University of Sydney Handbooks - 2018 Archive

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Units of study U-Z

Sydney Law School postgraduate units of study - U-Z

LAWS6109 UK International Taxation

Credit points: 6 Teacher/Coordinator: Prof Malcolm Gammie Session: Intensive September Classes: Sep 5-7 and 10, 11 (9-3.30) Assumed knowledge: It is assumed that students undertaking this unit have successfully completed an undergraduate/postgraduate unit of study in tax law. 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 26, 27 and May 3, 4 (9-4) Assessment: class participation (10%) and quiz (20%) and essay or take-home 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 9-11 and 14, 15 (9-3.30) Assumed knowledge: It is assumed that students undertaking this unit have successfully completed an undergraduate/postgraduate unit of study in tax law. Assessment: in-class assessment (30%) and 2hr exam (70%) 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: Prof Richard Johnstone Session: Intensive May Classes: May 18, 19 and 25, 26 (9-5) Assumed knowledge: LAWS6252 or a law degree and LAWS6071 (MLLR students) Assessment: class participation (10%), 3000wd essay (40%) and assignment (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.
LAWS6305 Workplace Investigations

Credit points: 6 Teacher/Coordinator: Ms Kate Petersen Session: Intensive October Classes: Intro Class: Sep 25 (6-8) then Oct 5, 6 and 26, 27 (9-5) Assumed knowledge: LAWS6252 or a law degree and LAWS6071 Labour Law (MLLR students) Assessment: class participation (15%), class presentation (15%) and assignment (70%) Mode of delivery: Block mode
Note: Department permission required for enrolment
Note: This unit has a restricted class size. Please note enrolment priority will be given to MLLR students who are currently enrolled at Sydney Law School.
Lawyers and HR/IR practitioners are increasingly required to deal with complaints of sexual harassment, bullying and discrimination, and address suspected misconduct such as Code of Conduct breaches, fraud/theft, and safety and other breaches. In order to take, and if necessary defend, disciplinary and other action, a proper factual and legal foundation must be established, through a workplace investigation. We also specifically consider how concepts of 'procedural fairness' and 'natural justice' impact a workplace investigation. The unit explores the various stages of a workplace investigation, including: (1) establishing the scope of the investigation and particularizing the alleged complaint or misconduct; (2) conducting interviews and gathering other information; (3) managing participants, including stand down/suspension; (4) evaluating information and making findings applying the relevant standard of proof and legal test(s); and (5) implementing investigation findings.
LAWS6063 World Trade Organization Law I

Credit points: 6 Teacher/Coordinator: Dr Brett Williams Session: Intensive September Classes: Aug 24, 25 and Sep 21, 22 (9-5.30) Prohibitions: LAWS3439 or LAWS5139 Assumed knowledge: limited knowledge of law of treaties Assessment: 3000 to 3500wd essay (40%) and take-home exam (60%) Mode of delivery: Block mode
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 also offers some comparisons with regulation under bilateral and regional trade agreements. 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 (and comparing with some bilateral and regional trade agreements). 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 compare it with the negative list approach used under some bilateral and regional trade agreements; and the rules of the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property (TRIPS), emphasizing patents, copyright and trademarks, and noting some TRIPS plus aspects of some bilateral and regional trade agreements. 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, Prof Murray Lee Session: Intensive October Classes: Oct 5, 6 and 19, 20 (9-5) Prohibitions: LAWS6069 Assessment: class presentation (10%), 3000wd essay (40%) and take-home exam (50%) Mode of delivery: Block mode
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.