Made by the Faculty Board of the Faculty of Law Version incorporating amendments as at 1 November 2012 Part 1 - General 1. Masters degrees 1.1 The Masters degrees listed in Schedule I may be undertaken in the faculty pursuant to these regulations and may awarded in one grade only. 1.2 The degree of Master of Laws (Juris Doctor) must be undertaken pursuant to these regulations as varied by the specific provisions of Part 2. 1.3 The degree of Master of Laws may be undertaken in a specialty listed in Schedule II and where so undertaken the title of the degree includes the name of the specialty in brackets. 2. Interpretations In these regulations, unless the contrary intention appears - "candidate" means a candidate for a degree; "course of study" means the course of study for a degree determined by or under these regulations; "degree" means a degree listed in Schedule I; "faculty" means the Faculty of Law; "faculty board" means the faculty board of the faculty; "faculty information handout" means the faculty hand book or such other publication concerning a course of study, whether bound or loose leaf or on line or in other electronic form, as the faculty board determines from time to time; "specialty" means a specialty listed in Schedule II. 3. Admission to candidature 3.1 Except as otherwise provided in subsection 3.2 the faculty board may admit to candidature for a degree an applicant who has - 3.1.1 qualified for a degree in the university or in another educational institution or has other qualifications which the faculty board is satisfied are equivalent or a satisfactory substitute; and
3.1.2 significant work experience in the area of the applicant's proposed course of study provided that the faculty board is satisfied the applicant's qualifications and experience constitute suitable preparation for the proposed course of study. 3.2 The faculty board may admit to candidature for the degree of Master of Laws an applicant who has - 3.2.1 qualified for the degree of - 3.2.1.1 Bachelor of Laws; or 3.2.1.2 Master of Laws (Juris Doctor) - with a credit average; 3.2.2 qualified for a degree in law in another educational institution and the faculty board is satisfied the degree is suitable preparation for the applicant's proposed course of study; or 3.2.3 other qualifications or experience which the faculty board is satisfied constitute suitable preparation for the applicant's proposed course of study. 4. Preliminary candidature 4.1 An applicant for admission to candidature for a degree may, at the discretion of the faculty board, be admitted as a preliminary candidate for the degree. 4.2 The faculty board may specify units in the course of study concerned that must be undertaken by a preliminary candidate. 4.3 A preliminary candidate who - 5. Course of study 4.3.1 satisfactorily completes the specified units may continue as a confirmed candidate with credit for the units completed; or 4.3.2 fails to satisfactorily complete the specified units, must withdraw from candidature, unless the faculty board in circumstances it deems exceptional otherwise determines. 5.1 A course of study comprises - 5.1.1 units and a minor thesis; or 5.1.2 units only - as determined by the faculty board under this section. Page 2
6. Credit 5.2 The faculty board may from time to time determine the thesis and unit requirements, as appropriate, of a course of study and in relation to these requirements may determine any matter or thing including but not limited to - 5.2.1 content, sequence and duration; 5.2.2 attendance and participation; 5.2.3 credit points; 5.2.4 assessment; 5.2.5 satisfactory completion; and 5.2.6 in relation to a thesis, supervision, submission and distribution. 5.3 The faculty board may determine particular requirements in relation to a course of study undertaken in a specialty. 5.4 The faculty board must cause a determination under this section to be published in a faculty information handout. 6.1 Where a candidate's course of study includes units, the candidate may be granted credit towards the degree in accordance with the Credit towards a Degree or Award Regulations. 6.2 A candidate for the degree of Master of Intellectual Property who satisfactorily completes units offered by the Academy of the Institute of Patent Attorneys and approved for the purpose by the faculty board, may be granted credit for those units in accordance with the Credit towards a Degree or Award Regulations 6.3 A candidate, other than a candidate for the degree of Master of Regulatory Studies, who is an accredited specialist through the Law Institute of Victoria Specialists Accreditation Scheme or the Law Institute of New South Wales Accreditation Scheme, may be granted credit for one unit in the candidate's course of study in accordance with the Credit towards a Degree or Award Regulations 7. Candidature 7.1 The course of study for a degree may be undertaken by full-time or part-time candidature. 7.2. A candidate may, with the consent of the faculty board, change from full-time to part-time candidature or vice versa and in this event must complete the course of study within the time specified by the faculty board. Page 3
