Location: Room 3.04, Ligertwood Building
Telephone: (08) 8313 0879 (work)
Email: mark.giancaspro@adelaide.edu.au
Course Website: www.myuni.adelaide.edu.au
Consultations: Appointments can be made (on short notice) by email or telephone, at a mutually convenient time.

Each week there will be a two-hour lecture and a one-hour seminar. The timetable will be staggered so that the lecture theme in one week is the seminar theme for the subsequent week. 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. There will be no seminars in Week 1.

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

1. Analyse and apply in a principled manner the foundational principles of property and corporate law related to commercial transactions. Undertake legal research at a foundational level, and evaluate and apply a range of legal sources to resolve complex commercial problems;
2. Apply the law related to commercial transactions to resolve legal problems;
3. Develop well-structured and persuasive written arguments for a mixed legal and non-legal audience. Communicate effectively individually and as part of a team;
4. Interact with peers in an ethical manner, appropriate to an academic environment. Exercise professional judgement in completion of in-class activities and assessments;
5. Analyse the impact of the law related to commercial transactions from a policy perspective;
6. Reflect on their ability to effectively undertake work as a member of a team. Use feedback to inform individual skills development.

The prescribed textbook for this course is Dilan Thampapillai et al, Australian Commercial Law (Cambridge University Press, 2nd ed, 2019) *forthcoming. The textbook will be supplemented with additional readings, which will be provided on MyUni and available in a printed compilation on demand from the Image & Copy Centre.

A series of recommended readings and resources may be provided for each learning week. These will be outlined in MyUni.

The MyUni course page for this course can be accessed at http://www.adelaide.edu.au/myuni/. MyUni will be used for communication, including the posting of announcements. Besides this Course Profile and the Study Guide, students can also use MyUni to access copies of the PowerPoint slides used in lectures, recordings of lectures, assessment tasks, and other course materials. Students are expected to check MyUni regularly to keep up to date with these materials and additional learning resources throughout the course.

Students in this course are expected to attend all lectures and seminars throughout the semester. The lectures will offer an overview of the topics covered in the course, according to the Learning Activities Summary. There will be some opportunities for students to ask questions on the issues covered and engage in the discussion throughout the lectures.

The seminars will involve a combination of activities including small group discussions and problem-solving exercises, class discussions and reflections, use of media, and more. The seminars will address selected issues covered in the course and are designed to encourage active engagement with these issues. The seminars are more of a guided, open forum for discussion, problem-solving and critical thinking. The questions assigned for each seminar provide direction for the sessions.

The course requires a combined weekly commitment of 3 hours attending lectures and seminars, equating to a total of 36 hours of formal class time across the semester. In addition to the time spent attending the lectures and seminars, there is a requirement that students prepare for the seminars. To actively and productively participate, students will have to do reading and preparation. The assigned readings and lecture slides provide a context for the material covered in the lectures and seminars. Students should expect to devote an average of 12 hours per week to their studies in the course.

LAW 1509 Commercial Transactions

Semester 1, 2019

Week	Dates	Lecture topic	Seminar topic
1	March 4-8	Foundations of commerce in Australia	NO SEMINARS
2	March 11-15	An introduction to contracts and their regulation	Foundations of commerce in Australia
3	March 18-22	Commercial leases	An introduction to contracts and their regulation
4	March 25-29	Contracts of guarantee and insurance	Commercial leases
5	April 1-5	Sale of goods	Contracts of guarantee and insurance
6	April 8-12	The law of personal property	Sale of goods
BREAK	April 15-19	NO CLASSES	NO CLASSES
BREAK	April 22-26	NO CLASSES	NO CLASSES
7	April 29-May 3	Personal property securities	The law of personal property
8	May 6-10	Competition and consumer law	Personal property securities
9	May 13-17	Competition and consumer law (cont.)	Competition and consumer law
10	May 20-24	Electronic commerce	Competition and consumer law (cont.)
11	May 27-31	Basics of taxation	Electronic commerce
12	June 3-7	International commercial transactions	Basics of taxation
13	June 10-14	NO LECTURE	International commercial transactions
SWOT	June 17-21	NO CLASSES	NO CLASSES

None.

