University of Sydney Handbooks - 2016 Archive

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Units of study U-Z

Faculty of Law postgraduate units of study - U-Z

LAWS6109 UK International Taxation

Credit points: 6 Teacher/Coordinator: Adj Prof Malcolm Gammie Session: Intensive August Classes: Aug 3-5 & 8, 9 (9-3.30) Assessment: take-home exam or 7000wd essay (100%) Mode of delivery: Block mode
This unit covers the domestic provisions of UK direct tax law dealing with international transactions, as well as UK treaties and the impact of EU law on the UK tax system. The UK remains one of Australia's major trading partners. UK taxation thus has significant effects for inbound and outbound investment between Australia and the UK. This unit will be of interest to tax professionals who have dealings with the UK. The objective of the unit is to provide an overview of the UK tax system focusing on cross-border investment and expatriate employment issues and a detailed analysis of the most important legislative and treaty rules of the UK in the international direct tax area, especially in dealings with Australia. Upon successful completion of the unit, participants will have an advanced understanding of the policies of the UK rules for taxing international transactions as well as a detailed knowledge of the principles of company and personal taxation applicable to inbound and outbound transactions in the UK. The unit includes a study of: 1. Overview of the UK tax system; 2. Taxation of inbound investment in the UK; 3. Taxation of outbound investment in the UK; 4. Transfer pricing in the UK; 5. UK tax treaties including the Australia UK Tax Treaty; 6. EU tax law as it affects the UK.
LAWS6844 US Corporate Law

Credit points: 6 Teacher/Coordinator: Prof Jennifer Hill Session: Intensive May Classes: Apr 29, 30 & May 6, 7 (9-4) Assessment: class participation (10%) and quiz (20%) and essay or exam (70%) Mode of delivery: Block mode
The objectives of this unit are: understand the history, structure and operation of US corporate law and corporate governance; to examine the common law, statutory provisions; and to explore the tension between state and federal law, including recent regulatory developments under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act 2002 and the Dodd-Frank Act 2010. Specific issues discussed in the course include the "race to the bottom" vs "race to the top" hypotheses; the US approach to veil-piercing; the governance role of shareholders under US law; directors' duties, including the duty of care and the duty of loyalty; the operation of the business judgment rule; derivative litigation; the law relating to closely held corporations; judicial review of tender offer defences.
LAWS6171 US International Taxation

Credit points: 6 Teacher/Coordinator: Prof Ethan Yale Session: Intensive May Classes: May 11-13 & 16, 17 (9-3.30) Assessment: 2hr exam (100%) Mode of delivery: Block mode
The object of this unit is to provide an overview of the income tax system of the US with a focus on the most important legislative and treaty rules of the US in the international income tax area, especially in dealings with Australia. The unit will examine both the policies behind the US taxation of international transactions as well as the rules and principles of income tax law applicable to inbound and outbound transactions in the US.
LAWS6096 Work Health and Safety: Law and Policy

Credit points: 6 Teacher/Coordinator: Mr Michael Tooma Session: Intensive July Classes: Intro Class: Jun 28 (6-8) then Jul 8, 9 & 22, 23 (9-5) Assumed knowledge: LAWS6252 or a law degree (GradDipPubHL and MLLR students) and LAWS6071 (MLLR students) Assessment: class participation (10%), 3000wd essay (40%) and take-home exam (50%) Mode of delivery: Block mode
This unit of study is on work health and safety law and practice. Its main focus is on the role of law in preventing disease, injury and death at work, principally by focusing on the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (NSW), the relevant case law, and the enforcement of the Act. The Work Health and Safety Act 2011 will be placed in its broader context, including the extent of injury and disease at work, the principles of work health and safety management, changing work arrangements, the history of work health and safety regulation and broader principles of regulatory theory. Regulatory provisions governing health and safety in the mining, transport and clothing, textile and footwear industries will also briefly be examined.
LAWS6122 Workplace Bargaining

Credit points: 6 Teacher/Coordinator: Assoc Prof Shae McCrystal (Coordinator), Honourable Iain Ross Session: Intensive September Classes: Intro Class: Aug 23 (6-8) then Sep 9, 10 & 23, 24 (9-5) Assumed knowledge: LAWS6252 and LAWS6071 Assessment: class participation and presentation (25%) and 6000wd essay (75%) Mode of delivery: Block mode
The unit will explore the workplace bargaining model under the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) within the context of models of collective bargaining used in overseas jurisdictions and Australia's international obligations.
The unit will look at the history of collective bargaining in Australia before examining the legislative framework of agreement making, including the legal rules applicable to making and approving enterprise agreements.
The unit will examine the rules that pertain to the process of negotiating an agreement, including the circumstances when an employer can be required to engage in collective bargaining and the good faith requirements that apply during bargaining.
The unit will also consider the rules that regulate industrial conflict including protected industrial action, unprotected industrial action and dispute resolution, before considering the difficulties of engaging in collective negotiations outside of the formal legislative framework.
LAWS6305 Workplace Investigations

