Welcome to the Legal Studies subject overview. Legal Studies focuses on the interaction between society and the discipline of law. A key focus is on how the legal system aims to balance the protection of the rights of individuals with obligations and responsibilities, and also on how the system balances competing rights and interests.
Understanding legal concepts and processes enables students to be informed and active citizens. who can constructively question and contribute to the improvement of the law both now and throughout their lives. This is important because the law is dynamic and evolving and it's based on values, customs and norms that are constantly being challenged by technology, changing societal attitudes and global influences.
The legal studies course is divided into four Units 1 and 2 provide foundational concepts and skills that are built on and covered in more complexity in Units 3 and 4. Unit 1, Beyond Reasonable Doubt, focuses on criminal law and also looks at key aspects of Australia's legal system. In terms of criminal law, we consider the criminal investigation process, the criminal trial process and finally punishment and sentencing. This unit also usually involves a court visit where we see all of these processes in action. Unit 2, Balance of Probabilities, is all about civil law.
In this unit, students learn about the differences between civil and criminal law and then move on to study contract law, consumer law and negligence. These are all areas of law that impact our daily lives more often than we realise. Unit 3 considers the processes and roles of government in shaping law in Australia and Queensland. In this unit, we also learn about the impetus for legal change.
particularly focusing on areas of the law that are currently under scrutiny in Australia. For example, this year students could choose to investigate whistleblower protection laws, privacy laws or drug laws. Unit four is all about human rights. This unit starts by considering human rights in general and the international and domestic legal foundations for these rights.
We then consider the effectiveness of international law and legal institutions. Finally, we focus on human rights in the Australian context particularly exploring current human rights issues. Skills developed in legal studies include comprehending or understanding legal concepts and processes, then applying these concepts to examine legal issues in more depth, and also explore different viewpoints on these issues.
Evaluating requires students to present legal alternatives that seek to solve these issues, then justify their recommendations using legal criteria. They'll also develop research skills through selecting information on a variety of different sources, and they'll create responses in the form of inquiry reports and argumentative essays. Assessment tasks in Units 1 and 2 mirror the assessment in Units 3 and 4, so students have the chance to refine their skills for their summative assessment.
Exams involve five to six short response questions and an extended response to stimulus material that is provided in the exam. Enquiry reports and argumentative essays are assignments that students complete during class time and at home. All tasks are equally weighted. The external exam is the same style of exam that students have had the chance to practice in Units 1 to 3. This exam only covers material from Unit 4, Topic 1, which was the one about human rights in general and the legal sources of these rights, and Topic 3, about human rights in Australian contexts.