TE PIRINGA - FACULTY OF LAW
Advanced Civil Litigation 2015 Outline
1.
Identification of Paper
Paper: LAWS523-15A Advanced Civil Litigation
This paper carries 30 points
2.
Staffing
Les Arthur
(Convenor)
Phone: 6021
Room: G69
email: [email protected]
email to make an appointment
3.
Description and Structure of Paper
(a) The focus of this paper is current and significant issues in civil litigation, with an emphasis on
reform of the civil Justice systems in common law jurisdictions which are intended to promote
access to justice.
For more information, this article will be helpful: ‘Justice in an Age of Austerity’ Lord NeubergerJustice Tom Sargent Memorial Lecture 2013.
(b) Structure of the Paper
General
This is a semester paper. The teaching component comprises lectures and student led seminars.
Timetable and room
Friday 9-11 in TC 3.34
4.
Learning outcomes
Students who successfully complete this paper will gain an understanding of current debate
concerning reform of the civil justice system in common law jurisdictions. Students will gain
knowledge about the purpose and philosophy of case management, the changing role of Lawyers
and Judges in the conduct of civil litigation and the appropriate role of ADR in the Civil Justice
System. Students will also acquire knowledge about the rise of and problems associated with selfrepresented litigants
5.
Workload
Students should expect to spend 300 hours in total on this paper. In addition to lecture
attendance, significant time will need to be spent on background and complementary reading.
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Students should allow for periods of more-focused research time in the preparation of
assignments and/or presentations.
6.
Required and Recommended Reading
All law students are required to purchase, for use in all law papers, a copy of McLay, Murray &
Orpin, New Zealand Law Style Guide, Thomson Reuters (2009). This is available from Bennetts, at
an approximate price of $24.29.
In addition, the Law School requires that student’s purchase the course materials book(s) for this
paper. These are available from Waikato Print.
Further material may be provided on the paper site on Moodle (http://elearn.waikato.ac.nz), the
University of Waikato’s online learning system. Any such material is provided on the following
terms:
University of Waikato owns the intellectual property rights, including copyright, in and to this site,
or has acquired the necessary licenses to display the material on the site. As a student of the Te
Piringa Faculty of Law, you are granted a limited license to use (access, display or print a single
copy) the material from the papers in which you are enrolled for the purposes of participating in
the paper only, provided the information is not modified. Materials may not under any
circumstances be copied, stored, distributed or provided in any form or method whatsoever to
any third party. Any other use of the material is prohibited. None of the material may be
otherwise reproduced, reformatted, republished or re-disseminated in any manner or form
without the prior written consent of University of Waikato. To obtain such consent, please
contact the Te Piringa Faculty of Law.
7.
Online support
Online support for this paper is provided via Moodle.
8.
Assessment
a)
Requirements for assessed work
School procedures for the presentation of course work are set out in the Te Piringa Faculty of Law
Graduate and Postgraduate Handbook which is available from: www.waikato.ac.nz/law/graduate.
See also paragraph 12 below on referencing guidelines and plagiarism.
An assignment template document including coversheet is available on the Law Student
Homepage www.waikato.ac.nz/law/student/.
b)
Coursework: Final Examination Ratio: 100/0
c)
Assessment Components
Assignment resources are available online at http://www.waikato.ac.nz/law/student/
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b)
Coursework: Final Examination Ratio: 100/0
c)
Assessment Components
Component
Percentage of final mark
1. Regular class participation and
presentation of assigned article
10%
2. Research Proposal
3. Presentation of Research Proposal
4. Research paper
15%
10%
65%
Due Date
4pm 15th of May
TBA
4pm 15th of June
Rationale:
The aim of this paper is to provide students with the opportunity to present undertake research
and to present seminars on topics related to contemporary issues in the conduct of civil
proceedings.
Seminar Presentations:



Students will be required to make a 15 minute presentation on course readings in class
and to answer questions and contribute to leading the discussion for the assigned session:
5%.
Students will also be required to make a 15 minute presentation based on their research
proposal: 10%.
Presentations will be marked having regard to the following criteria:
1. Demonstration of knowledge about the material and context of the material presented
2. Scope and depth of understanding of the materials
3. Ability to answer questions and to stimulate discussion about the material, including
questions addressing concepts and theories
Research Proposal:
The proposal should identify the topic in the form of a question or questions and answer the
question with an outline of an argument. Include a thesis statement paragraph with a statement
of the question and a summary of your answer; an outline of the major sections of the paper
which should flow as steps in in an argument answering your question; and a brief annotated
bibliography of approximately 10 core books ,articles or other sources. An annotated bibliography
provides a couple of sentences on each item indicating that you have read the item and indicating
where it supports your argument. The proposal and bibliography should demonstrate that you
have investigated four types of research sources: primary sources (cases and statutes); secondary
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sources (articles and commentary); other legal database sources; and internet/ website searching.
Do not rely solely on web sites and information available on the internet.
There is a 5 page limit.
Topics for your research must be cleared with the lecturer.
