TE PIRINGA FACULTY OF LAW
Civil Procedure – LAWS402-15S 2015 Outline
1.
Identification of Paper
Paper: Civil Procedure LAWS402-15S
This paper carries 20 points
2.
Staffing
Convenor:
Cheryl Green
Phone: 07 856 2889 Ext: 8222
Room: G.24
email: cherylg@waikato.ac.nz
Available by appointment
Brendan Cullen
Phone: 07 838 2079
Room: N/A
Available by appointment
Daniel Shore
Phone: 07 838 2079
Room: N/A
Available by appointment
3.
Description and Structure of Paper
(a) Description of the paper in University Calendar
An examination of the jurisdiction and procedure of the District Court, High Court and Court of
Appeal in civil cases with particular emphasis on High Court proceedings; the principles of
pleading and the drafting of documents; and a consideration of procedural reform and
development.
(b) Structure of the Paper
General
This is an S semester paper.
The teaching component comprises of 8 (eight) hours of lectures per week.
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Lecture timetable and rooms
The lecture hours are:
Wednesday 10am – 2pm – Lecture room S.102
Thursday 10am – 2pm – Lecture room AG.30
(c) Attendance
Te Piringa Faculty of Law places great emphasis on providing students with opportunities for high
achievement in law papers. As a 400 level paper there is an expectation that students will be
more self-directed in their learning than in 300 level papers. Students will be expected to attend
all lectures; to demonstrate an ability to analyse, synthesise and critique applicable law and
associated information; and apply facts and law to practical and professional situations.
4.
Learning outcomes
The course will provide students with a conceptual understanding as well as practical knowledge
and skills necessary for practice in the area of civil litigation. The primary focus of the course is on
substantive procedural law. The course will focus primarily on the High Court jurisdiction,
although the District Court jurisdiction will also be incorporated. A student who has completed
the course successfully should have gained: a working knowledge of the general rules of civil
procedure; knowledge of substantive procedural law and principles; familiarity with court
documents; knowledge of how a civil case progresses from commencement to enforcement; and
an understanding of the limitations of civil proceedings and the alternatives available.
5.
Workload
Students should expect to spend 24 hours per week in total on this paper. In addition to lecture
attendance, significant time will need to be spent on background and complementary reading.
Students should allow for periods of more-focused research time in the preparation of
assignments.
6.
Required and Recommended Reading
All law students are required to purchase, for use in all law papers, a copy of McLay, Murray &
Orpin, New Zealand Law Style Guide, 2nd edition, Thomson Reuters 2011. This is available from
Bennetts, at an approximate price of $37 incl GST.
NB The New Zealand Law Style Guide has launched a blog which you can visit here:
http://nzlawstyleguide.wordpress.com/. The blog is run by the Style Guide’s editorial team. It
aims to provide posts that are helpful for Style Guide users. It will include news and updates as
well as clarifications, corrections and examples. The blog includes a form to submit for topics and
questions. Access to the Style Guide is available through the link via the contents page and/or the
index.
You can also follow the Style Guide on Twitter: @nzlawstyleguide.
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In addition to the texts identified below, the Faculty of Law requires that students purchase the
course materials book for this paper. These are available from Waikato Print.
Required Reading
Students must have access to the following:
The Judicature Act 1908 incorporating the High Court Rules and the District Court Rules 2014.
This legislation can be obtained electronically at no cost from the New Zealand Legislation
website: http://www.legislation.govt.nz/. There is no copyright on New Zealand legislation. We
do not recommend that you purchase a hard copy of the rules as they are frequently not up to
date.
Highly Recommended Reading (These will be put on course reserve at the library)
Principles of Civil Procedure (3rd Ed.), Beck, A, Thomson Reuters (Brookers Ltd) 2012
Civil Procedure Update Hon Justice Chambers, Finlayson C, Laurenson D & Hon Justice Young, New
Zealand Law Society Seminar, March 2004
High Court Rules Practice Update Hon Justice Raynor Asher and His Honour Associate Judge John
Faire, CLE Seminar 19 February 2009
Other readings
Students should also refer to the following:
McGechan on Procedure (loose-leaf) Bookers Ltd – available in electronic form. Recommendation
is to search for the title in the library catalogue and choose the electronic version.
