Postgraduate - UnitLAW7418 - Human rights advocacy: Australian law and practice

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.

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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.

Level	Postgraduate
Faculty	Faculty of Law
Offered	City (Melbourne) First semester 2014 (On-campus block of classes)

Notes

For postgraduate Law discontinuation dates, please see http://www.law.monash.edu.au/current-students/postgraduate/pg-disc-dates.html
For postgraduate Law unit timetables, please see http://law.monash.edu.au/current-students/course-unit-information/timetables/postgraduate/index.html

Quota applies

Postgraduate programs are based on a model of small group teaching and therefore class sizes need to be restricted.

Synopsis

The 2006 enactment of the Victorian Charter of Rights and Responsibilities means that legal practitioners and students need to consider the impact of the Charter on litigation in a range of areas. This unit covers the sources of human rights and the role of international law in Australian law, specific Australian human rights statutes including the new Victorian Charter, international remedies of relevance to Australia, and comparative human rights laws. The unit will also cover the practical application of rights, including appropriate advocacy and research techniques on how to develop human rights arguments. Students will be taught how to advocate Victorian Charter issues effectively.

Outcomes

Upon completion of this unit, students should:

be able to identify and recognise a human rights issue as it arises in a legal dispute
be able to articulate and advance human rights arguments based on the particular dispute
be able to apply relevant human rights jurisprudence from comparable domestic legal system such as the United States, Canada, New Zealand and the UK to apply in the Australian context
to be able to develop logical and sound legal argument with respect to the application of human rights principles
be able to identify appropriate remedies in relation to the human rights questions that are raised
to develop a sound and critical understanding about the operation of human rights law in a practical setting
to be able to identify appropriate limitations on human rights and the concept of proportionality.

Assessment

Moot consisting of a written submission of 4,500 words: 60%
A 20 minute oral submission:40%
OR
Written assignment of 7,500 words (100%)

Chief examiner(s)

Ms Kate Eastman Personal ProfilePersonal Profile (http://www.law.monash.edu.au/staff/postgraduate/sess-keastman.html)

Workload requirements

24 hours of "in person" seminars