Victorian Bar Entrance Examination General Information 11 February 2019 This document has been prepared by Dr Jason Harkess, Chief Examiner of the Victorian Bar Entrance Examinations, for candidates intending to sit the examination on 7 May 2019. Purpose of Exam The aim of the entrance exam is to ensure that those admitted to the course have basic levels of competence and can demonstrate aptitude for the skills required of a barrister. Exam Features The exam is not completely closed book. Extracts of examinable statutory provisions, regulations and quasi-legislation will be provided to candidates in the examination room. See below for further information concerning the Legislation Booklet that will be provided. The exam is 3 hours in duration, preceded by 30 minutes perusal time. The exam will examine understanding of procedure (both civil procedure and criminal procedure), evidence and legal ethics. Candidates should assume that Victorian law applies to all questions asked. The exam will comprise a mix of multiple choice, short answer and long answer questions. Questions in the exam are otherwise of two general types: o Pure Rule questions: designed to test the candidate s knowledge of a particular rule or principle without application to a stated factual matrix (e.g., Q1: What is hearsay evidence? requires the candidate to define hearsay evidence). o Application questions: designed to test both the candidate s knowledge and ability to apply rules and principles to a stated factual matrix (e.g. Q2: The prosecution intends to tender into evidence Jane s statement made to police as proof of what it asserts. Will the prosecution be permitted to do so? requires the candidate to demonstrate an understanding of the hearsay rule, and its exceptions, by applying the applicable rules of evidence to a given set of facts). The majority of questions in the exam are Application questions. Accordingly, most marks will be allocated to how well a candidate applies a rule or principle in a given context. Candidates are not required to cite case names and may restate principles of law or rules in their own words. Victorian Bar Entrance Examinations - General Information about exam for 7 May 2019 1
The standard of expression, spelling, punctuation, grammar and conciseness will be taken into account in the assessment of a candidate s answers. Responses must be legible. A pass mark of 75% is the minimum entry requirement. Preparing for the Exam The Reading Guide (attached to this document) lists all examinable subject matter. Prospective candidates are referred to the Victorian Bar website where past exams with sample answers can be downloaded. An exam preparation seminar will be conducted by the Chief Examiner on a date to be announced. The seminar will canvass various examination preparation strategies and consider a sample of answers to questions in a previous examination and how marks may be achieved. Further information about the seminar (including the exact time and venue) will be made available on the Victorian Bar website. Legislation Digitalised (PDF) extracts of the examinable provisions will be available to download from the Victorian Bar website approximately one month before the exam. This legislation will be reproduced in hard copy and provided to candidates in the examination room. Candidates must not bring their own hard copies of the legislation to the examination. The provisions as contained in the legislation published on the Victorian Bar website are deemed to remain static for the purposes of the examination. Any legislative amendments or any case law taking effect after publication (but prior to the examination) will be deemed to be ineffective and should therefore be ignored. Candidates may assume that provisions that do not appear in the published legislation will not be specifically examined. Application/interpretation of the examinable provisions will be discussed in prescribed texts and case law (which candidates will not be permitted to have in the examination room). It is therefore up to individual candidates to familiarise themselves with how the provisions are applied in particular case contexts. Victorian Bar Entrance Examinations - General Information about exam for 7 May 2019 2
