Week 1 Case Note Template PDF

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MCD 2070 Writing A Case Note WHY IS A CASE NOTE IMPORTANT? It is important to remember that there are two sources of Law in Australia (Statute Law and Common Law). Common Law is derived from the decided cases of courts. If we are to understand law we must learn how to read and interpret both cases and legislation. It is common for law students to write a case note. The case note represents a summary of the relevant law in the context of the facts of the case. A well written case note will not only help as a summary of relevant legal rules, but also as a tool for assisting you to understand how a given set of facts were applied to a rule or rules . Remember that this will be your key focus as a student of law and is a key component of the IRAC process. HOW DO I COMPLETE A CASE NOTE? A case note will commonly be structured in the following way; 1. What are the Facts of the case? 2. What was the legal Issue decided by the court? 3. What was the Decision? 4. What was the legal Reasoning for the decision?

Facts: These should be stated clearly and concisely. Only relevant facts should be used. It is usually better to write the facts in dot point form. Try to limit your summary to no more than 6-8 dot points.

Issue: This is the legal question to be decided by the court in the case. This should be stated as a question. If there is more than one issue they should be stated separately.

Decision: State clearly the courts answer to each of the legal questions. Reasoning: In answering each of the legal questions the judge is required to give their reasons for the decision. The judge will use a legal rule as the basis for this reasoning. This rule is called the ratio. It can be used again to decide future cases involving the same question of law. Understanding this rule is the key purpose of the case note. If your case note does not make this clear your case note is of no use.

MCD 2070 CASE NOTE Case Citation: Donoghue

Course Topic: Negligence

v

Stevenson

Page Ref: pp

47

The facts (short dot point summary of relevant facts) were:    

P consumed drink purchased for her by a friend P could not inspect contents of bottle Drink contained decomposed remains of a snail P suffered shock and gastroenteritis from consumption

The legal issues (questions) to be decided by the Court in the case were: Absent any contractual relationship did the manufacturer (D) owe P a duty of care? The decision of the Court was: A duty of care can exist independent of any contractual relationship between P and D The legal reasoning (rule/s applied by the court to decide the case) was/were: A manufacturer who sells a product in which there is no reasonable opportunity for a consumer to check the product before use owes a duty to take reasonable care in its production. The test applied at law is the ‘neighbour’ test.

MCD 2070 CASE NOTE Case Citation: …………………………………………….....

Course Topic: ………………………………………………… Page Ref: ……………………

The facts (6-8 dot point summary of relevant facts) were:

The legal issues (questions) to be decided by the Court in the case were:

The decision of the Court was:

The legal reasoning (rule/s applied by the court to decide the case) was/were:...