rules and use correct spelling. The pages must be numbered. The essay should include a table of contents and a bibliography. 

All written work in the Law school is required to comply with the approved Law School style guide, The Australian Guide to Legal Citation. Hard copies of The Australian Guide to Legal Citation are on Reserve in the Law Library and can also be purchased from UniBooks. Please make sure you have looked at this before you submit any written work.

Extensions: Requests for extensions must be made electronically according to law school policy. Extensions will be granted only for unexpected illness, hardship or on compassionate grounds in accordance with University Policy. Work commitments, travel, holidays or sporting engagements are not unexpected circumstances.

Students must retain a copy of all assignments submitted.

The mid term assignment in this course is to be submitted electronically through Turnitin. Details for electronic submission through Turnitin will be provided with the assignment instructions. Turnitin is unable to process files in the .pages format, and Turnitin word counts are known to be inaccurate, which makes .pdf submissions undesirable (as it is harder to determine the number of words). For this reason, submissions to Turnitin are to be in Microsoft Word format (NOT in pdf).

All written work in the Law school is required to comply with the approved Law School style guide, The Australian Guide to Legal Citation.

Extensions: Requests for extensions must be made electronically according to law school policy. Extensions will be granted only for unexpected illness, hardship or on compassionate grounds in accordance with University Policy. Work commitments, travel, holidays or sporting engagements are not unexpected circumstances.

Late Submission Penalties: When an assessment is submitted after the due date, without an extension, 5% of the total mark possible will be  deducted for every 24 hours or part thereof that it is late, including each day on a weekend and public holidays. For example, an essay that is submitted after the due date and time but within the first 24 hour period, and that has been graded at 63%, will have 5% deducted, for a final grade of 58%. An essay that is more than 24 hours late will lose 10%, etc. 

Word Length Penalties: 5% of the total mark possible for a written assessment will be deducted for every 100 words (or part thereof) by which it exceeds a stipulated word limit. For example, a 3,000 word essay graded at 63% will have 5% deducted if it is between 3,001 and 3,100 words long for a final mark of 58%. If the essay is between 3,101 and 3,200 words long, 10% will be deducted for a
final mark of 53%, etc. Word limits include all words in the text, in headings, in quotations, but exclude citations in footnotes. Any separate cover page, table of contents, bibliography or list of sources is excluded from the word limit. If the word limit is misstated, this may be regarded as academic dishonesty.

Finality of Assessment Grades

Students are advised that Course Coordinators will not enter into negotiations of any kind with any student regarding changes to their grades. It is irrelevant, in any given circumstance, that only a minimal number of additional marks are required to inflate a student’s grade for any individual assessment item or course as a whole. Pursuant to the University’s Assessment for Coursework Programs Policyand the Adelaide Law School Assessment Policies and Procedures, grades may only be varied through the appropriate channels for academic review (such as an official re-mark).

Moderation

In accordance with the University’s Assessment for Coursework Programs Policy, course coordinators ‘ensure that appropriate marking guidelines and cross-marking moderation processes across markers are in place’ in each course. Procedures adopted by Adelaide Law School to ensure consistency of marking in courses with multiple markers include:

• assurance of the qualifications of markers, and their knowledge of the content covered in each course;
• detailed marking guidelines and assessment rubrics to assist in the marking of items of assessment;
• sharing of example marked assessments at various grade bands across markers;
• reviewing of selected marked assessments from each marker by the course coordinator;
• comparison of the marks and their distribution across markers;
• automatic double-marking of all interim assessment receiving a fail grade, and of final assessments where a student’s overall result is a fail grade;
• the availability of re-marking of assessments in accordance with Adelaide Law School’s Assessment Policies and Procedures.

Approval of Results by Board of Examiners

Students are reminded that all assessment results are subject to approval (and possible moderation/change) by the Law School’s Board of Examiners. Assessment results at the University are not scaled. Under the Assessment for Coursework Programs Policy, students are assessed ‘by reference to their performance against pre-determined criteria and standards … and not by ranking against the performance of the student cohort in the course’. However, under that same policy, the Board of Examiners (as the relevant Assessment Review Committee for courses at Adelaide Law School) is required to ‘ensure comparability of standards and consistency’ in assessment. On occasions, the Board of Examiners will form the view that some moderation is required to ensure the comparability of standards and consistency across courses and years, and accordingly provide fairness to all law students. All assessment results are therefore subject to approval (and possible change) until confirmed by the Board of Examiners and posted on Access Adelaide at the end of each semester.

The course is constantly being updated and revised to reflect the evolution of the law, to respond to student feedback, and to engage with the latest teaching practices. Student feedback is collected each time the course is run, including through SELT reports. Previous SELT reports, and staff feedback on them, are posted on the course MyUni site for students to view and consider.

The University Writing Centre provides academic learning and language development services and resources for local, international, undergraduate and postgraduate coursework students enrolled at the University of Adelaide.

The centre offers practical advice and strategies for students to master reading, writing, note-taking, time management, oral presentation skills, referencing techniques and exam preparation for success at university through seminars, workshops and individual consultations.

Lex Salus Program

Lex Salus (law and wellbeing) is an initiative of the Adelaide Law School aimed at destigmatising mental health issues; promoting physical, mental and emotional wellness; building a strong community of staff and students; and celebrating diversity within the school. It also seeks to promote wellness within the legal profession, through the involvement of the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of South Australia, the Honourable Chris Kourakis, as the official Patron of the program.

Students can participate in the Lex Salus program by attending barbecue lunches, pancake breakfasts, knitting and crochet circles, seminars, guest speakers, conferences and other activities. Our Facebook page, website and regular all-student emails promote upcoming events, and have tips and information on wellness.

Our Lex Salus YouTube channel also includes videos on topics like managing stress, and interviews with LGBTQ lawyers and their supporters which celebrate diversity and individuality. Students who commit to 10 hours of volunteering with Lex Salus in one year can have their service recognised on their academic transcript and through a thank you morning tea with the Chief Justice and law school staff.

Student Life Counselling Support

The University’s Student Life Counselling Support service provides free and confidential service to all enrolled students. We encourage you to contact the Student Life Counselling Support service on 8313 5663 to make an appointment to deal with any issues that may be affecting your study and life.

Academic Integrity

All students must be familiar with the University’s Academic Integrity Policy. Academic Misconduct is a serious matter and is treated as such by the Law School and the University. Academic Misconduct (which goes beyond plagiarism) can be a ground for a refusal by the Supreme Court of South Australia to admit a person to practice as a legal practitioner in South Australia. Academic Integrity is an essential aspect of ethical and honest behaviour, which is central to the practice of the law and an understanding of what it is to be a lawyer.