PREPARATION FOR EXAMS

LEGAL INSTITUTIONS: SEPTEMBER 2015

ASSIGNMENT REVIEW

ASSIGNMENT ONE

Question One

Locate the Swimming Pools Act NSW (1992) and then:

Identify the section which you would refer to for information about legal requirements of outdoor swimming pools in the backyard of a house in Sydney

http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/nsw/consol_act/spa1992192/s7.html

Would your answer be different for a swimming pool in the backyard of a house in Gosford? In Melbourne?

List the elements of the first sub-section in the section you have identified. (It is not necessary to provide definitions for these elements.)

• Owner of premises• Swimming pool• At all times• Surrounded • Child proof barrier

Identify the requirements of a child-resistant barrier.

Separates swimming pool from residential building and any adjoining place

In accordance with prescribed standards

Question TwoRead Jarvis v Swans Tours Ltd [1973] QB 233 and answer the

following questions:

 • What is the correct citation? [1973] QB 233

(Are there any alternative citations?) Yes:  Jarvis v Swans Tours Ltd [1972] EWCA Civ 8 (16 October 1972); [1972] 3 WLR 954, [1973] 1 All ER 71

• Who is the Appellant? James Walter John Jarvis • Who is the Respondent? Swans Tours Limited•  At first instance:

• Who was the Plaintiff? James Walter John Jarvis• Who was the Defendant? Swans Tours Limited• Who was the Judge? Corley J

• In which court was the case decided? Supreme Court of Judicature, Court of Appeal

• When was the case heard and when was it decided? 16th October 1972 Was judgement reserved? No What is your reason for this answer? No evidence from case e.g. cur ad vult

• Who were the judges in the case? Lord Denning MR, Edmund Davies and Stephenson LJJ

• Who represented each party in the case – solicitors and barristers? Mr. S.N. Parrish, instructed by Messrs. Maples Teesdale & Co., appeared for the Appellant(Plaintiff).Mr. P. Thompson, instructed by Messrs. Paisner & Co., appeared for the Respondents (Defendants). 

• What are the relevant facts? (What facts will it be necessary to consider when framing or using the ratio from this case?) As short as possible. Should indicate there was a contract between Mr Jarvis and Swans Tours, the purpose of which was a holiday, and many features of the promised holiday were not fulfilled.

• What are the issues of law? Per Lord Denning: “What is the amount of damages? ... What is the right way of assessing damages? It has often been said that on a breach of contract damages cannot be given for mental distress,” OR are damages available for breach of contract for mental distress or disappointment?

• Are there any issues of fact? If not, why not? No – any issues of fact would have been settled at first instance

• What is the ratio decidendi?. Should really be paraphrasing rather than quoting. Per Lord Denning: In a proper case damages for mental distress can be recovered in contract, …. One such case is a contract for a holiday, or any other contract to provide entertainment and enjoyment. If the contracting party breaks his contract, damages can be given for the disappointment, the distress, the upset and frustration caused by the breach. Better statement would be paraphrase such as: Damages for disappointment or mental distress are available if the object of the contract is for enjoyment or entertainment.

• What are the obiter dicta (if any)? Perhaps Denning’s comments about being able to rely on the barristers’ notes of the lower court decision.

• What cases were distinguished? Hamblin v. G.W.R. 1 H. & N.  Hobbs v. London & South Western Railway(1875) Law Reports 10 Queen's Bench

• Was the decision in Griffiths v Evans followed? Why? Why not? Not followed, because the reference is to a dissenting judgement, not the majority

• Explain the Glyndebourne example referred to by Lord Denning.

• What was the decision? Appeal allowed (Damages of £125 for the Appellant)

 

Question ThreeR V Shepherd (1988) 16 NSWLR 1 1. What was the date of the judgment?

