LAWS11068 - Resolving Civil Disputes (ADR)

General Information

Unit Synopsis

Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) examines the theory and application of procedures for the resolution of disputes as an alternative to a judicial process. In this unit you will examine ADR methods such as negotiation, mediation, conciliation and arbitration and theoretical developments such as Collaborative Law. You will develop basic skills in listening, negotiation and mediation. You will also explore how to design ADR approaches suitable to help resolve client disputes, quickly, at minimal cost and consistent with the principles of access to justice.

Details

Level Undergraduate
Unit Level 1
Credit Points 6
Student Contribution Band SCA Band 4
Fraction of Full-Time Student Load 0.125
Pre-requisites or Co-requisites

Co-requisite: LAWS11057 Introduction to Law.

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).

Class Timetable View Unit Timetable
Residential School No Residential School

Unit Availabilities from Term 2 - 2024

Term 2 - 2024 Profile
Online
Term 2 - 2025 Profile
Online

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).

Assessment Overview

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.

Assessment Tasks

Assessment Task Weighting
1. Written Assessment 40%
2. Written Assessment 60%

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

Past Exams

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Previous Feedback

Term 2 - 2024 : The overall satisfaction for students in the last offering of this course was 80.95% (`Agree` and `Strongly Agree` responses), based on a 35.59% response rate.

Feedback, Recommendations and Responses

Every unit is reviewed for enhancement each year. At the most recent review, the following staff and student feedback items were identified and recommendations were made.

Source: Student unit evaluation
Feedback
Due date for the first (negotiation) assessment was pushed back by one week to week 4 (instead of week 3) to provide students more time to find partners
Recommendation
Due dates should not be moved and students should be constantly reminded starting in week 1 about the time-sensitive nature of the unit assessments and that no extensions will be permitted on account of a failure to find a partner.
Action Taken
Actioned via scheduling and communication.
Source: Student unit evaluation
Feedback
Very content heavy
Recommendation
Review whether some topics especially relating to non-mainstream dispute resolution schemes can be removed and the topics covered reduced in scope.
Action Taken
Actioned in workshops.
Source: Student unit evaluations
Feedback
Interactive tutorials and interesting discussions
Recommendation
Real-life, problem-based scenarious should continue to be used as they engage students and stimulate discussions.
Action Taken
Actioned in workshops.
Source: Student unit evaluation
Feedback
Usefulness of negotiation assessment unclear
Recommendation
Create a video and more notes that explain what the negotiation assessment is about, what it seeks to assess, and how useful it is in legal practice. More resources about negotiation skills and strategies should be added on Moodle that draw attention to how students can negotiation more effectively.
Action Taken
Actioned in workshops.
Source: Student Evaluations and Unit Coordinator Self-Reflection
Feedback
Review scheduling of unit content
Recommendation
Consider positive and negative impacts of the unit's intensive scheduling. Check alignment of learning and assessment schedules with other units.
Action Taken
In Progress
Source: Unit Coordinator Self-Reflection
Feedback
Maintain currency of unit content
Recommendation
2024 is a transitional year for Resolving Civil Disputes, due to a new textbook being published mid-year and ongoing changes in practice. Unit content will require especially close attention to maintain currency.
Action Taken
In Progress
Source: Peer Review
Feedback
Consider adjacent aspects of professional practice
Recommendation
As the unit transitions into the LLB core in 2026, there is an opportunity to consider the intersection between resolving civil disputes and other core skills and knowledge for lawyers and law students.
Action Taken
In Progress
Unit learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:

  1. Discuss the range and operation of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) methods and their relationship with litigation
  2. Demonstrate skills in listening, negotiation, and mediation together with the ability to design ADR processes and drafting appropriate documents to support an ethical dispute resolution design
  3. Research, critique and evaluate the ADR literature to assist with determining appropriate ADR processes in a given fact situation
  4. Outline the basic theoretical principles of dispute resolution systems and how to apply them to manage conflicts
  5. Gain and discuss an appreciation of the ADR processes of International Commercial Arbitration or Australian First Nations People.

Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Learning Outcomes
Assessment Tasks Learning Outcomes
1 2 3 4 5
1 - Written Assessment • • • • •
2 - Written Assessment • • • • •
Alignment of Graduate Attributes to Learning Outcomes
• Introductory Level
• Intermediate Level
• Graduate Level
Graduate Attributes Learning Outcomes
1 2 3 4 5
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 • • • •
Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Graduate Attributes
• Introductory Level
• Intermediate Level
• Graduate Level
Assessment Tasks Graduate Attributes
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
1 - Written Assessment • • • • • • • •
2 - Written Assessment • • • • • •