School of Business Law and Taxation

IntroductionTopic
to Business
2 Law
Case law as a source of law

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 Unit coordinator
Angela Babic

Room: 407.322
Telephone: 9266 7766
Email: angela.babic@cbs.curtin.edu.au

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 Consultation times
Happy to see students any time by appointment.

There is also:
• Discussion board
• Email your lecturer or tutor

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 Something important to say at the
outset…
• OUR responsibility: to prepare and teach a current,
engaging and commercially relevant course, and to
assist and support your learning, which is assessed
fairly.
• YOUR responsibility: to actually do your work – that is,
be responsible for your own learning. Do the reading,
engage with the material, prepare for class and have a
go!
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 Tuition pattern
2 hour lecture comprised of:
• A 1.5 hour content lecture where the lecturer will explain key
principles for the topic.
• A 20 minute revision quiz based on the material covered in
the previous lecture.
• NOTE: The revision quiz will not be posted to Blackboard

1 hour tutorial:
• Where students will have an opportunity to apply the
principles learned in the lecture to a case study.
• Important: Tutorial classes start in week 2.
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 Course materials
• Unit outline
• Lecture PowerPoint slides
• Understanding Business Law (Curtin Custom Edition)
• E-learning materials
• iLectures (available at the end of each week)
• Tutorial notes (available at the end of each week)

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 Unit outline
• PLEASE READ. This document contains all the basic
information that you need to know about Business Law,
including contact details, texts, unit study calendar and
assessment.
• Emails or queries regarding information contained in the
unit outline will be directed to the relevant page number
in the unit outline.

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 Lecture PowerPoint slides
• The PowerPoint presentation that we will work through
during the lecture.
• Available on Blackboard in relevant topic file.
• There is a “printable” version – print friendly.
• Suggest that you print off or download the PowerPoint
slides and bring it to the lecture each week – and even
have a read through before if possible!

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 Text: Understanding Business Law (Curtin
Custom Edition)
• A text book that has been designed specifically for Business
Law students at Curtin.
• Text book: Hard copy of main materials needed for the course
and can be used like a study guide.
• Students are to bring their text book to the lectures and
tutorials.
• E-learning materials: Produced in conjunction with the
textbook. Reinforces understanding of the content in the
textbook.
• Students should work through the set E-learning materials in
their own time, according to the program in the unit outline.
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 Understanding
Business Law
(Curtin Custom 3rd
Edition)

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 E-learning materials
• The E-learning materials can be accessed through
blackboard and are contained in the relevant topic file (e.g.
Topic 3 – Making a Contract).
• The E-learning materials consist of:
• Short Q and A
• Self Check quiz
• Both provide automated responses so that you can measure
your understanding against the information covered in the
textbook.
 iLectures
• iLectures are audio / visual recordings of the
weekly lectures and will be made available on
blackboard at the end of the week that the
relevant material is taught.

• The iLectures will be located in the relevant

topic file (e.g. Topic 3 – Making a Contract)
 Tutorial notes
• Will be made available on Blackboard at the end of
each week.

• You can use these to reaffirm your understanding of

the material and for revision purposes.

• This resource is best utilized after you have attempted

the questions yourself in the tutorial class.

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 Blackboard

CHECK IN REGULARLY via OASIS

You will need your Curtin student
number and your OASIS password.

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 Additional assistance and feedback
outside of the seminar and tutorial
• Time will be available at the end of lecture to meet with
lecturer. Similarly with the tutor in your allocated tutorial
class.
• Discussion board on Blackboard: staffed by tutors.
• Email your lecturer or tutor – contact details on
Blackboard.
• Meet with the unit coordinator or lecturers by appointment

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 How do I study this unit?
• Do the reading in the text book - chapters set out in
unit study calendar.
• Attend the lecture or listen to the iLecture, with copy
of PowerPoint slides either printed or downloaded.
• Attend your weekly tutorial class.
• Work through the E-learning materials each week.
• Go over the tutorial notes, write up a full answer to
the questions and make sure you understand
everything covered in the lecture - if not, contact your
lecturer or tutor for help.
 Assessment schedule
Task Value Date due Unit learning
(%) outcome(s)
assessed

Assignment One 20 20 March 1, 2

2020
Assignment Two 30 4 May 2020 2, 3, 4
Examination 50 Examination 2, 3, 4
period

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 Assignment One (20%)
Media report analysis
• Due Monday, 20 March 2020 at 1PM (WST).
• Topics 1 and 2 inclusive.
• Select one media report from the three reports posted to
Blackboard
• Identify and analyse the legal issues arising:
– Follows format of topic one tutorial questions.
– No need to go outside course materials.
 Assignment Two (30%)
Case study
• Due Monday, 4 May 2020 at 1PM (WST).
• Based on Topic 3.
• Students will be provided with a case study and be
required to answer two legal questions using the Four
Step Process.
• A vodcast outlining the Four Step Process will be made
available on BlackBoard in the coming weeks.
 Final examination (50%)
• PART A:
– Four step process question (15 marks)
• PART B:
– Applied case study (20 marks)
• PART C:
– Short answer questions (15 marks)
 Introduction to Business
Law

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 What to do this week
• Attend the lecture and/or listen to the iLecture
recording;
• Read chapter 1 of Understanding Business Law;
and
• Complete the E-learning materials.

• No tutorials this week. They start next week.

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 Learning outcomes
1. To characterise the Law.
2. To understand why knowledge of Business Law
is important.
3. To define Business Law and explain areas of law
that it encompasses.
4. To describe the different functions that the law
serves.