You will be given an opportunity to discuss your topic in class.

Research Paper:
o The research paper is the result of the finalised research indicated in the proposal. It is
an 8,000 word (including footnotes and bibliography) assignment which will require
the exercise of legal research skills, legal analysis and legal writing. At LLM level
students are expected to know how to do research, write a research paper and make a
legal argument. If you are not familiar with this process you should consult student
services. There will not be time to teach research and writing in this class.
o The research paper should present a coherent, in-depth argument on the topic. It is
not sufficient for students to present summaries of the work of others.
o It is suggested that students critically read their own papers with a view to improving
the coherence and depth of the argument. It may be helpful to have others read and
critique the paper as well. Do not hand in a rushed first draft.
o In marking the research papers the quality of the following will be assessed:
 Clear statement of the thesis;
 Satisfactory primary, secondary, database and internet research;
 an understanding of the work already covered on the area;
 sound analysis of policy, legislation, case law, etc;
 an original and well developed argument that demonstrates a sound basis of
thinking in the analysis and clear thinking about the issues;
 useful conclusions;
 writing– major deficiencies in structure, style, grammar, spelling, proofreading
and references will result in lower marks;
 A fully referenced bibliography, including primary and secondary sources, other
database sources, and internet sources.
Texts available in the library that are highly recommended to students for writing research
papers are:
 Block, Effective Legal Writing (1992)
 Armstrong and Terrell, Thinking Like a Writer – A Lawyer’s Guide to Effective Writing
and Editing (1992)
 Ray and Ramsfield, Legal Writing: Getting it Right and Getting it Written (1987).
d)
Handing in, marking time and collection
All assignments must be submitted electronically through Moodle (http://elearn.waikato.ac.nz),
and include a coversheet. The coversheet template is provided on the Law Student Homepage
(www.waikato.ac.nz/law/student). See Te Piringa Faculty of Law Graduate and Postgraduate
Handbook, available at www.waikato.ac.nz/law/graduate. Where practical, it is the policy of Te
Piringa Faculty of Law to return marked work to students within five weeks of submission.
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If you require assistance with Moodle, or encounter any problems, please contact the Help Desk.
You can send a message to Help Desk by using the instant message service in your paper’s
Moodle site (from the participants list within the People block). Alternatively, you can email them
directly at [email protected] or call 838 4008.
e)
Measurement of Achievement
Achievement in assignments and presentations will be measured in terms of levels of
understanding and knowledge gained, in terms of the originality and the sophistication of analysis
provided, in terms of coherent and logical structure, and in terms of the fluency and accuracy of
expression and referencing.
f)
Management of assessment deadlines, process for requesting extensions and special
consideration, and for appeals
i)
Extensions
Students are required to complete and submit all internal assessment by specified dates. The
meeting of deadlines is a mark of professionalism and its enforcement is essential for fairness to
all students taking the paper. Handing in course work on or before the due in date also facilitates
the timely return of marked work by academic staff. Students should meet requirements as to
time deadlines for course work, or make a request for an extension or special consideration in
appropriate circumstances (see Graduate Programmes Manual available from the Faculty of Law
Graduate website www.waikato.ac.nz/law/graduate/.) Failure to comply with requirements as to
the time deadlines for internal assessment without having successfully applied either for an
extension or special consideration with supporting evidence before the due date will result in
deduction of 2.5 marks for each day the work is late. Lateness of more than a week may result in
the work not being marked. No deadlines may be extended beyond two weeks after the last
teaching day of the semester(s) in which the paper is taught as final grades must go to the Board
of Examiners at this time. Unless an extension in writing has been granted, a lecturer may refuse
to accept a piece of work which is submitted after the specified date, and automatically award it
no mark, or may lower the mark as a penalty for lateness.
Applications for extension, on the form obtainable from the Resource Room, must be submitted
to the Chief Examiner or nominee. Students should not submit the extension form to the
lecturer, nor should students seek extensions from the lecturer via other forms of
communication. Extensions will be granted only on evidence of illness, family bereavement, or
serious personal accidents or circumstances. Please note that too many assignments due at the
same time is NOT an acceptable reason, neither are claims that computers and/or printers have
crashed. Account will be taken of the time in which the student has had to complete the internal
assessment before the supervening event occurred. It will be important to consider if the grant of
the extension will give the student in question an unfair advantage over other students. A
maximum period of 21 days will be given as an extension unless there are exceptional
circumstances. In determining applications the Chief Examiner or nominee may consult with the
Convenor or lecturer of the relevant paper.
When the Chief Examiner or nominee has made a decision on the application for extension, the
Resource Room Administrative Assistant will advise the student of the decision by email.
