LAW3201 - Constitutional law 306

Offered

Clayton First semester 2009 (Day)
Clayton Second semester 2009 (Day)

Synopsis

Topics include: the Constitutions of Victoria and the Commonwealth of Australia, the Statute of Westminster and the Australia Acts; basic constitutional principles such as representative and responsible government, parliamentary sovereignty, and separation of powers; techniques and principles of constitutional interpretation; Australian federalism and inter-governmental relations, including the distribution of legislative and fiscal powers between the Commonwealth and the States, inconsistency of laws, and intergovernmental immunities; principal Commonwealth legislative powers; limitations on governmental power including selected express and limited constitutional rights and freedoms.

Objectives

Students who successfully complete this unit will be able to 1) present arguments for or against, and objectively assess, the constitutional validity of Commonwealth and Victorian legislation and executive government action; 2) analyse and critically evaluate the current state of federal and Victorian constitutional law and practice, and discuss the desirability of reform and 3) analyse and critically evaluate judgments of the High Court and other Australian courts in constitutional cases, from the perspectives of a) the interpretive techniques used and b) the principles or policies underlying the relevant constitutional doctrines or provisions.

Assessment

Tutorial participation (10%), Research assignment (2400 words): 30%
Examination (2 hours writing time plus 30 minutes reading and noting time) 60% OR Tutorial Participation (10%), Examination (3 hours writing time plus 30 minutes reading and noting time): 90%

Contact hours

Three hours of lectures per week and one hour tutorial per fortnight.

Prerequisites

LAW1100 or LAW1101 and LAW1102 or LAW1104

Prohibitions

LAW3200