units

LAW7246

Faculty of Law

Monash University

Postgraduate - Unit

This unit entry is for students who completed this unit in 2014 only. For students planning to study the unit, please refer to the unit indexes in the the current edition of the Handbook. If you have any queries contact the managing faculty for your course or area of study.

print version

6 points, SCA Band 3, 0.125 EFTSL

Refer to the specific census and withdrawal dates for the semester(s) in which this unit is offered, or view unit timetables.

LevelPostgraduate
FacultyFaculty of Law
OfferedNot offered in 2014

Notes

Synopsis

This unit examines the various legal, policy and governance issues relating to privacy and surveillance. Students will be required to consider the range of technological and regulatory measures that are available, or required, to deal with surveillance. They will also be given the opportunity to fully explore the relevant technology, how the different privacy and surveillance issues to which it gives rise interrelate and the application of the various regulatory mechanisms which have been designed to deal with these problems

Outcomes

On completion of this unit, students should have an understanding of the impact of surveillance activities on privacy and the mechanisms available to protect privacy, encompassing more specifically:

  1. an understanding of the different facets of privacy, including the distinction between privacy, secrecy and confidentiality;
  2. a detailed understanding of the mechanisms and methodologies used for surveillance, of the range of persons and entities that have an interest in such activities and of the potential impact on individuals;
  3. an understanding of how privacy and security may be compromised via surveillance activities and the legal and policy implications of privacy and security infringements;
  4. a detailed knowledge of privacy laws and their limitations as they operate in the context of modern surveillance technologies;
  5. a broad understanding of other laws which protect the privacy and security of personal information;
  6. an awareness of the implications of the relevant international regulatory frameworks, including human rights frameworks;
  7. further development of legal research and writing and legal argument skills by undertaking systematic research into legal policy, rules and procedures relating to the protection of privacy in relation to surveillance activities; and
  8. further development of skills of presentation of legal concepts, rules and argument in an interactive seminar context.

Assessment

Research Assignment (5,250 words): 70%
Take home examination (2,250 words): 30%

Chief examiner(s)

Workload requirements

24 contact hours per semester (either intensive, semi-intensive or semester long, depending on the Faculty resources, timetabling and requirements)