Procedure Reports of New Zealand – available in electronic form. Recommendation is to search
for the title in the library catalogue and choose the electronic version.
Further material may be provided on the paper’s site on Moodle (http://elearn.waikato.ac.nz),
the University of Waikato’s online learning system. Any such material is provided on the following
terms:
University of Waikato owns the intellectual property rights, including copyright, in and to this site,
or has acquired the necessary licenses to display the material on the site. As a student of the Te
Piringa Faculty of Law, you are granted a limited license to use (access, display or print a single
copy) the material from the papers in which you are enrolled for the purposes of participating in
the paper only, provided the information is not modified. Materials may not under any
circumstances be copied, stored, distributed or provided in any form or method whatsoever to
any third party. Any other use of the material is prohibited. None of the material may be
otherwise reproduced, reformatted, republished or re-disseminated in any manner or form
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without the prior written consent of University of Waikato. To obtain such consent, please
contact the Te Piringa Faculty of Law.
7.
Online support
Online support for this paper is provided via Moodle.
8.
Assessment
a) Requirements for assessed work
Te Piringa Faculty of Law procedures for the presentation, submission and referencing of internal
assessments are set out in the Te Piringa Faculty of Law Undergraduate Handbook @ p.33 which
is available from http://www.waikato.ac.nz/law/undergraduate.
Assignment resources are available online at http://www.waikato.ac.nz/law/student/
b)
Coursework: Final Examination Ratio: 100%
c)
Assessment Components
Component
Percentage of overall mark
Due date
Drafting Assignment
Take home Test
50%
50%
30 January 2015
13 February 2015
Drafting Assignment
The drafting assignment will be made available to students via Moodle on Thursday 15 January
2015 and is due by midnight Friday 30 January 2015. Submission of the assignment must be via
Moodle.
Details and guidance in relation to this drafting assignment will be discussed during the lectures.
This assignment is an essential requirement of the paper and students must submit this
assignment in order to pass the paper.
The objective of the assignment is to test students’ understanding of the rules and procedures
required for Court documents. This assignment will also test the practical knowledge and skills
necessary for practice in the area of civil litigation.
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Test
The test is a take home open book test. It will be made available via Moodle at 8am Thursday 12
February 2015 and must be completed and submitted via Moodle by 8am Friday 13 February
2015.
Please note: The ability to submit the test closes at 8am Friday 13 February 2015.
Details and guidance in relation to the test will be discussed during the lectures. This test is an
essential requirement of the paper and students must complete the test in order to pass the
paper.
The test will require students to demonstrate an understanding of a working knowledge of the
general rules of civil procedure both in the District Court and in the High Court; knowledge of
substantive procedural law and principles; familiarity with court documents; knowledge of how a
civil case progresses from commencement to enforcement; an appreciation of strategy and
tactics in civil cases; and an understanding of the limitations of civil proceedings and the
alternatives available.
NB Both the above assessment and test are compulsory. Failure to complete both the
assessment and the test will mean that the student is not eligible to pass the course.
d)
Handing in, marking time and collection
All assignments must be submitted electronically through Moodle (http://elearn.waikato.ac.nz)
and include a cover sheet. The cover sheet template is provided on the Law Student Homepage
at http://www.waikato.ac.nz/law/student. See Te Piringa Faculty of Law Undergraduate
Handbook, available at http://www.waikato.ac.nz/law/undergraduate. It is the policy of Te
Piringa Faculty of Law to return marked work to students within five weeks of submission.
If you require assistance with Moodle, or encounter any problems, please contact the Help Desk.