8. Time limits 8.1 Subject to these regulations and to a determination of the faculty board in any particular case, the course of study for a degree must be completed - 8.1.1 in a minimum of one and a maximum of two years of full-time candidature; or 8.1.2 in a minimum of 18 months and a maximum of four years of part-time candidature. 8.2 Where a course of study includes a minor thesis, the minor thesis must, within the time limits prescribed by subsection 8.1, be completed in six months of full-time or twelve months of part-time candidature. 9. Intermission The faculty board may from time to time grant a candidate an intermission for such period and on such conditions as the faculty board determines. 10. Re-admission 10.1 A former candidate who discontinued candidature may be re-admitted to candidature by the faculty board subject to any conditions specified, including duration of candidature and credit. 10.2 Credit under this section must only be granted in accordance with the Credit towards a Degree or Award Regulations. 11. Transfer of candidature 11.1 A candidate for a degree may - 11.1.1 with the consent of the faculty board transfer to candidature for the Graduate Diploma in Law with credit for work satisfactorily completed in the course of study for the degree; or 11.1.2 where the faculty board is satisfied that the candidate has satisfactorily completed the requirements of the Graduate Diploma in Law, be declared by the faculty board to have qualified for the graduate diploma, where appropriate in a particular specialty. 11.2 A candidate may not transfer candidature or be declared qualified - 11.2.1 after a minor thesis has been submitted for examination; or 11.2.2 where the duration of candidature for the masters degree exceeds the period of candidature prescribed for the graduate diploma. Page 4
12. Single unit enrolment The faculty board may, at its discretion and subject to any conditions specified, permit a person to enrol for a single unit in a course of study and credit towards a degree will be granted in accordance with the Credit towards a Degree or Award Regulations. 13. Qualification A candidate who satisfactorily completes the course of study for a degree - 13.1.1 qualifies for the award of the degree; and 13.1.2 where the course of study is undertaken in a specialty, for the degree in the specialty. 14. Compliance 14.1 Subject to this section, a candidate must comply with these regulations and with the relevant course of study requirements determined by the faculty board under these regulations, as in force or published from time to time. 14.2 Where the faculty board considers that a candidate has, since first enrolling for a degree, been unreasonable adversely effected by any changes in the regulations or course of study requirements, the faculty board must permit the candidate to qualify for the degree under the regulations or course of study requirements in force or published at sometime during candidature, provided that the faculty board is satisfied the work so required to be completed is equivalent in standard to that currently required to complete the course of study. Part 2 - Master of Laws (Juris Doctor) 15. Interpretation In this part "degree" means the Master of Laws (Juris Doctor). 16. Admission to candidature The faculty board may admit to candidature for a degree an applicant who has - 16.1.1 qualified for a degree in the university or in another educational institution which the faculty board is satisfied constitutes suitable preparation for the course of study for degree; or 16.1.2 other qualifications which the faculty board is satisfied are equivalent or a satisfactory substitute. 17. Course of study The course of study for the degree comprises units. Page 5
18. Time Limits Subject to these regulations and to a determination of the faculty board in any particular case, the course of study for a degree must be completed in a minimum of two and a half and a maximum of six years of candidature. Schedule I Masters Degrees Master of Laws Master of Laws (Juris Doctor) Master of Commercial Law Master of Human Rights Law Master of Intellectual Property Law Master of International and Comparative Law Master of Regulatory Studies Master of Workplace and Employment Law Schedule II Specialties - Master of Laws Advanced Legal Practice Commercial Law Human Rights Law Intellectual Property Law International and Comparative Law Workplace and Employment Law Page 6
End Notes 1. Table of amendments from 1 November 2011 (as incorporated into this version): Amendment Sections amended Commencement Date (promulgation) Faculty of Law Regulations (Amendment) (No. 19 of 2011) Faculty of Law Course Regulations (Amendment) (No. 8 of 2012) Sections 3 and 6 Schedule I Sections 6, 10, 12, 18 and 19 20 December 2011 10 May 2012 Faculty of Law Regulations (Amendment) (No. 9 of 2012) Faculty of Law Regulations (Amendment) (No. 19 of 2012) Schedules I and II 6 July 2012 Section 9 1 November 2012 Page 7