15th June 19882. Who was the dissenting judge in this case? Lee J  Ellis v Fulham Borough Council [1938] 1 KB 212 1.In this case a little boy was injured in a paddling pool in a public park. How was he injured? The little boy,

who paddled in the pool, had his foot cut with a piece of glass embedded in sand in the area around the pool.

2. Did the court find in favour of Ellis or Fulham Borough Council? Ellis  Bunning v Centacare [2015] FCCA 280 1.Which phrase defined in section 4 of the Sex Discrimination Act 1984 (Cth) is subject to detailed scrutiny in this

judgment? Sexual orientation2.What is defined at paragraph 41 of this judgment? Polyamory  

 

   

Question FourJasmine and Bob took their twins Meryl and Beryl for a day of adventure and fun at Tomorroworld. This was a futuristic fun park where everything – including ticketing – was run by robots. The sign at the entrance to Tomorroworld indicated that two ticket types were available – full and restricted. Restricted tickets were designed for younger children who may not be permitted access on all rides, but a full ticket allowed the holder access to every ride in the fun park. The ticketing robot charged Jasmine for four full tickets and she placed the money in the slot and received the tickets.

Is formation an issue or is the issue the terms of the contract? What law will be relevant? Thornton v Shoe Lane Parking – what principle?

 

The ticketing algorithm, in the robot’s circuits, but not on display at the entrance to the fun park, required the robots to judge age according to height. Any person shorter than the average 15 year old was to be given a restricted ticket, as certain rides were unsuitable for those under the age of 15. Beryl and Meryl were 12, but unusually tall for their age.

Issue? Law? Principle?

The family enjoyed their day in the fun park, and as a souvenir Bob bought a set of matching rain ponchos for himself, Jasmine and the twins. They were very expensive - $45,000 for the set – but, as the shop assistant indicated, this set was one of a kind and made of very high quality and very rain resistant waterproof material.

New facts – new issue – What?

Law? –s54 Australian Consumer Law.

Discuss every element e.g. consumer s3 Rain ponchos?

Cases? 

The last ride they were hoping to do that day was the Drop of Death. There was a long queue for this ride, and, while they were in the queue, Beryl and Meryl were discussing the Primary School Maths Olympiad at which they hoped to excel this year. The attendant, hearing this conversation, barred them from the ride as he indicated that it was a Restricted ride, for those over 15.

Can he? Issue?

 

At that moment, the weather turned and it started to pour with rain. Bob, glad of his purchase, pulled out the set of matching rain ponchos. Unfortunately they did not protect them from getting wet at all, as the heavy rain went straight through the rain ponchos.

Issue?

Law?

s54(3) factors?

 

Advise Jasmine and Bob what rights they may have in relation to the Drop of Death and the set of rain ponchos. In your advice consider only the law from Thornton v Shoe Lane Parking [1970] EWCA Civ 2 and s54 Australian Consumer Law.

 

Assignment TwoThe Minister for Transport attended a symposium on urban planning in Copenhagen, and, upon her return, tabled a report which included the following recommendation: 

We investigate using footpaths as multi-modal carriageways, able to be used by bicyclists as well as pedestrians

 

This report was greeted with scorn in the Legislative Council where the representative of the Pedestrian’s Party noted: 

Pedestrians need their own space – not to be jostled by bicyclists and other wheeled intrusions

 

He then negotiated with the Government, and the Minster for Road Safety introduced the Protection of Footpaths Bill into the Legislative Assembly. When reading the Bill in the NSW Parliament a second time the Minister for Road Safety observed:

  For too long now teenagers in Sydney have been terrorising our senior citizens with their antics on footpaths. This legislation ensures that young people will use footpaths for their intended purpose – walking. Anyone engaged in disruptive or wheeled behaviour on our footpaths will be liable to be fined.

 

The Explanatory Memorandum noted that the purpose of the Bill included:

 

...the prevention of accidents occurring when vehicles were exiting their driveways. Bicycles, skateboards, scooters and other wheeled conveyances on footpaths are not only a danger to pedestrians but also to unsuspecting motorists who have a right to exit their driveways without worrying about colliding with a wheelbound footpath user.