You can send a message to Help Desk by using the instant message service in your paper (from
the participants list within the People block). Alternatively, you can email them directly at
help@waikato.ac.nz or call 838 4008.
e)
Measurement of Achievement
Achievement in examinations and tests will be measured primarily in terms of levels of
understanding and knowledge gained. Achievement in assignments will be measured also in
terms of fluency and accuracy of expression and referencing.
NB: Major deficiencies in structure, style, grammar and spelling will result in lower marks.
f)
Management of assessment deadlines, process for requesting extensions and special
consideration, and for appeals
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(i)
Extensions
Students are required to complete and submit all internal assessments by specified dates. The
meeting of deadlines is a mark of professionalism and its enforcement is essential for fairness to
all students taking the paper. Handing in course work on or before the due date also facilitates
the timely return of marked work by academic staff. Students should meet requirements as to
time deadlines for course work, or make a request for an extension or special consideration in
appropriate circumstances (see Undergraduate Programmes Manual available from the School of
Law Undergraduate website http://www.waikato.ac.nz/law/undergraduate/). Failure to comply
with requirements as to the time deadlines for internal assessment without having successfully
applied either for an extension or special consideration with supporting evidence before the due
date will result in deduction of 2.5 marks for each day the work is late. Lateness of more than a
week may result in the work not being marked. No deadlines may be extended beyond two
weeks after the last teaching day of the semester(s) in which the paper is taught as final grades
must go to the Board of Examiners at this time. Unless an extension in writing has been granted,
a lecturer may refuse to accept a piece of work which is submitted after the specified date, and
automatically award it no mark, or may lower the mark as a penalty for lateness.
Applications for extension, on the form obtainable from the Law Reception, must be submitted to
the Chief Examiner or nominee. Students should not submit the extension form to the lecturer,
nor should students seek extensions from the lecturer via other forms of communication.
Extensions will be granted only on evidence of illness, family bereavement, or serious personal
accidents or circumstances. Please note that too many assignments due at the same time is NOT
an acceptable reason, neither are claims that computers and/or printers have crashed. Account
will be taken of the time in which the student has had to complete the internal assessment before
the intervening event occurred. It will be important to consider if the grant of the extension will
give the student in question an unfair advantage over other students. A maximum period of 14
days will be given as an extension unless there are exceptional circumstances. In determining
applications the Chief Examiner or nominee may consult with the Convenor or lecturer of the
relevant paper.
When the Chief Examiner or nominee has made a decision on the application for extension, the
nominated Administrative Assistant will advise the student of the decision by email. Following
this, the extension form will be given to the relevant lecturer who will retain it until after the
assignment is marked and returned to students. The form will then be placed on the student’s
file. It should be noted that if an extension of longer than 14 days is granted, the assignment will
not be automatically printed out and delivered to the lecturer, therefore the lecturer is
responsible for ensuring the assignment is printed. In appropriate cases, when a student’s
application for extension is declined the Chief Examiner or nominee will inform the student of the
process for applying for special consideration.
ii)
Special Consideration
The Assessment Regulations 2005 as set out in the University Calendar 2015 list in detail the
university-wide policies and procedures, which apply concerning missed examinations, impaired
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performance or impaired preparation time for an examination, and missed or impaired course
work. Students are responsible for ensuring that they comply with these regulations. Application
forms for special consideration for internal assessment are available from Law Reception.
iii)
Appeals (University Calendar 2015, Assessment Regulations 2005, Reg. 24)
A student may appeal against any decision taken under these regulations.
An appeal, comprising a written statement of the circumstances of the appeal, together with
supporting evidence if available, must be submitted by the student in writing to the Head of
Student & Academic Services not more than seven days after the date on which notification of the
relevant decision is received.
Appeals under this section are considered and decided by the Deputy Vice-Chancellor by
delegated authority of the Education Committee.
A decision by the Deputy Vice-Chancellor is notified in writing, and is final.
iv) No electronic devices are allowed in any internal test or exam.
v) If you wish to submit your internal assessment in Māori, you need to obtain an application
form from Law Reception at least 14 days before the assessment is due.
vi) If you wish to apply to write your official exams in Māori, you need to complete the official
application form from the University’s Assessment Office (refer to the Policy on the Use of Māori
for Assessment in the University Calendar).
