Overview
In this unit you will study the principles governing the resolution of disputes involving elements or facts tied to more than one jurisdiction (including both interstate or international). The unit has three main themes: jurisdiction, choice of law, and enforcement. Jurisdiction involves the power of a court to hear a cross-border dispute and orders designed to reduce 'forum shopping'. Choice of law concerns the principles by which a court will apply the law of another country or state. Enforcement focuses on the enforcement and recognition of international and interstate judgments and orders. This is an essential unit if you are considering a career in civil or commercial law as advancements in technology and globalisation have significantly broadened this area of legal practice.
Details
Pre-requisites or Co-requisites
Prerequisites 48cp of LAWS units including LAWS11057, LAWS11060 and LAWS11069.
Important note: Students enrolled in a subsequent unit who failed their pre-requisite unit, should drop the subsequent unit before the census date or within 10 working days of Fail grade notification. Students who do not drop the unit in this timeframe cannot later drop the unit without academic and financial liability. See details in the Assessment Policy and Procedure (Higher Education Coursework).
Offerings For Term 2 - 2026
Attendance Requirements
All on-campus students are expected to attend scheduled classes - in some units, these classes are identified as a mandatory (pass/fail) component and attendance is compulsory. International students, on a student visa, must maintain a full time study load and meet both attendance and academic progress requirements in each study period (satisfactory attendance for International students is defined as maintaining at least an 80% attendance record).
Recommended Student Time Commitment
Each 6-credit Undergraduate unit at CQUniversity requires an overall time commitment of an average of 12.5 hours of study per week, making a total of 150 hours for the unit.
Class Timetable
Assessment Overview
Assessment Grading
This is a graded unit: your overall grade will be calculated from the marks or grades for each assessment task, based on the relative weightings shown in the table above. You must obtain an overall mark for the unit of at least 50%, or an overall grade of 'pass' in order to pass the unit. If any 'pass/fail' tasks are shown in the table above they must also be completed successfully ('pass' grade). You must also meet any minimum mark requirements specified for a particular assessment task, as detailed in the 'assessment task' section (note that in some instances, the minimum mark for a task may be greater than 50%). Consult the University's Grades and Results Policy for more details of interim results and final grades.
All University policies are available on the CQUniversity Policy site.
You may wish to view these policies:
- Grades and Results Policy
- Assessment Policy and Procedure (Higher Education Coursework)
- Review of Grade Procedure
- Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure
- Academic Progression Policy and Procedure
- Student Refund and Credit Balance Policy and Procedure
- Complaints Policy and Procedure
- Information and Communications Technology Acceptable Use Policy and Procedure
This list is not an exhaustive list of all University policies. The full list of University policies are available on the CQUniversity Policy site.
- Analyse and apply relevant legal doctrines and principles that address jurisdictional, choice of law or enforcement issues to practical scenarios involving foreign elements
- Evaluate the development of private international law in Australia compared with other jurisdictions and its significance for legal practice
- Communicate both orally and in writing in an effective and professional manner.
The learning outcomes for this unit are not governed by the Legal Practioner's Admissions Board as it is not a Priestley 11 knowledge area.
Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Learning Outcomes
| Assessment Tasks | Learning Outcomes | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | |
| 1 - Practical Assessment - 40% | |||
| 2 - Written Assessment - 60% | |||
Alignment of Graduate Attributes to Learning Outcomes
| Graduate Attributes | Learning Outcomes | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | |
| 1 - Communication | |||
| 2 - Problem Solving | |||
| 3 - Critical Thinking | |||
| 4 - Information Literacy | |||
| 5 - Team Work | |||
| 6 - Information Technology Competence | |||
| 7 - Cross Cultural Competence | |||
| 8 - Ethical practice | |||
| 9 - Social Innovation | |||
| 10 - First Nations Knowledges | |||
| 11 - Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Cultures | |||
Textbooks
Private International Law in Australia
- 5th edition (2023)
- Authors: Reid Mortensen, Richard Garnett and Mary Keyes
- LexisNexis
- ISBN: 9780409355376
The e-book ISBN is: 9780409355383
IT Resources
- CQUniversity Student Email
- Internet
- Unit Website (Moodle)
- Webcam and microphone
- Zoom
All submissions for this unit must use the referencing style: Australian Guide to Legal Citation, 4th ed
For further information, see the Assessment Tasks.
n.corbett-jarvis@cqu.edu.au
Week 1
Begin Date: 13 Jul 2026Module/Topic
Jurisdiction: Part 1
Chapter
Refer to the reading list in the study guide.