Victorian Bar Entrance Examination Reading Guide Victorian Bar Entrance Examinations - General Information about exam for 7 May 2019 3
CIVIL PROCEDURE Legislation The following topics/statutory provisions are examinable. Extracts of these provisions will be provided to candidates when they sit the examination. Supreme Court (General Civil Procedure) Rules 2015 (Vic) Order 4 (Process in the Court) Order 9 (Joinder of Claims and Parties) Order 10 (Counterclaim) Order 11 (Third Party Procedure) Order 13 (Pleadings) Order 22 (Summary Judgment) Order 23 (Summary Stay or Dismissal of Claim and Striking Out Pleading) Order 26 (Offers of Compromise and Offers to Compromise on Appeal) Order 29 (Discovery and Inspection of Documents) Order 32 (Preliminary Discovery and Discovery from Non-Party) Order 36 (Amendment) Order 37 (Inspection, Detention and Preservation of Property) Order 37A (Freezing Orders) Order 38 (Injunctions) Order 42 (Subpoenas) Order 43 (Affidavits) Order 44 (Expert Evidence) Order 45 (Originating Motion) Order 46 (Applications) Order 47 (Place and Mode of Trial) Order 49 (Trial) Order 62 (Security for Costs) Civil Procedure Act 2010 (Vic) Chapter 1 (Preliminary) ss 1, 4 and 6 Chapter 2 (Overarching Purpose and Obligations) o Part 2.1 (Overarching Purpose) ss 7 to 9 o Part 2.2 (Application of the Overarching Obligations) ss 10 to 15 o Part 2.3 (The Overarching Obligations) ss 16 to 27 o Part 2.4 (Sanctions for Contravening the Overarching Obligations) ss 28 to 31 Chapter 4 (Commencement and Conduct of Civil Proceedings) o Part 4.1 (Certification Requirements) ss 41 to 46 o Part 4.2 (Case management) ss 47 to 53 o Part 4.3 (Disclosure and Discovery) ss 54 to 59 o Part 4.4 (Summary Judgment) ss 60 to 65 Chapter 5 (Appropriate Dispute Resolution) ss 66 to 69 Victorian Bar Entrance Examinations - General Information about exam for 7 May 2019 4
Selected Case Law Fafoutellis v The Blockage Bloke Pty Ltd [2017] VSC 480 Hera Project Pty Ltd v Bisognin (No 4) 2017 VSC 270 Raventhorpe Pty Ltd v Westpac Banking Corporations [2017] VSC 362 Trkulja v Dobrijevic (No 2) [2016] VSC 596 Note: The above list of cases is not exhaustive of the principles that are examinable. Candidates are, however, expected to be familiar with their factual matrices and how the relevant rules and principles have been applied. Prescribed Text Judicial College of Victoria, Civil Procedure Bench Book (available online http://www.judicialcollege.vic.edu.au/publications/civil-procedure-resources) Other Recommended Reading David Bailey and John Arthur, Civil Procedure Victoria (formerly known as Williams, Civil Procedure Victoria ). Available online from LexisNexis. Richard Cook, The Annotated Rules of Court (2017, 14 th edition), Vol 1 CRIMINAL PROCEDURE Candidates will be expected to have a good understanding of: Prosecution and Defence Criminal jurisdiction of Magistrates' Court, County Court and Supreme Court in Victoria Police powers - including arrest, search and seizure, questioning suspects, pre-trial forensic procedures Commencing proceedings Bail Summary Procedure Committal Proceedings Trial on Indictment Sentencing Appeals and Cases Stated Legislation The following topics/statutory provisions are examinable. Extracts of these provisions will be provided to candidates when they sit the examination. Bail Act 1977 (Vic) Part 1 (Preliminary) ss 1A, 1B, 3 to 3D Part 2 (Granting of Bail and Admission to Bail) ss 4 to 17 Part 3 (Further Application, Variation of Conditions, Revocation) ss 18 18AK Victorian Bar Entrance Examinations - General Information about exam for 7 May 2019 5
