This course introduces students to the legal systems South Asia, and considers the relationship between law, governance and development in the region.
The course will cover key academic and policy debates about law and development in South Asia, including:
- the general features of law and legal systems in countries of South Asia, including the influence of legal transplants, state-building and Rule of Law initiatives, revolutionary change, religious law, custom and tradition;
- the multiple meanings of ‘law’ in the social, political, judicial and legislative contexts of the South Asia;
- introduction to and critical consideration of theoretical frameworks employed to make sense of a diversity of social, economic and political conditions in the region, such as liberal-democratic theory, rights discourse, Rule of Law theory, Orientalism, postcolonial legal theory, and law and development discourses;
- key issues relating to constitutionalism and state-building, including representative democracy, political movements and emerging civil society networks;
- international territorial disputes, domestic challenges of regionalism, ethnic and/or sectarian strife;
- law and human rights, including debates about the status and recognition of religious law, particularly those of gender discrimination and minority rights, and formal and informal justice mechanisms; and
- the role of law in bringing socio-economic change, tackling wealth and power disparities, equitable use of natural resources and foreign aid, undermining elite control of the political economy.
Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion, students will have the knowledge and skills to:
A
participant who has successfully completed this course should:
- have an understanding of the contemporary shape as well as historical evolution of the legal systems and political structures of South Asian countries;
- be able to critically analyse South Asian laws and the role of legal institutions as possible means of achieving social justice and political change;
- be able to evaluate contemporary academic and policy debates about ‘good governance’, ‘rule of law’, ‘access to justice’ and ‘structural reforms’, particularly as these relate to allocations of power and resources along class, religious/caste, ethno-linguistic, regional and gender lines.
- be able to access and analyse South Asian legal materials, and to employ a variety of tools and methodological approaches useful for legal research and practice in South Asian countries.
Indicative Assessment
Students must rely on the approved Means of Assessment which will be posted to the Wattle course site approximately 4 weeks prior to the commencement of the course.
The proposed scheme of assessment will be:
- Research Paper (5000-600 words) (60%)
- Three in-class individual and group assignments (10% each for a total of 30%)
- Class Participation (10%)
The ANU uses Turnitin to enhance student citation and referencing techniques, and to assess assignment submissions as a component of the University's approach to managing Academic Integrity. While the use of Turnitin is not mandatory, the ANU highly recommends Turnitin is used by both teaching staff and students. For additional information regarding Turnitin please visit the ANU Online website.
Workload
26 contact hours (intensive delivery over 4 days) plus private study time.
2014 Intensive course dates: 23-24 & 27-28 October
Click here for the current LLM Masters Program Timetable
Requisite and Incompatibility
Preliminary Reading
A Course Outline will be available on the Wattle course site approximately 4 weeks prior to the commencement of the course.
Fees
Tuition fees are for the academic year indicated at the top of the page.
If you are a domestic graduate coursework or international student you will be required to pay tuition fees. Tuition fees are indexed annually. Further information for domestic and international students about tuition and other fees can be found at Fees.
- Student Contribution Band:
- 3
- Unit value:
- 6 units
If you are an undergraduate student and have been offered a Commonwealth supported place, your fees are set by the Australian Government for each course. At ANU 1 EFTSL is 48 units (normally 8 x 6-unit courses). You can find your student contribution amount for each course at Fees. Where there is a unit range displayed for this course, not all unit options below may be available.
| Units | EFTSL |
|---|---|
| 6.00 | 0.12500 |
Course fees
- Domestic fee paying students
| Year | Fee |
|---|---|
| 2018 | $3660 |
- International fee paying students
| Year | Fee |
|---|---|
| 2018 | $5160 |
Offerings, Dates and Class Summary Links
ANU utilises MyTimetable to enable students to view the timetable for their enrolled courses, browse, then self-allocate to small teaching activities / tutorials so they can better plan their time. Find out more on the Timetable webpage.
