Course overview
- Study period
- Semester 1, 2025 (24/02/2025 - 21/06/2025)
- Study level
- Undergraduate
- Location
- St Lucia
- Attendance mode
- In Person
- Units
- 2
- Administrative campus
- St Lucia
- Coordinating unit
- Law School
Aspects of admiralty & maritime jurisdiction, including liens & arrest of ships, bills of lading, charter parties, marine insurance, securities, collisions & groundings, salvage, pilotage, towage, wreck, bounty & ransom.
This is an undergraduate course that provides students with an understanding of aspects of admiralty and maritime law.
Over 90% of Australian trade is done by sea. The law arising from this extensive area of activity is of great importance. It is a blend of general principles of contract and tort law, specialised maritime laws arising out of the ancient law merchant, international and domestic legislation and customary international law. The sea zones and boundaries regulate activities relating to ships and trade, offshore energy, fishing and the protection and preservation of the marine environment. This unique combination of law means that maritime law throughout the world is similar and skills acquired in one jurisdiction are readily transferable to another. The course is therefore of particular interest to students who wish to pursue an international career in either the private or government sectors. The course concentrates on private maritime law but also introduces aspects of public international law which are pertinent to maritime matters. It includes an overview of international and national maritime jurisdiction, international law of the sea, marine pollution, marine insurance, carriage of goods by sea, charter parties, arrest of ships, collision regulations and salvage law.
Course requirements
Prerequisites
You'll need to complete the following courses before enrolling in this one:
(LAWS1701 + 1702 + 2702 + 2703) or (LAWS1113 + 1114 + 2111 + 2112)
Incompatible
You can't enrol in this course if you've already completed the following:
LAWS7160
Restrictions
LLB(Hons)(#64), LLB(Hons)(#48), LLB, LLB (Graduate Entry), LLB(Hons) duals and LLB dual programs.
Course contact
Course staff
Lecturer
Timetable
The timetable for this course is available on the UQ Public Timetable.
Aims and outcomes
Teaching Mission Statement
The mission of the TC Beirne School of Law is to educate students in and about the law. We seek to assist you to think critically about the law and to investigate its structures, principles, policies, and values. This is achieved by engaging with you as fellow investigators in a range of critical and intellectual conversations about the law and its place in society. Our role is thus to guide you in your own intellectual journey in the law and to equip you with the necessary skills that will enable you to continue that journey long after you have left the School.
Course Aims
- To enable students to identify, restate, explain, evaluate and apply the rules and principles of maritime law in a legalﾠand commercial context.ﾠ
- To enable students to resolve or provide legitimate solutions to problems arising from the application of the rules and principles of maritime law to a particular set of circumstances.ﾠ
- To assist students to develop skills in critical analysis, legal argument and written communication.
Learning outcomes
After successfully completing this course you should be able to:
LO1.
identify, restate, explain and evaluate the fundamental principles of maritime law and their place in the Australian legal system;
LO2.
understand and critically evaluate the operation of maritime law within the wider context of public international law and commercial law;
LO3.
demonstrate a sound knowledge and understanding of the principles of maritime law, the legislation and conventions giving effect to those principles, and the body of case law which has developed and interpreted the principles; and
LO4.
apply the principles and legal rules to practical legal issues.
Assessment
Assessment summary
| Category | Assessment task | Weight | Due date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paper/ Report/ Annotation |
Take Home Assignment
|
40% |
28/04/2025 2:00 pm |
| Examination |
End-of-semester Exam
|
60% |
End of Semester Exam Period 7/06/2025 - 21/06/2025 |
Assessment details
Take Home Assignment
- Online
- Mode
- Written
- Category
- Paper/ Report/ Annotation
- Weight
- 40%
- Due date
28/04/2025 2:00 pm
- Learning outcomes
- L01, L02, L03, L04
Task description
Word Length: 2,000 words excluding footnotes.
Words in excess of the limit will not be taken into consideration in awarding marks.
Footnotes should contain ONLY citations to sources. You must use the Australian Guide for Legal Citations for your footnotes.
Ensure that you provide an accurate word count at the end of your submission. Any student found to have provided a false word count will be referred to the academic integrity officer.
Students must not collaborate nor discuss the assessment with others, including by sharing notes with or showing drafts to other students.
This task has been designed to be challenging, authentic and complex. Whilst students may use Artificial Intelligence (AI) and/or Machine Translation (MT) technologies, successful completion of assessment in this course will require students to critically engage in specific contexts and tasks for which artificial intelligence will provide only limited support and guidance.
A failure to reference generative AI or MT use may constitute student misconduct under the Student Code of Conduct Policy.
To pass this assessment, students will be required to demonstrate detailed comprehension of their written submission independent of AI and MT tools.
Submission guidelines
Written submission as a word doc using the Turnitin link under the assessment tab.
Deferral or extension
You may be able to apply for an extension.