Part 4 (Appeals) s 18A Part 5 (Miscellaneous) ss 30, 30A, 30B Criminal Procedure Act 2009 (Vic) Chapter 2 (Commencing a Criminal Proceeding) o Part 2.1 s 5 o Part 2.2 ss 6 to 11 o Part 2.3 ss 12 to 16 Chapter 3 (Summary Procedure) o Part 3.1 ss 27 to 30 o Part 3.2 ss 31, 32, 35, 37 to 39, 41 to 47, 50 to 55 o Part 3.3 ss 56 to 61, 63 to 84, 87 Chapter 4 (Committal Proceeding) o Part 4.1 ss 96 to 100 o Part 4.2 ss 101, 102 o Part 4.4 ss 107 to 112 o Part 4.5 ss 118 to 120, 124 o Part 4.6 ss 125 to 127 o Part 4.7 ss 128 to 132, 132A o Part 4.9 ss 141, 143, 144 Chapter 5 (Trial on Indictment) o Part 5.1 s 158 o Part 5.2 ss 159 to 170 o Part 5.3 s 171 o Part 5.4 ss 177, 178 o Part 5.5 ss 179 to 185, 188 to 200 o Part 5.6 ss 207 to 209 o Part 5.7 s 210, 215, 217, 222 to 226, 231 to 238, 244, 245, 249 Chapter 6 (Appeals and Cases States) o Part 6.1 ss 254 to 259, 263 to 268 o Part 6.2 ss 272, 273 o Part 6.3 ss 274 to 308 Chapter 8 (General) o Part 8.1 ss 328 to 331 o Part 8.5 s 412 Schedule 1 (Charges on a Charge-Sheet or Indictment) Jury Directions Act 2015 (Vic) Part 1 (Preliminary) ss 1, 3, 4 Part 2 (General) ss 5, 6, 7 Part 3 (Request for Directions) ss 9 to 12, 14 to 17 Part 4 (Evidential Directions) ss 18 to 44 Part 5 (Sexual Offences) ss 45 to 54 Part 6 (Family Violence) ss 55 to 60 Part 7 (General Directions) ss 61 to 67 Sentencing Act 1991 (Vic) Part 1 (Preliminary) s 1 Victorian Bar Entrance Examinations - General Information about exam for 7 May 2019 6
Part 2 (Governing Principles) ss 5, 6, 6AAA Part 3 (Sentences - custodial) ss 7, 8, 8A, 8B, s 8E, s 8K, 8L, 8Q, 9, 11, 11A, 16, 18, 32 to 35 Part 3A (Sentences Community Correction Orders) ss 36 to 48LA Part 3B (Sentences Fines) ss 49 to 54 Part 3BA (Sentences Other Orders) ss 70, 72 to 77, 80, 83A Part 4 (Orders in Addition to Sentence) ss 84 to 89DE Part 5 (Mentally Ill Offenders) ss 90 to 94C Part 10 (Miscellaneous Provisions) ss 109, 112, 112A, 113 to 113C Selected Case Law DPP v Osborn [2018] VSCA 207 Hamid v The Queen [2019] VSCA 5 McLean v The Queen [2018] VSCA 209 R v Barker [2017] VSC 57 Sharp v The Queen [2018] VSCA 327 Note: The above list of cases is not exhaustive of the principles that are examinable. Candidates are, however, expected to be familiar with their factual matrices and how the relevant rules and principles have been applied. Prescribed Texts Judicial College of Victoria, Bail Material (updated periodically and available online: http://www.judicialcollege.vic.edu.au/publications/bail-materials) Judicial College of Victoria, Victorian Criminal Proceedings Manual (updated periodically and available online: http://www.judicialcollege.vic.edu.au/publications/victorian-criminalproceedings-manual) Judicial College of Victoria, Victorian Sentencing Manual (updated periodically and available online: http://www.judicialcollege.vic.edu.au/publications/victoriansentencing-manual) Other Recommended Reading Richard Fox, Victorian Criminal Procedure (2019, The Federation Press) EVIDENCE Candidates will be expected to have a good understanding of: Examination and cross-examination of witnesses, including the rules in Browne v Dunn and Jones v Dunkel Relevance and exclusionary discretions Circumstantial evidence The rule against hearsay and its exceptions (including admissions) Victorian Bar Entrance Examinations - General Information about exam for 7 May 2019 7
Credibility and character evidence Privilege (all forms) Opinion and expert evidence Tendency and coincidence evidence Identification evidence Illegally/improperly obtained evidence Unreliable evidence Documentary evidence Procedure on questions of admissibility of evidence Legislation The following topics/statutory provisions are examinable. Extracts of these provisions will be provided to candidates when they sit the examination. Evidence Act 2008 (Vic) Part 1.2 (Application of Act) ss 4, 8, 9 Part 2.1 (Witnesses) ss 12, 13, 17, 18, 20, 32 to 35, 37 to 39, 41 to 43, 45, 46 Part 2.2 (Documents) s 48 Part 3.1 (Relevance) ss 55, 56 Part 3.2 (Hearsay) ss 59 to 75 Part 3.3 (Opinion) ss 76 to 80 Part 3.4 (Admissions) ss 81 to 90 Part 3.6 (Tendency and Coincidence) ss 94 to 101 Part 3.7 (Credibility) ss 101A to 104, 106 to 108 Part 3.8 (Character) ss 109 to 112 Part 3.9 (Identification Evidence) ss 113 to 115 Part 3.10 (Privilege) ss 