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Equity and Trusts - LAWS2385

Faculty: Faculty of Law

School: Faculty of Law

Course Outline: See below

Campus: Sydney

Career: Undergraduate

Units of Credit: 6

EFTSL: 0.12500 (more info)

Indicative Contact Hours per Week: 3

Enrolment Requirements:

Pre-requisite: LAWS1075 or JURD7175 Pre-requisite: LAWS1072 or JURD7172

Excluded: JURD7281, JURD7285, LAWS2381

CSS Contribution Charge: 3 (more info)

Tuition Fee: See Tuition Fee Schedule

Further Information: See Class Timetable

View course information for previous years.

Description

This course introduces students to the doctrines of equity and the law of trusts. It traces the historical development of equity and its relationship with common law. Students will critically consider the appropriate application of a range of equitable doctrines to particular scenarios and the availability of different remedies. Students will also be introduced to the law of trusts and, in particular, the nature of a trust, legal requirements in establishing a trust as well as the rights, duties and powers associated with trusts. The course assumes familiarity with equitable doctrines taught in Contracts 1 and 2 (for instance, promissory estoppel, undue influence, unconscionability).

In the first year the course is taught (2013), it will include a transitional module on personal property to introduce subject matter that was previously taught in Property, Equity and Trusts and will in future be taught in Principles of Private Law. This is an important pre-requisite for learning about trusts, which involve property. It will also include a transitional module introducing unjust enrichment, which will in future be taught in Principles of Private Law.

This course is one of the core subjects for law and will normally be taken after completion of Contracts 2. It fits within the private law stream, which includes such subjects as Torts, Contracts and Land Law. It provides a good grounding for further studies in this area.

Recommended Prior Knowledge

Students should be familiar with the law of torts and contract.

Course Learning Outcomes

The student will be able to:

Demonstrate awareness of principles of equity and trusts and their relationship to the broader context;
Identify important equitable doctrines and remedies and apply them to hypothetical fact scenarios;
Engage in critical analysis of the role played by equity in common law jurisdictions;
Demonstrate effective oral communication skills by discussing and debating course concepts in a scholarly, reflective and respectful manner;
Apply knowledge of trust law to critique and suggest improvements to clauses in a trust deed;
Ability to work as a member of a team in contributing to class discussion and completing a group assessment task; and
Demonstrate effective written communication skills by articulating legal concepts clearly, persuasively and appropriately.

Topics

In particular, the course will cover the following topics: