70327 Introduction to Property and Commercial Law
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particular session, location and mode of offering is the authoritative source
of all information about the subject for that offering. Required texts, recommended texts and references in particular are likely to change. Students will be provided with a subject outline once they enrol in the subject.
Subject handbook information prior to 2025 is available in the Archives.
Credit points: 6 cp
Result type: Grade and marks
Requisite(s): 70211 Contracts AND 70311c Torts
The lower case 'c' after the subject code indicates that the subject is a corequisite. See definitions for details.
Anti-requisite(s): 70318 Personal Property
Description
In this subject students develop an understanding of commercial law. In broad terms, this is the body of law that deals with the rights and obligations of persons and entities engaged in merchandising and sale of goods, and other transactions such as leases and securitization of a wide variety of forms of property including land and personal property. Commercial law also encompasses the regulation of the conduct of parties in engaging with each other in these transactions.
Through the lens of commercial law, this subject introduces foundational concepts in relation to what is “property” and the creation and disposition of rights in property that are the subject of commercial transactions or which are negotiated as security interests to finance borrowing or other dealings in commercial life. It examines how the body of law known as Equity recognizes different rights in property and affords particular remedies in disputes arising in relation to commercial transactions. These introductory concepts also provide the essential conceptual foundations for the two specialized and more detailed subjects that follow this subject: Real Property and Equity and Trusts.
The field of commercial law is greatly impacted by the operation of statute. In this subject students gain an understanding of some of the principles of statutory interpretation and apply these in the context of relevant statutory regimes, the Sale of Goods Act, the Australian Consumer Law and the Personal Property Securities Act that regulate the conduct between parties and define their rights and remedies.
Subject learning objectives (SLOs)
Upon successful completion of this subject students should be able to:
| 1. | Understand and apply the law relating to commercial transactions with a particular focus on personal property transactions and related concepts of finance law. |
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| 2. | Apply statutory interpretation skills to navigate, interpret and apply specific legislation to solve legal problems. |
| 3. | Critically analyse how the law may affect common commercial transactions and make reasoned choices amongst alternatives. |
| 4. | Develop a logical and justifiable argument as to how legislation affects common commercial transactions involving personal property. |
| 5. | Accurately assess their capabilities, wellbeing and performance by undertaking and initiating self-directed work and learning, including identifying gaps in their own knowledge and skills and determine how best to eliminate those gaps. |
Course intended learning outcomes (CILOs)
This subject also contributes specifically to the development of the following graduate attributes which reflect the course intended learning outcomes:
- Legal Knowledge
A coherent understanding of fundamental areas of legal knowledge including:
a. The Australian colonial and post-colonial legal system, international and comparative contexts, theoretical and technical knowledge;
b. The broader contexts within which legal issues arise and the law operates including cultural awareness, social justice and policy;
c. The impact of Anglo-Australian laws on Indigenous peoples, including their historical origins in the process of colonisation and ongoing impact; and
d. The principles and values of justice and ethical practices in lawyers' roles. (LAW.1.1) - Critical Analysis and Evaluation
A capacity to think critically, strategically and creatively, including the ability to:
a. Identify and articulate legal issues in context, including the skill of critical reading and writing;
b. Apply reasoning and research to generate appropriate responses;
c. Engage in critical analysis and make a reasoned choice amongst alternatives; and
d. Think creatively in approaching legal issues and generating appropriate responses. (LAW.3.1) - Communication
Effective and appropriate communication skills including:
a. Highly effective use of the English language to convey legal ideas and views to different and diverse audiences and environments;
b. An ability to communicate to inform, analyse, report and persuade;
c. An ability to strategically select an appropriate medium and message;
d. An ability to assess how messages are received and alter communication strategies accordingly; and
e. An ability to be responsive and adaptive to the perspectives of collaborators, clients, counter parties and others. (LAW.5.1) - Self management
The ability to implement appropriate self-management and lifelong learning strategies including:
a. An ability to undertake and initiate self-directed work and learning;
b. Well-developed judgment and responsibility as a legal professional in a broader social context;
c. The ability to support personal and professional development by:
(i). Reflecting on and assessing their own capabilities, wellbeing and performance;
(ii). Making use of feedback as appropriate;
(iii). Identifying and accessing appropriate resources and assistance; and
(iv). Making use of resources and support in developing resilience; and
d. A capacity to adapt to and embrace change and a commitment to ongoing learning. (LAW.8.1)
Teaching and learning strategies
Strategy 1: Independent learning by way of preparation
Students take responsibility for their preparation for tutorials which helps develop appropriate professional self-management skills and strategies for being well prepared at all times. Through completion of readings before class (as outlined in the tutorial guide on Canvas), by listening to podcasts and watching vodcasts (loaded onto Canvas) prior to class, students will develop knowledge of key concepts and develop skills in statutory interpretation that they will then practise and develop further in tutorials.
Students will need to complete a range of tasks in preparation for tutorial classes:
Students must listen carefully to the podcast(s) before attending the tutorial. This preparation will be tested in the weekly online quiz which will provide regular low stages feedback from Week 2 to gauge understanding of principles and effectiveness of preparation.
