Juris Doctor

Admission requirements

Applicants normally must hold either:

an approved Bachelor degree or equivalent qualification in a discipline other than Law from an approved tertiary institution; or
an approved Bachelor degree or equivalent qualification in Law that does not make them eligible to be admitted to practise law in Australia.

However the Dean (Education) may, under certain circumstances and subject to specific conditions, admit others who can show evidence of fitness for candidature.

Course aims

The Juris Doctor aims to provide students with:

the opportunity to meet the academic requirements for entry into the legal profession;
sound training in law and legal skills;
the ability to examine the legal process and its political, social, and economic contexts;
the ability to apply the law in professional practice in a range of contexts;
insights into key issues facing contemporary legal, justice and regulatory systems in Australia and internationally;
a desire for just outcomes, a broad outlook on law and a commitment to ethical conduct.

Learning outcomes

At the completion of the course, students will be able to demonstrate:

a body of advanced knowledge of key areas of current Australian law that includes the extended understanding of new and developing areas of the law and legal practice;
the ability to find, interpret, understand and critique Australian law within its historical and comparative contexts, using effective learning strategies and appropriate methods, including both recent and traditional technologies;
the ability to reflect critically on theory and professional practice in the discipline of law;
cognitive, technical and creative skills to investigate, analyse and synthesise complex information, problems, and concepts and to apply established theories to different disputes and debates;
cognitive, technical and creative skills to generate and evaluate complex ideas and concepts at an abstract level;
the application of knowledge and skills with creativity and initiative to new situations in legal or other professional practice and/or for further learning;
the ability to communicate effectively to convey their knowledge, reasoning and decisions in a clear and fluent manner;
high level personal autonomy and accountability;
awareness of the philosophy and the social and global contexts of law, and willingness to uphold their community responsibility to advocate for justice and to act with integrity in all matters in their professional work and personal lives;
the ability to plan and execute a substantial research-based project, capstone experience and/or professionally focused project.

Credit

Credit may be granted for topics taken at other institutions. However, except in exceptional circumstances approved by the Dean (Education), a majority of units towards the degree must be taken from topics offered by Flinders University.

Program of study

To qualify for the degree of Juris Doctor, a student must complete 108 units with a grade of P or NGP or better in each topic, comprising 81 units of core topics and 27 units of option topicsas set out below. Not all topics are necessarily available in a given year.

Except with the permission of the Dean (Education):

no topic may be attempted more than twice;
the program must be completed within ten consecutive years.

The award of a grade of Fail (F) in the same topic on more than one occasion may constitute prima facie evidence of unsatisfactory progress for the purposes of the University’s policy on Student Progress.

Option topics may be taken from topics not offered or cross-listed by the College of Business, Government and Law only with the written permission of the College. The College may specify that two or more topics represent unacceptable combinations.

Core topics

81 units comprising:

LLAW9601 The Australian Legal System (4.5 units)
LLAW9602 Legal Analysis and Problem Solving (4.5 units)
LLAW9603 Dispute Resolution (4.5 units)
LLAW9604 Contract (4.5 units)
LLAW9605 Torts (4.5 units)
LLAW9606 Property, Equity and Trusts (4.5 units)
LLAW9607 Constitutional Law (4.5 units)
LLAW9608 Administrative Law (4.5 units)
LLAW9609 Criminal Law (4.5 units)
LLAW9610 Corporate Law (4.5 units)
LLAW9611 Real Property Law (4.5 units)
LLAW9612 Advanced Dispute Resolution (4.5 units)
LLAW9613 Evidence (4.5 units)
LLAW9614 Advanced Legal Research (4.5 units)
LLAW9615 Ethics and Regulation of the Legal Profession (4.5 units)
LLAW9616 Clinical Legal Education (4.5 units)
LLAW9620 Integrating Knowledge and Skills for Practice (9 units)

Option topics

Select 27 units of options topics from the following:

LLAW9621A Research Paper (9 units)*
LLAW9621B Research Paper (9 units)*
LLAW9701 The Business of the Law (4.5 units)
LLAW9705 Insolvency Law (4.5 units)
LLAW9709 Intellectual Property Law (4.5 units)
LLIR9500 The Relationship between International Law and International Relations (4.5 units)
LLIR9501 Principles of Public International Law (4.5 units)
LLIR9507 Law and International Relations in the Asia Pacific (4.5 units)
LLIR9510 Current Issues in International Law and International Relations (4.5 units)
LLIR9511 International Human Rights (4.5 units)
LLIR9512 Marginalised Populations and International Law (4.5 units)
LLIR9513 Interdisciplinary Approaches to International Law and International Human Rights (4.5 units)
LLIR9514 International Institutions (4.5 units)
LLIR9515 Law of the Sea (4.5 units)
LLIR9516 Law of the World Trade Organisation (4.5 units)
LLIR9517 Legal Approaches to Conflict (4.5 units)
LLIR9518 Principles of International Environmental Law (4.5 units)
LLIR9519 Transnational Crime and the International Criminal Justice System (4.5 units)

*A student wishing to apply for a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) or other research higher degree should enrol in an 18-unit Research Paper by selecting LLAW9621A and LLAW9621B. Students who wish to complete a 9-unit Research Paper should enrol in LLAW9621A