Not applicable.

Assessment Task	Task Type	Length	Due	Weighting	Redeemable	Learning Outcome
Online quizzes	Individual	10 questions	Throughout semester	10% (5 x 2%)	No	1, 2, 4
Assignment	Individual	2000 words	29 April	30%	Yes	1-4, 6
Exam	Individual	2 hours	Exam period	60% or 90%	No	1-5

Each piece of assessment is compulsory. The assignment will be redeemable by the final exam for a mark of at least 40%.

1. ONLINE QUIZZES x 5 (10%, 5 x 2% each)

Release Date: The Online Quizzes will be released in Weeks 2, 3, 10, 11 and 12 via Canvas on MyUni.

Due Date: Students will have 48 hours from the time of release in which to complete the quiz.

Details: This exercise will require students to answer 10 short questions in five separate quizzes on issues arising in the corresponding teaching weeks. To clarify, the material assessed in each quiz is drawn from the teaching and learning materials (including lecture slides and prescribed readings) from the respective teaching week, but does not include specific content covered in the seminars. Students will only be permitted to attempt each quiz once.

Word Limit: N/A.

 

3. ASSIGNMENT (30%)

Release Date: The Assignment will be released at 2:00pm on Friday 5 April.

Due Date: The Assignment must be submitted by 2:00pm on Monday 29 April.

Details: This exercise will require students to answer problems based upon contracts of guarantee and insurance (Week 4) and sale of goods (Week 5). The assignment will be redeemable by the final exam for a mark of at least 40%.

Word Limit: 2000 words.

4. EXAM (60 or 90%)

Release Date: University exam period (TBA).

Due Date: N/A

Details: The Exam will be two hours in duration (plus 10 minutes reading time), with all course material taught in Weeks 6-9 being potentially examinable. The exam will be open book. Further information regarding the Exam will be delivered to students closer to the date.

1. Students must retain a copy of all assignments submitted.
2. The short problem and assignment papers must be submitted via 'TurnitIn' on MyUni. Details for electronic submission through Turnitin will be provided with the task instructions. By submitting your papers you are agreeing:
1. That all material in the assessment is your own work except where there is clear acknowledgement and reference to the work of others;
2. That you have read the Policy on Cheating in Examinations and Related Forms of Assessment and the University's Plagiarism Policy; and
3. To give permission for your assessment work to be reproduced and submitted to other academic staff for the purposes of assessment and to be copied, submitted and retained in a form suitable for electronic checking of plagiarism.
3. Late Submission: When an assignment 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 graded 63% will have 5% deducted if it is one hour late, for a final grade of 58%, 10% if it is 25 hours late, etc.
4. Word Length: 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%. Word limits include all words in the text, in headings, in quotations, and all substantive discussion in footnotes, but exclude citations in footnotes. If the word limit is misstated, this may be regarded as academic dishonesty.
5. Extensions: Requests for extensions must be made using the appropriate 'Assessment Task Extension' form available on Unified (go to Unified > Forms and Downloads > Assessment Task Extension). Extensions will be granted only for limited medical, compassionate or extenuating circumstances in accordance with University Policy.

6. Style of written work: All written work in the Law school is required to comply with the most recent edition of the approved Law School style guide, the Australian Guide to Legal Citation.
7. Turnaround time: All written works for this course will be returned to students within 3 weeks of the submission date. Individual feedback will be provided on each paper.

Courses for which a result of conceded pass has been obtained may not be presented towards the degree requirements for the Bachelor of Laws or the Honours Degree of Bachelor of Laws programs, or any postgraduate law program, nor to satisfy prerequisite requirements within any law course.

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 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 Honesty

Academic dishonesty is a serious act of academic misconduct. All students must be familiar with the University’s Academic Honesty Policy.

Academic dishonesty is a serious matter and is treated as such by the Law School and the University. Academic dishonesty (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 honesty 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.