The Bill passed and received Royal Assent on 1 February 2015. The Protection of Footpaths Act 2015 (NSW) provided in part:

 

3 Objects 

The principal objects of this Act are:

To clarify the distinction between roads and footpaths in residential areas; and

To provide for the safe passage of pedestrians on footpaths in residential areas.

4 Definitions

 

In this Act unless the contrary intention appears:

Footpath means any thoroughfare in which pedestrians have right of way over cars and other wheeled conveyances

 

8 Prohibited Use of Footpaths

 

Any person who rides a bicycle, skateboard, scooter or other wheeled conveyance on a footpath shall be guilty of an offence. Penalty $500.

On the 15th March, 2015 Jennifer is celebrating her 12th birthday. Her grandmother gives her a new pair of joggers with retractable wheels in the sole. When she lifts the heel of the jogger, a wheel clicks in place and she can move by rolling along. Jennifer is an excellent skater and she is keen to try out her new joggers on the driveway. She runs down the driveway towards the road and then leans back on the wheels and skates onto the footpath just outside the gates, just missing an elderly woman who is walking past. A local policeman witnesses the near miss and charges Jennifer.

 

Advise Jennifer.

 

In your advice do not consider any issues which may arise because of Jennifer’s age

PREPARATION FOR EXAMS

Preparation

•Know what to expect•LPAB website

•Learning the material•Summaries

•Approaching open book exams•What to take in •Technique

Know what to expect

• http://www.lpab.justice.nsw.gov.au/Pages/lpab/legalprofession_current_dip_law_stud/legalprofession_current_dip_law_stud_examinations/legalprofession_current_dip_law_stud_exam_coverpages.aspx

• Time-table• Structure and timing (cover page)• Past papers• Exam fit

Learning the material

• Open book• Do I need to learn the material?

• What to learn• Lectures• Readings• Summaries

Why summaries?

Preparation of summaries helps you:1. Organise material in a clear and logical

manner2. Structure your thoughts and ideas3. Test your understanding of course

materials – if you don’t know it you can’t summarise it

4. Reduce your notes to a form useful for study and open book exams

5. Learn course materials

ORGANISE

• You will have assembled a lot of material – lecture notes, case notes, notes of readings, etc

• Your summaries need to organise this in a way which is accessible and useful

Organisation requires editing• As you summarise, you should select the most important points you need to remember

• These points should be organised around topics, or themes, or grouped together with similar ideas, in a way which makes sense to you.

• Rewriting your notes is NOT preparing a summary – you also need to RETHINK your notes

An organised summary is:

• Brief – ideally, every topic should be dealt with in only one page

• Headings only – your summary should be key points or headings which remind you of the main material to be covered, not a complete restatement of the course material

• Supported by relevant authorities (cases/legislation)

STRUCTURE

• “Black holes” are very dense and full of matter.

• There is so much matter in a black hole that once you enter there is no escape.

• A good structure ensures that your summaries do not become black holes.

A good structure:

•May be different for every person – as we all think differently.

•Should be able to work as an essay plan, or a check list to make sure you spot and discuss all relevant issues raised in a question

•Should be structured logically and supported by relevant material

A good structure:

•Will use headings and dot points•Won’t use so much information that the reader gets lost in the detail

•May cross reference to other summaries if ideas overlap, or you want to link to related ideas

UNDERSTANDING

• A key purpose of summary preparation is for you to check you have understood the course material.

• The process of summarising should expose gaps in your understanding – and give you the opportunity to fix them, before the examiner also looks for any lack of understanding.

Understand before you summarise

• The process of preparing a summary will help you learn, if you check and develop your understanding along the way.

•If your summaries are nothing more than rewrites of material you do not understand then they are not learning tools – but exercises in penmanship.

•You need to rethink for a summary, not simply rewrite.