The maximum extension allowed is 7 days. Extensions are given in multiples of 24 hours.
Extension to Assessment Due Date
Where an extension for an assessment item due within the teaching period in which the course is offered is available, any extension is limited to one week (7 days). In exceptional circumstances, extensions may be granted for more than one week, but in no case will an extension exceed four weeks (28 days) in total. Where a student is incapacitated for a period exceeding four weeks of the teaching period, they should apply for removal of course.
A student may apply for an extension to assessment due date if they are unable to meet an assessment deadline due to extenuating circumstances. Please refer to the Applying for an extension page on my.UQ for further details on acceptable reasons for an extension and for instructions on how to apply. Additional information on extensions can be found within the Assessment Procedure .
Spoken or written notification of difficulties with assessment deadlines to a course coordinator or the School does not constitute an authorised extension.
Applications to be submitted before the due date: Applications for extension (whether they be medical or exceptional circumstances) shall be made by the due date and time for the assessment. Requests for extensions received after the assessment item submission due date and time, must include evidence of the reason for the late request, and will require the decision maker listed in the Student Grievance Resolution Procedure to accept the request for consideration.
Late submission
A penalty of 10% of the maximum possible mark will be deducted per 24 hours from time submission is due for up to 7 days. After 7 days, you will receive a mark of 0.
Penalties for Late Submission
The following penalties apply to late submission of an assessment item, assuming that an extension has not been approved, and that late submission is academically possible (e.g., it does not delay feedback to a cohort, or interfere with course delivery).
First 7 periods of 24 hours (or part thereof) - 10% per 24 hours of the maximum possible mark for the assessment item. For example, a report worth a maximum of 40 marks, submitted 28 hours late will attract a penalty of 8 marks, calculated as 2 periods of 24 hours x 10% x 40 marks.
More than 7 periods of 24 hours - 100%.
End-of-semester Exam
- In-person
- Mode
- Written
- Category
- Examination
- Weight
- 60%
- Due date
End of Semester Exam Period
7/06/2025 - 21/06/2025
- Learning outcomes
- L01, L02, L03, L04
Task description
The examination will be designed to test knowledge and understanding of relevant maritime law and principles and the ability to apply such knowledge and understanding to given sets of facts; and/or in consideration of essay questions.
This assessment task is to be completed in-person. The use of generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) or Machine Translation (MT) tools will not be permitted. Any attempted use of Generative AI or MT may constitute student misconduct under the Student Code of Conduct Policy.
Exam details
| Planning time | 10 minutes |
|---|---|
| Duration | 120 minutes |
| Calculator options | Any calculator permitted |
| Open/closed book | Open Book examination |
| Exam platform | Paper based |
| Invigilation | Invigilated in person |
Submission guidelines
Deferral or extension
You may be able to defer this exam.
Course grading
Full criteria for each grade is available in the Assessment Procedure.
| Grade | Cut off Percent | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 1 (Low Fail) | 0 - 19 |
Absence of evidence of achievement of course learning outcomes. |
| 2 (Fail) | 20 - 47 |
Minimal evidence of achievement of course learning outcomes. |
| 3 (Marginal Fail) | 48 - 49 |
Demonstrated evidence of developing achievement of course learning outcomes |
| 4 (Pass) | 50 - 64 |
Demonstrated evidence of functional achievement of course learning outcomes. |
| 5 (Credit) | 65 - 74 |
Demonstrated evidence of proficient achievement of course learning outcomes. |
| 6 (Distinction) | 75 - 84 |
Demonstrated evidence of advanced achievement of course learning outcomes. |
| 7 (High Distinction) | 85 - 100 |
Demonstrated evidence of exceptional achievement of course learning outcomes. |
Supplementary assessment
Supplementary assessment is available for this course.
Learning resources
You'll need the following resources to successfully complete the course. We've indicated below if you need a personal copy of the reading materials or your own item.
Library resources
Find the required and recommended resources for this course on the UQ Library website.
Learning activities
The learning activities for this course are outlined below. Learn more about the learning outcomes that apply to this course.
Filter activity type by
Please select
| Learning period | Activity type | Topic |
|---|---|---|
Multiple weeks From Week 1 To Week 12 |
Seminar |
Seminars The programme of seminars for the course is set out in the course Learning Guide, available from the course Blackboard site. The seminars are 3 hour in-person seminars and are not recorded. Seminar Topics covered are:
Learning outcomes: L01, L02, L03, L04 |
Policies and procedures
University policies and procedures apply to all aspects of student life. As a UQ student, you must comply with University-wide and program-specific requirements, including the:
- Student Code of Conduct Policy
- Student Integrity and Misconduct Policy and Procedure
- Assessment Procedure
- Examinations Procedure
- Reasonable Adjustments - Students Policy and Procedure
Learn more about UQ policies on my.UQ and the Policy and Procedure Library.
School guidelines
Your school has additional guidelines you'll need to follow for this course: