MGSC Curriculum Handbook

Legal Studies

Unit 1:  Guilt and liability

This unit will focus on:

  • Legal foundations            
  • The presumption of innocence
  • Civil liability

On completion of this unit students will be able to:

  • Describe the main sources and types of law, and assess the effectiveness of laws
  • Explain the purposes and key concepts of criminal law and use legal reasoning to argue the criminal culpability of an accused based on actual and/or hypothetical scenarios
  • Explain the purposes and key concepts of civil law and apply legal reasoning to argue the liability of a party in a civil law based on actual and/or hypothetical scenarios

Unit 2:  Sanctions, remedies and rights

This unit will focus on:

  • Sanctions
  • Remedies
  • Rights

On completion of this unit students will be able to:

  • Explain key concepts in the determination of a criminal case, and discuss the principles of justice in relation to the determination of criminal cases, sanctions and sentencing approaches
  • Explain the key concepts in the resolution of a civil dispute, and discuss the principles of justice in relation to the resolution of civil disputes and remedies
  • Evaluate the ways in which rights are protected in Australia, compare this approach with that adopted by another country and discuss the impact of an Australian case on the rights of individuals and the legal system

Unit 3: Rights and justice

This unit will focus on:

  • The Victorian criminal justice system
  • The Victorian civil justice system

On completion of this unit students will be able to:

  • Explain the rights of the accused and of victims in the criminal justice system, discuss the means used to determine criminal cases and evaluate the ability of the criminal justice system to achieve the principles of justice
  • Analyse the factors to consider when initiating a civil claim, discuss the institutions and methods used to resolve civil disputes and evaluate the ability of the civil justice system to achieve the principles of justice

Unit 4: The people and the law

This unit will focus on:

  • The people and the Australian Constitution
  • The people, the Parliament and Courts

On completion of this unit students will be able to:

  • Discuss the significance of High Court cases involving the interpretation of the Australian Constitution and evaluate the ways in which it acts as a check on parliament in law-making
  • Discuss the factors that affect the ability of parliament and courts to make law, evaluate the ability of law-making to respond to the need for law reform