Understand what you summarise

• For some people reading the text or other recommended reading will be sufficient to understand the lecture material. Others may have to go wider to other sources to build their understanding.

• Ask questions, read widely, do whatever it takes to make sure you understand the material.

• You need to summarise your knowledge, not your ignorance.

Self preparation• Because summaries are prepared so that you can check your understanding – and to help you demonstrate that understanding in an exam, the best summaries are self prepared: made for you, by you. Every summary may look different, but be equally useful to the person who prepared it.

REDUCE

• Once you understand the material, then you can reduce it into a usable summary.

• Summary preparation is a process of distilling down lecture notes, case notes and readings into a very abbreviated summary, which reminds you of the key points at a glance.

Summaries of summaries

• Because summarising is a process of building understanding rather than just rewriting notes, the best exam summaries are often summaries of summaries.

• Preparing summaries is not a one-step process.

LEARN• Now your summaries are ready, the last step is to learn them.

• Writing the summary is only part of the process

• You must also know what is in the summary, so you can use it in the exam (and in practice.)

Aide memoire

•A summary is an aide memoire•The purpose of a summary is to remind you of the law you already know

•Summaries cannot teach you law in exam conditions with which you are not already familiar.

How to?• Start by reviewing (and if necessary rewriting) your lecture notes, case notes and the notes of other readings from texts or other sources.

• Make sure your lecture notes are complete and that you have read enough to understand the material covered in each lecture.

• Your lecture notes are the best basis for your summary preparation.

Examples: Legal Institutions

• Legal Institutions is a thematic course with a spiralling curriculum which looks at a number of issues and concepts. One useful structure would be to prepare a glossary of terms and concepts commonly encountered in lectures and in your reading. Attempting a one sentence explanation for each of the concepts listed on the next slide (and others you may add) is a useful approach.

Concept glossary

• Bicameral Legislature• Concurrent power/exclusive power• Constitutional Monarchy• Democracy• Division of powers• Federation• Independence of the Judiciary

Concept glossary

• Manner and Form provisions• Parliamentary sovereignty• Plenary power• Repugnancy (of Colonial laws) • Representative government• Responsible government• Rule of law

Concept glossary

• Separation of powers• Judicial Power• Executive• Legislature• s15AA/s15AB• Ambiguous

Other LI structures

You could also consider using:• The course outline as the structure for your summaries

• The powerpoints – construct a summary around the issues noted in the powerpoints

• A time-line – especially useful for the historical material and highlighting the important developments over time

STUDY SKILLS

Approaching Open Book Exams

Before you start writing

• Set up a time schedule• Read through the whole exam paper once• Think before you write

Writing and answering

• Get right to the point• Develop your argument• Aim for compactness, completeness and clarity

• Summarize in your last paragraph

Review (if time available)

•Complete questions left incomplete•Review, edit correct

Run out of time?

•Out line what you would have said

OPEN BOOK TESTS

• In an open book exam you are evaluated on understanding rather than recall and memorization

• You will be expected to:• Apply material to new situations• Analyze elements and relationships• Synthesize, or structure• Evaluate using your material as evidence

Open book exams

Do not underestimate the preparation needed for an open book exam: your time will be limited, so the key is proper organization in order to quickly find data, quotes, examples, and/or arguments you use in your answers.

What not to bring

Open book exams generally allow any non-electronic materials in the exam room (but

always check the details first.)

What will you bring? Selection of materials is the

key to success Why bring the whole library

when you will have neither time nor room to use it.

A Good Answer:

•Reads and responds to the question carefully

• Isolates all relevant issues• Is clearly structured• Is well supported•Provides sufficient detail to answer the question

Review of previous exam• http://www.lpab.justice.nsw.gov.au/Pages/lpab/legalprofes

sion_current_dip_law_stud/legalprofession_current_dip_law_stud_examinations/legalprofession_current_dip_law_stud_exam_pastpapers.aspx