117 to 134 Part 3.11 (Discretionary and Mandatory Exclusions) ss 135 to 139 Part 4.1 (Standard of Proof) ss 140 to 142 Part 4.2 (Judicial Notice) s 144 Part 4.3 (Facilitation of Proof) ss 146, 147 Part 4.5 (Warnings and Information) ss 165 to 165A Chapter 5 (Miscellaneous) ss 189, 190, 192, 192A Note: examinable provisions of the Jury Directions Act 2015 that have evidentiary implications are listed in the Criminal Procedure section above. Selected case law R v Adams (No 5) [2016] NSWSC 1563 R v Dickman [2017] HCA 24 Svajcer v Woolworths Ltd (Ruling) [2015] VSC 543 Viterra Malt Pty Ltd v Cargill Australia Ltd [2018] VSCA 118 Wilson v Bauer Media (No 7) [2017] VSC 357 Victorian Bar Entrance Examinations - General Information about exam for 7 May 2019 8
Note: The above list of cases is not exhaustive of the principles that are examinable. Candidates are, however, expected to be familiar with their factual matrices and how the relevant rules and principles have been applied. Prescribed Text Judicial College of Victoria, Uniform Evidence Manual (updated periodically and accessible online: http://www.judicialcollege.vic.edu.au/publications/uniformevidence-resources) Judicial College of Victoria, Victorian Criminal Charge Book (updated periodically and accessible online: http://www.judicialcollege.vic.edu.au/publications/victorian-criminal-chargebook) Other Recommended Reading Stephen Odgers, Uniform Evidence Law (13 th ed, 2018). This is available from Monash Law Book Co-Operative Ltd, University of Melbourne Bookshop and the Law Institute of Victoria Bookshop. Only Victorian provisions are examinable. LEGAL ETHICS Candidates will be expected to have a good understanding of: The Legal Profession Uniform Conduct (Barristers) Rules 2015 Ethical obligations particular to civil or criminal proceedings Duties in relation to costs disclosure and conditional costs agreements Legislation The following topics/statutory provisions are examinable. Extracts of these provisions will be provided to candidates when they sit the examination. Legal Profession Uniform Conduct (Barristers) Rules 2015 All rules contained in the Legal Profession Uniform Conduct (Barristers) Rules 2015 are examinable. The rules can be downloaded via web links provided on the Victorian Legal Services Board and Commissioner website: http://lsbc.vic.gov.au/?page_id=248 Note: Section 431 of Schedule 1 of the Legal Professional Uniform Law Application Act 2014 (Vic) provides that publication of Uniform Rules are to be published on the NSW legislation website in accordance with Part 6A of the Interpretation Act 1987 (NSW). Accordingly, candidates are advised that searching for the Uniform Rules via Victorian legislation databases is unlikely to yield the desired result. Legal Profession Uniform Law (Schedule 1 of the Legal Profession Uniform Law Application Act 2014 (Vic)) Part 4.3 (Legal Costs) Victorian Bar Entrance Examinations - General Information about exam for 7 May 2019 9
o Division 1 (Introduction) ss 169 to 171 o Division 2 (Legal costs generally) ss 172 to 173 o Division 3 (Costs disclosure) ss 174 to 178 o Division 4 (Costs agreements) ss 179 to 185 o Division 5 (Billing) ss 186 to 193 Part 5.4 (Disciplinary Matters) o Division 1 (Preliminary) ss 295 to 298 o Division 2 (Determination by local regulatory authority) s 299 o Division 3 (Role of designated tribunal) ss 300 to 305 Civil Procedure Act 2010 (Vic) See the list of examinable provisions in the section on Civil Procedure above. Candidates will appreciate that many of the examinable provisions in this statute have ethical content. Selected Case Law Gullquist v Victorian Legal Services Commissioner [2018] VSCA 259 McDonald v Legal Services Commissioner [2015] VSCA 237 Note: The above list of cases is not exhaustive of the principles that are examinable. Candidates are, however, expected to be familiar with their factual matrices and how the relevant rules and principles have been applied. Victorian Bar Entrance Examinations - General Information about exam for 7 May 2019 10