Events and Submissions/Topic
Week 2
Begin Date: 20 Jul 2026Module/Topic
Jurisdiction: Part 2
Chapter
Refer to the reading list in the study guide.
Events and Submissions/Topic
Week 3
Begin Date: 27 Jul 2026Module/Topic
Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Judgments
Chapter
Refer to the reading list in the study guide.
Events and Submissions/Topic
Week 4
Begin Date: 03 Aug 2026Module/Topic
Trans-Tasman Jurisdiction and Judgments
Chapter
Refer to the reading list in the study guide.
Events and Submissions/Topic
Week 5
Begin Date: 10 Aug 2026Module/Topic
Choice of Law: Part 1
Chapter
Refer to the reading list in the study guide.
Events and Submissions/Topic
Week 6
Begin Date: 17 Aug 2026Module/Topic
Choice of Law: Part 2
Chapter
Refer to the reading list in the study guide.
Events and Submissions/Topic
Vacation Week
Begin Date: 24 Aug 2026Module/Topic
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Week 7
Begin Date: 31 Aug 2026Module/Topic
Applicable Law: Torts and Contract
Chapter
Refer to the reading list in the study guide.
Events and Submissions/Topic
Week 8
Begin Date: 07 Sep 2026Module/Topic
Applicable Law: Property and Succession
Chapter
Refer to the reading list in the study guide.
Events and Submissions/Topic
Week 9
Begin Date: 14 Sep 2026Module/Topic
Recognition of Foreign Marriages
Chapter
Refer to the reading list in the study guide.
Events and Submissions/Topic
Week 10
Begin Date: 21 Sep 2026Module/Topic
Recognition of the Annulment and Dissolution of Marriages
Chapter
Refer to the reading list in the study guide.
Events and Submissions/Topic
Week 11
Begin Date: 28 Sep 2026Module/Topic
Parental Responsibility
Chapter
Refer to the reading list in the study guide.
Events and Submissions/Topic
Week 12
Begin Date: 05 Oct 2026Module/Topic
Revision and reflection
Chapter
Refer to the reading list in the study guide.
Events and Submissions/Topic
Exam Week
Begin Date: 12 Oct 2026Module/Topic
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Vacation/Exam Week
Begin Date: 19 Oct 2026Module/Topic
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
1 Practical Assessment
This assessment requires you to work with another student to prepare and deliver a live presentation on an area within the conflict of laws that requires reform. Your presentation must be no longer than 20 minutes in length and you will be required to answer questions about your topic. You must also submit a written brief on the issues you have identified and potential proposals for reform.
Further task instructions will be provided on Moodle.
To facilitate the organisation of the presentations, you must sign up for a presentation date/time with your partner prior to census date.
Note: As students are reliant upon each other to deliver the presentation, extensions (including the standard 72 hour grace period) are not permitted for this assessment. This assessment must be submitted by the specified due date and time.
This assessment requires students to adhere to the guidelines on the use of artificial intelligence tools as specified in the Artificial Intelligence Assessment Scale (AIAS). Any misuse or lack of disclosure regarding the use of AI tools will be considered a breach of academic integrity. The use of AI tools or technology is prohibited in the completion of this assignment (level 1). You must not use AI tools or technology to produce substantive content in any manner. You are permitted to use technology or tools that assist with spelling, grammar or formatting.
Week 8 Monday (7 Sept 2026) 6:00 pm AEST
The written component must be submitted via Moodle by the due date specified. The oral component will be conducted via Zoom at the date/time nominated by students. Extensions (including the 72 hour grace period) are not permitted.
Students will receive verbal feedback after their Zoom presentation. A grade will be confirmed via Moodle Gradebook after all students complete the assessment task. Estimated return time for the written component is 2 weeks.
This practical assessment assesses your ability to:
- evaluate both legal and practical issues;
- conduct legal research;
- analyse and compare potential options for reform;
- make evidence-based and logical arguments;
- cite suitable sources in support of your discussions;
- present information orally in an effective, engaging and professional manner;
- communicate effectively in writing; and
- reference in accordance with the Australian Guide to Legal Citation (AGLC4).
