This course aims to provide the ADF Legal Officers' Specialist Career Structure (LOSCR) with the military discipline law component of Legal Training Module 2.  This is the educational requirement for ADF Legal Officers to qualify for legal competency level LL3 under the scheme approved by the Defence Force Remuneration Tribunal.

A student who has successfully completed this course should show an understanding of:

• application of the Defence Force Discipline Act, its related legislation, and relationship to the ADF prosecution policy
• determining jurisdiction, the investigation process and the range of offences related to discipline
• drafting and laying charges, Rules of Evidence and investigative material
• the process of summary hearings, including Discipline Officer proceedings
• sentencing principles, the scale and consequences of punishments and requirements relating to the award of punishments by Service Tribunals, legal review processes
• the requirements for preparing a legal report for the review process in a summary trial, the petition and appeals processes.

A student who has successfully completed this course will have:

• an understanding of reforms to the military justice system, particularly those relating to the establishment of the Australian Military Court
• an understanding of the jurisdictional aspects of the military discipline law system
• an understanding of key sources of law and policy  including legislation, the Discipline Law Manual, Defence Instructions and case-law and relevant secondary sources
• an understanding of the relationship between the Defence Force Discipline Act 1982 (Cth), the Criminal Code Act 1995 (Cth) and the Criminal Code 2002 (ACT) and the definition and scope of Territory offences, general defences and other applicable federal law
• an understanding of the rules of evidence and procedure including the Summary Authority Rules
• an understanding of the grounds for appeal
• an understanding of the role of prosecutorial discretion in relation to the choice of charges, the elements of offences, possible defences that could be raised, and the sufficiency of admissible evidence
• an opportunity to develop and apply independent legal research skills.

The assessment for the course LAWS8160 consists of three parts: 

• an oral presentation during the course
• a take-home exam 
• a DLM entry.

Week long intensive seminar with on-line communication and activities before and after.

Classes will proceed on the basis that you have a good understanding of the DFDA particularly charges, procedures and the rules of evidence.  We have designed this course being conscious not to replicate learning done in the LTM1 course taught by the Military Law Centre.

There are no incompatible courses.

S Odgers, Principles of Federal Criminal Law (Lawbook Co, 2007)

Access to WATTLE.