Credit points: 6 Teacher/Coordinator: Ms Jane Seymour Session: Intensive April Classes: Intro Class: Mar 22 (6-8) then Apr 8, 9 & 29, 30 (9-5) Assumed knowledge: LAWS6252 or LAWS6071 Assessment: class participation including individual in-class exercises (25%) and group in-class exercises (25%) and 3000wd take-home exam (50%) Mode of delivery: Block mode
Note: Department permission required for enrolment
Note: This unit has a restricted class size.
Lawyers and HR/IR practitioners are increasingly required to deal with complaints of sexual harassment, bullying and discrimination, and address suspected misconduct such as fraud/theft, violence, and safety and other breaches. In order to take disciplinary and other action, a proper factual foundation must be established, through a workplace investigation. This unit of study provides a framework for conducting effective and fair workplace investigations. It provides an overview of the legal risks that arise from poorly conducted investigations and draws relevant principles from current case law, including unfair dismissal decisions and breach of contract cases examining the implied duty of mutual trust and confidence. We consider how concepts of 'procedural fairness' and 'natural justice' impact each stage of a workplace investigation, including: Establishing the scope of the investigation and particularizing the alleged complaint or misconduct; Preparing an Investigation Plan; Conducting interviews and gathering information; Managing participants, including stand down/suspension; and Evaluating information and making findings, applying the relevant standard of proof.
LAWS6063 World Trade Organization Law I

Credit points: 6 Teacher/Coordinator: Dr Brett Williams Session: Intensive April Classes: Apr 4, 5 & 11, 12 (9-6) Assumed knowledge: limited knowledge of law of treaties Assessment: 3000 to 3500wd essay (40%), take-home exam (60%) Mode of delivery: Block mode
Note: This unit replaced LAWS6063 International Trade Regulation
This unit is a comprehensive introduction to the law of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and to the context of economics and politics within which the law operates. It can be taken as either a stand-alone introduction to WTO law or to acquire a solid basis for further study of WTO law. (Students may wish to continue on to take LAWS6249 World Trade Organization Law II which builds upon the knowledge gained in this unit and considers some additional topics of WTO law.) The introductory topic considers the functions of the WTO through the consideration of some basic economics of trade and of public choice. We review the history of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) and the creation of the Agreement Establishing the WTO ending with a review of the institutions of the WTO and of the framework of rules applying under the GATT. There follows a detailed study of the WTO dispute settlement system, under the WTO Understanding on Dispute Settlement, its concepts, procedures and enforcement. We study the framework of rules under the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) and the relationship between regulation of trade in goods and regulation of trade in services; and the rules of the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property (TRIPS), emphasizing patents, copyright and trademarks. The unit analyses in more detail some of the fundamental rules of the GATT: rules on tariff bindings and customs duties, national treatment, non-tariff barriers, the MFN rule on non-discrimination and an introduction to the rules on subsidies. We conclude with a synopsis of WTO developments to the present day. This unit is assessed in two ways: an essay on the object and function of the WTO system and its dispute settlement system; and an exam requiring students to apply the basic rules of the GATT, GATS and TRIPS to fact situations.
LAWS6192 Young People, Crime and the Law

Credit points: 6 Teacher/Coordinator: Dr Garner Clancey, Assoc Prof Murray Lee Session: Intensive August Classes: Aug 12, 13 & 26, 27 (9-5) Prohibitions: LAWS6069 Assessment: class presentation (10%), 3000wd essay (40%), take-home exam (50%) Mode of delivery: Block mode
Note: This unit replaced LAWS6069 Juvenile Justice
The unit aims to provide a broad overview of the functioning of the juvenile justice system and its relationship to juvenile offending. There is a specific emphasis on NSW in terms of understanding the operation of a particular system, however reference is frequently made to the wider Australian and international context. The unit analyses the historical development of a separate system of juvenile justice and the system of ideas about juvenile delinquency as distinct entities separable from broader notions of criminality and criminal justice. The unit also analyses the contemporary nature of juvenile crime and specific issues in relation to offending, policing, community-based corrections and detention centres. Social relations which mediate between the juvenile justice system and young people will be investigated through a focus on gender, race and class. The broader political determinants surrounding the operation of the juvenile justice system and moral panics in relation to juvenile offending will also be examined. The unit aims to develop a critical understanding of the link between theory and juvenile justice policy, and to develop an appreciation of the multi-disciplinary nature of criminological explanation.