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 What is the Law?
• A system comprising a collection of rules and
principles developed to regulate relationships
and conduct; to impose obligations; to impose
penalties; to create institutions; and to confer
rights.
• Has many working parts – courts, legislature,
police, department of justice, to name a few.
• Important part of our nation’s infrastructure.
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 Why is knowledge of Business Law
important?
• The law impacts all areas of business (and life in
general).

• You must understand how legal rules impact

business situations (whether business owner or
employee).

• Allows you to better understand and manage risk.

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 Why is knowledge of Business Law
important?
• Empowers you in your commercial
dealings with others – by understanding
what your legal rights and duties are, you
can use the law to your benefit when:
• Entering into contracts for goods and services
• Purchasing or leasing property
• Forming and running a business
• Dealing with financial institutions and
investing in the financial market.
 Important to remember!
This unit is not training you to be a lawyer.

It is equipping you with a broad understanding

of the law as it applies to business, so that when
a legal issue arises, you can identify it and bring
it to the attention of the best person to deal
with it (may be line manager, in house counsel,
law firm).
 What is Business Law?
Business Law encompasses various areas of law
that are particularly relevant to business and
how it is carried out.

For example, contract law, tort law, corporations

law and consumer protection law are areas of
law included within this definition.
 What is Business Law?
The areas of law that are relevant to business:
• Contract law
• Tort law
• Consumer and competition law
• Corporations law
• Criminal law
• Property law
• Administrative law
• Intellectual property law
 • An area of law will encompass all of the legal rules
that relate to that area e.g. the rules of conduct
prohibiting murder, robbery and assault are
contained within the criminal law.

• Often, newspaper headlines give us an idea of

what area of law the story deals with. For example
“Barminco wins $100m contract” reflects the
operation of contract law.

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 For example, recently …
• “The $17 million deal that could have saved doomed airfare
company Bestjet.”

• “Eleven homes destroyed in NSW bushfire as Tingha blaze

remains at Emergency Warning level.”

• “Regulators 'not awake' as banks behaved 'appallingly':

Costello”

• “Contributory negligence related to cannabis use in slip and

fall claims”
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 The framework of the unit
Law made by Law made
parliament by courts

Topics in
Contract Consumer
law
Business Law law

Law of Business
torts organisations
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 Legal and non-legal rules
What is the difference?
• Law consists of rules of conduct or organisation
that are recognised, applied and enforced by
the power of the state.

• Non-legal rules are rules of conduct or

organisation that are enforced by things such
as peer pressure, a need for co-operation,
feelings of goodwill, or convenience.
Non-legal rules are derived from:
- Moral or philosophical beliefs
- Religious beliefs
- Social values, and
- Rules that have become customary in a
community

Non-legal rules are rules of conduct or

organisation that are enforced by things such as
peer pressure, a need for co-operation, feelings
of goodwill, or convenience.
Some important terms and phrases

• Legal ‘principles’ are statements of the broad

fundamental viewpoints that set the policy and
philosophical direction of an area of law.
• Legal ‘rules’ are the more detailed mechanisms
by which the principles are given effect.
• Legal ‘system’ means all the legal principles
and rules that exist in a particular country.
Some important terms and phrases
• ‘Legal system’ also means all the additional
things that contribute to the operation of law in
society, i.e. mechanisms for
• creating and changing the law
• administering and enforcing the law
• preserving and perpetuating the law.
What function does the law serve?
Ensures reasonable predictability in daily life:
- That if you pay for goods or services you will be
provided with them (consumer law).
- That if you own a property, nobody else will be able to
inhabit that property without your permission
(property law).
- Driving on the road is made safer by the requirement
that every driver have a valid drivers licence
(Administrative law, Criminal law).
What function does the law serve?

Encourages and discourages certain conduct:

- Criminal law discourages violent behaviour in
society.
- Intellectual property law encourages businesses
to register their designs or patents.
- Corporations law discourages directors from
exploiting their position of power.
 What function does the law serve?
Grants rights and powers to individuals and groups of
people:
- A party to a contract has the right to enforce that
contract against the other contracting party should
they refuse to honour their obligations (contract law).
- Creditors have the power to wind up a company if it is
unable to pay its debts (corporations law).
- Consumers have the right to have defective goods
replaced or receive a refund when a replacement
item is not available (consumer law).
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 What function does the law serve?
Imposes obligations on individuals / organisations to
meet their legal responsibility:
- Food producers must ensure that their products are
safe to consume (consumer law).
- Cyclists must be careful not to harm pedestrians by
riding negligently (tort law).
- Council members must make decisions that conform
to protocol and do not extend beyond their official
power (administrative law).
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 What function does the law serve?
Allows for the enforcement of recognised rights and
duties:
- Police are allowed to arrest individuals who commit
crimes (criminal law)
- ATO is given the power to investigate a false
declaration on a tax return (administrative law, taxation
law)
- The Commonwealth minister can impose mandatory
safety standards for consumer goods or product-related
services (Administrative law, consumer law)
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 What function does the law serve?
Provides remedies when an injustice has been done:
- Damages can be awarded when an individual has
been harmed by negligent conduct (tort law).
- A customer can be provided with a replacement item
when the item originally purchased was defective
(consumer law).
- An order of specific performance can be made when
a party to a contract refuses to honour an important
term of the contract (contract law).
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 It is vitally important that we know the
law that affects our daily dealings. Why is
this the case?

Because ignorance of the law is no

excuse for breaking it!

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