Strategy 2: Lectures
Students listen to an hour of weekly podcasted lectures online before attending the tutorials. These podcasts bring together the essential principles and core legal knowledge that is analysed and applied in tutorial activities and discussion.
Strategy 3: Tutorial Participation
By participating in weekly tutorials, students will test legal knowledge and develop and improve skills in critical legal analysis and statutory interpretation which forms a core part of professional legal practice.
Students within each tutorial group will be assigned set tasks at the commencement of the session in which they will be required to lead class discussion on directed issues. Preparation for tutorial participation will require students to assess their own understanding of commercial transactions and they will need to review online materials and further reading (as provided on Canvas) to eliminate gaps in their knowledge. This supports the achievement of the self-management graduate attribute.
The tutorials will include a range of authentic learning opportunities which may include providing written advice to clients, team discussions and debates and practice problems involving navigating, explaining and applying complex statutory provisions.
Subject Delivery
The subject will comprise weekly tutorials (including lecture and tutorial discussion) plus a series of pre-tutorial podcasts, vodcasts and online and hard copy readings.
Students are expected to remain in their tutorial groups for the duration of the semester.
The timetabled activities for this subject can be found on the UTS timetable online at http://timetable.uts.edu.au. Students enrolled in this subject can view their personalised timetable in My Subject Activities online at https://mysubjects.uts.edu.au.
Content (topics)
- What is “property”: characteristics of property, types of property (real property and personal property).
- Historical development of common law and equity; equitable interests in property
- What is a “trust” and the nature of beneficial interests in property.
- Financing sales of goods (leasing and hire purchase/bailment) and security interests in property.
- Principles of statutory interpretation
- Sale of Goods Act
- Introduction to the Australian Consumer Law
- Introduction to the Personal Property Securities Act
Assessment
Assessment task 1: Weekly Quizzes
| Objective(s): | This task addresses the following subject learning objectives: 1 and 2 This task contributes specifically to the development of the following graduate attributes: LAW.1.1, LAW.3.1 and LAW.8.1 |
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| Weight: | 10% |
| Criteria: | A solid working knowledge of legal principles underpins the Graduate Attribute (Legal Knowledge (1.0)) and enables students to more confidently engage in finding solutions to legal problems. These quizzes provide weekly feedback on developing understanding of essential principles continuously through the session. |
Assessment task 2: Law Firm File Note – Case Analysis
| Objective(s): | This task addresses the following subject learning objectives: 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 This task contributes specifically to the development of the following graduate attributes: LAW.1.1, LAW.3.1 and LAW.5.1 |
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| Weight: | 40% |
| Length: | 1500 words not including footnotes (with 10% flexibility). Footnotes should only be used for references. Any content apart from references in footnotes will not be marked. |
| Criteria: | Demonstrated ability to analyse a factual scenario to identify types of property, equitable interests in property, the nature of a trust and types of commercial security interests.
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Assessment task 3: Open Book Exam - (2 Hour)
| Intent: | This assessment targets:
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| Objective(s): | This task addresses the following subject learning objectives: 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 This task contributes specifically to the development of the following graduate attributes: LAW.1.1, LAW.3.1 and LAW.5.1 |
| Weight: | 50% |
| Length: | 2-hour exam within a 3-hour window. |
| Criteria: |
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Required texts
Gail Pearson et al, Commercial Law Commentary and Materials, 4th Ed (Lawbook Co, 2019)
Thomson Reuters have advised us that they have increased their discount offering and students can now receive 20% discount (up from 15%) and free shipping if they sign up for the student Promo Code.
The site is: https://legal.thomsonreuters.com.au/student/
They have also created a page specific to the texts being used at UTS: https://legal.thomsonreuters.com.au/student/university/uts/
Recommended texts
There are a range of books available in the library on topics covered in this course which you may choose to read to enhance your understanding of the contents of this course:
Alex Bruce, Consumer Protection in Australia (LexisNexis, 4th ed, 2022)
A.J. Duggan, Australian Personal Property Securities Law (LexisNexis, 3rd ed, 2021)
Dilan Thampapillai et al, Australian Commercial Law, 2nd Ed (Cambridge University Press, 2020)
Jason Harris and Nicholas Mirzai, Annotated Personal Property Securities Act 2009 (CCH Australia, 4th ed, 2020)
Ewan McKendrick, Goode on Commercial Law (Penguin, 2017)
Jeannie Paterson, Corones' Australian Consumer Law (Lawbook Co, 4th ed, 2019)
Clive Turner and John Trone, Australian Commercial Law (Thomson Reuters, 34th ed, 2023)
Clive Turner, Roger Gamble and John Trone, Concise Australian Commercial Law (Thomson Reuters, 7th ed, 2023)
Other resources
Podcasts and Vodcasts
There are a series of vodcasts and podcasts used as a key component to this course. These will be accessible via Canvas. You are required to listen and watch all of these. Some of these you are required to listen to or watch before or after particular tutorials. Please see the program in this guide to see when you should listen to and watch these.
Lecture slides
Where used by individual tutorial leaders, lecture slides will be made available on Canvas. At the latest these will be posted to Canvas in the same week as the tutorial. Where possible these may be posted prior.