9.
University Calendar Regulations and Policies
Your attention is drawn to the following regulations and policies, which are published in the
University Calendar 2015:
Assessment Regulations 2005
Student Discipline Regulations 2014
Computer Systems Regulations 2005
Policy on the Use of Māori for Assessment
Student Research Regulations 2008
Ethical Conduct in Human Research and Related Activities Regulations 2008.
10.
Links to other papers
This paper supplements the substantive law papers undertaken to date by studying the
procedures and principles that are required to be able to successfully assist in the administration
of justice on the substantive merits of the case.
11.
Fees
Refer to http://calendar.waikato.ac.nz/admission/tableoffeesandcharges.html.
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12.
Referencing guidelines and caution against plagiarism
(a)
Referencing must be in accordance with the New Zealand Law Style Guide (2nd Ed)
Thomson Reuters 2011.
(b)
All written work submitted for the purposes of assessment must be your own work.
Copying or paraphrasing all or part of another person’s work, be it published or
unpublished, without clear attribution, is plagiarism. Plagiarism is misconduct and is dealt
with under the disciplinary procedures of the University as outlined in the Student
Discipline Regulations 2014 in the University Calendar.
“Plagiarism means presenting as one’s own work the work of another, and includes the
copying or paraphrasing of another person’s work in an assessment item without
acknowledging it as the other person’s work through full and accurate referencing; it
applies to assessment presented through a written, spoken, electronic, broadcasting,
visual, performance or other medium.” See section 3, Assessment Regulations (2014
Calendar)
(c)
The Te Piringa Faculty of Law’s policy regarding plagiarism is contained in the Te Piringa
Faculty
of
Law
Undergraduate
Programmes
Manual,
available
from
http://www.waikato.ac.nz/law/undergraduate/.
13.
Health and safety
The Law School’s Health and Safety representative is Ms Renee Rewi in LAW.G.71 on extension
6727, but if she is not available, please report the incident to the Law Reception – Room Law G.44
or call ext 4167.
14.
Class representation
Contact details for the Student Representation Coordinator, Academic Services Division, are as
follows: Jeanie Richards, Student Services, ext. 8221, email: student.reps@waikato.ac.nz.
15.
Complaints procedures
The brochure Student Concerns and Complaints Policy provides details of the University’s process
for handling concerns and complaints and is available from Faculty and School Offices, The
Gateway and Student Services Division. It is also contained in the Calendar 2015. See also the
document Student Support Structure at Te Piringa Faculty of Law, available from Law Reception.
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Lecture Schedule Summer School 2015 (topics may be subject to change)
Civil Procedure LAWS402-15S
Date of Lecture
Topic One
Topic Two
Wednesday 7 January
Introduction/Overview
Limitation
Thursday 8 January
Pleadings
Statement of Claim
Notice of Proceeding
Jurisdiction
Case Management
Summary Judgment
Statement of Defence
Originating Applications
Special procedures
Service
Wednesday 14 January
Thursday 15 January
Wednesday 21 January
Parties
Interpleader
Thursday 22 January
Wednesday 28 January
Discovery
Interrogatories
District Court Part 1
Thursday 29 January
Pre-trial
Friday 30 January
No lecture
Drafting Exercise
Drafting Assignment
available via Moodle
today
Interlocutories
Strike out
Affidavits
Injunctions
District Court Part 2
Costs
Wednesday 11 February
No lecture
Drafting Assignment
due via Moodle by
5pm today
Judgments
Creditor Remedies
Appeals
(Revision)
Case Study – putting it in to Case Study – putting it
practice
in to practice
Guest presenter
Revision/Study Leave
Thursday 12 February
Study Leave
Wednesday 4 February
Thursday 5 February
Friday 13 February
16 February
Examinations/Enrolment
23 Feb
Enrolment
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Take home test
opens 8am today
Take home test
closes 8am today
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