Following this, the extension form will be given to the relevant lecturer who will retain it until
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after the assignment is marked and returned to students. The form will then be placed on the
student’s file. It should be noted that if an extension of longer than 14 days is granted, the
assignment will not be automatically printed out and delivered to the lecturer, therefore the
lecturer is responsible for ensuring the assignment is printed. In appropriate cases, when a
student’s application for extension is declined the Chief Examiner or nominee will inform the
student of the process for applying for special consideration.
ii)
Special Consideration
The Assessment Regulations 2005 as set out in the University Calendar 2015 list in detail the
university-wide policies and procedures, which apply concerning missed examinations, impaired
performance or impaired preparation time for an examination, and missed or impaired course
work. Students are responsible for ensuring that they comply with these regulations. Application
forms for special consideration for internal assessment are available from the Resource Room.
iii)
Appeals (University Calendar 2015, Assessment Regulations 2005, Reg. 24)
A student may appeal against any decision taken under these regulations.
An appeal, comprising a written statement of the circumstances of the appeal, together with
supporting evidence if available, must be submitted by the student in writing to the Director of
Student & Academic Services not more than seven days after the date on which notification of the
relevant decision is received.
Appeals under this section are considered and decided by the Deputy Vice-Chancellor by
delegated authority of the Academic Programmes Committee.
A decision by the Deputy Vice-Chancellor is notified in writing, and is final.
9.
University Calendar Regulations and Policies
Your attention is drawn to the following regulations and policies, which are published in the
University Calendar 2015.
Assessment Regulations 2005
Student Discipline Regulations 2008
Computer Systems Regulations 2005
Policy on the Use of Māori for Assessment
Student Research Regulations 2008
Ethical Conduct in Human Research and Related Activities Regulations 2008.
10.
Links to other papers
This paper develops concepts and themes taught in Legal Ethics, Mediation and Civil Procedure
11.
Fees
Refer to http://calendar.waikato.ac.nz/admission/tableoffeesandcharges.html.
12.
(a)
(b)
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Referencing guidelines and caution against plagiarism
Referencing must be in accordance with the New Zealand Law Style Guide.
All written work submitted for the purposes of assessment must be your own work.
Copying or paraphrasing all or part of another person’s work, be it published or
unpublished, without clear attribution, is plagiarism. Plagiarism is misconduct and is dealt
with under the disciplinary procedures of the University as outlined in the Student
Discipline Regulations 2008 in the University Calendar.
“Plagiarism means presenting as one’s own work the work of another, and includes the copying
or paraphrasing of another person’s work in an assessment item without acknowledging it as the
other person’s work through full and accurate referencing; it applies to assessment presented
through a written, spoken, electronic, broadcasting, visual, performance or other medium.” See
section 3, Assessment Regulations (2015 Calendar)
Unless approved otherwise by the examiners of the papers concerned, a student must not submit
as assessment material that is substantially the same as material submitted as assessment for a
different paper.
(c)
The Te Piringa - Faculty of Law’s policy regarding plagiarism is contained in the Te Piringa
Faculty of Law Graduate and Post-Graduate Handbook and the Te Piringa Faculty of Law
Graduate Programmes Manual, available from www.waikato.ac.nz/law/graduate/.
13.
Health and safety
The Faculty of Law’s Health and Safety representative is Ms Renee Rewi who is in Room Law G69
at ext 6727.
14.
Class representation
At the commencement of the semester A, a class representative will be elected by the students in
Advanced Civil Litigation. This representative is encouraged to communicate regularly with the
Convenor. Students in this paper are encouraged to liaise with their representative to discuss
issues of concern. Contact details for the Student Representation Coordinator, Academic Services
Division, are as follows ext. 6264, email: [email protected]
15.
Complaints procedures
The brochure Student Concerns and Complaints Policy provides details of the University’s process
for handling concerns and complaints and is available from Faculty and School Offices, The
Gateway and Student Services Division and is contained in the Calendar 2015. See also the
document Student Support Structure at Te Piringa Faculty of Law, available from the Resource
Room.
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Proposed Lecture/seminar Schedule A Semester; the schedule may be modified depending on
number of students who enrol in the paper.
Week Commencing
Programme of lecture topics
2 March (Semester A Starts)
Overview, what is the purpose of civil
Justice? Themes in civil justice Reform;
balancing rectitude of decision with delay
and cost, Key Concepts;
Case
management
and
proportionality,
mitigating adversarial culture
9 March
Reform in England and Wales; Woolf and
Jackson reforms
16 March
Reform in Australia with particular
reference to Civil Procedure Act 2010
Victoria
23 March
Reform in NZ with particular reference to
case management and discovery
30 March (3 April Good Friday)
No Class
6 April (Easter Monday & Tuesday)
Teaching Recess
13 April
Teaching Recess
20 April (25 April Anzac Day)
The Role of ADR in the Civil Justice System
27 April (27 April ANZAC Day - observed)
Self- Represented litigants
4 May
Research Proposal; Class Discussion
11 May
Research proposal Due
18 May
Presentation Research Proposal
25 May
Presentation Research Proposal
1 June (1 June Queen’s Birthday)
Presentation Research Proposal
8 June
Study Week
15 June
Examinations
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22 June
Examinations
29 June
Teaching Recess
6 July
Teaching Recess/Enrolment
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