Further instructions for this assessment and a criteria rubric will be provided on Moodle.
- Analyse and apply relevant legal doctrines and principles that address jurisdictional, choice of law or enforcement issues to practical scenarios involving foreign elements
- Evaluate the development of private international law in Australia compared with other jurisdictions and its significance for legal practice
- Communicate both orally and in writing in an effective and professional manner.
2 Written Assessment
For this take home exam, you must provide a response to a series of questions based on the content covered in weeks 1 to 12.
This assessment is the equivalent of an exam. The take home exam is 2.5 hours (150 minutes) duration. You must be available to sit this take home exam as extensions are not permitted and submissions after the due date/time are not accepted.
The take home exam will be held around or during the University exam period. As these are coordinated by the School of Business and Law, the date and time of the take home exam will be advised in due course.
Note the following conditions apply to the take home exam:
1. take home exams are for 2.5 hours (150 minutes) duration only;
2. submissions received after the deadline has passed will not be accepted;
3. failure to submit by the deadline will result in a mark of zero for this assessment as the paper will not be marked;
4. extensions are not available for take home exams (although Accessibility adjustments still apply);
5. exam conditions apply to take home exams; and
6. for the duration of the assessment, the use of generative AI, large language models and other similar tools are prohibited.
This assessment must be submitted by the specified due date and time. Due to the nature of this task, the standard 72-hour grace period does not apply.
This assessment requires students to adhere to the guidelines on the use of artificial intelligence tools as specified in the Artificial Intelligence Assessment Scale (AIAS). Any misuse or lack of disclosure regarding the use of AI tools will be considered a breach of academic integrity. The use of AI tools or technology is prohibited in the completion of this assignment (level 1). You must not use AI tools or technology to produce substantive content in any manner. You are permitted to use technology or tools that assist with spelling, grammar or formatting.
Further instructions for the take home exam and a criteria rubric will be provided on Moodle.
Date and time of exam TBA. The take-home exam will be released 2.5 hours before the due time. The due time is given as Qld time. Students outside Queensland must adjust for their time zone.
Results will be released to students after certification of grades.
This take home exam assesses your ability to:
- analyse both legal and practical issues;
- apply the law to a factual scenario;
- make evidence-based and logical arguments;
- cite suitable sources in support of your discussions;
- communicate effectively in writing; and
- reference in accordance with the Australian Guide to Legal Citation (AGLC4).
- Analyse and apply relevant legal doctrines and principles that address jurisdictional, choice of law or enforcement issues to practical scenarios involving foreign elements
- Evaluate the development of private international law in Australia compared with other jurisdictions and its significance for legal practice
- Communicate both orally and in writing in an effective and professional manner.
As a CQUniversity student you are expected to act honestly in all aspects of your academic work.
Any assessable work undertaken or submitted for review or assessment must be your own work. Assessable work is any type of work you do to meet the assessment requirements in the unit, including draft work submitted for review and feedback and final work to be assessed.
When you use the ideas, words or data of others in your assessment, you must thoroughly and clearly acknowledge the source of this information by using the correct referencing style for your unit. Using others’ work without proper acknowledgement may be considered a form of intellectual dishonesty.
Participating honestly, respectfully, responsibly, and fairly in your university study ensures the CQUniversity qualification you earn will be valued as a true indication of your individual academic achievement and will continue to receive the respect and recognition it deserves.
As a student, you are responsible for reading and following CQUniversity’s policies, including the Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure. This policy sets out CQUniversity’s expectations of you to act with integrity, examples of academic integrity breaches to avoid, the processes used to address alleged breaches of academic integrity, and potential penalties.
What is a breach of academic integrity?
A breach of academic integrity includes but is not limited to plagiarism, self-plagiarism, collusion, cheating, contract cheating, and academic misconduct. The Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure defines what these terms mean and gives examples.
Why is academic integrity important?
A breach of academic integrity may result in one or more penalties, including suspension or even expulsion from the University. It can also have negative implications for student visas and future enrolment at CQUniversity or elsewhere. Students who engage in contract cheating also risk being blackmailed by contract cheating services.
Where can I get assistance?
For academic advice and guidance, the Academic Learning Centre (ALC) can support you in becoming confident in completing assessments with integrity and of high standard.
What can you do to act with integrity?
