This course is designed to give students an opportunity to explore contemporary issues in Australian constitutional law. Issues will be examined both from a practical and theoretical dimension.
The contemporary topics examined in the course may change each year, to reflect constitutional law developments and the interest of participants. Illustrative examples of issues that could be covered at present include:
- the implied right to vote;
- recent implied freedom of political communication cases;
- Pape v Commissioner of Taxation, Williams v Commonwealth and the nature of executive power;
- section 96 grants;
- referrals of power and other cooperative schemes;
- Momcilovic v The Queen;
- section 109 inconsistency;
- same-sex marriage;
- the position of the territories;
- minority government;
- constitutional interpretation;
- proportionality;
- use of comparative and international law;
- procedural issues, including agreeing to facts;
- the role of interveners and amicus curiae; and
- constitutional change.
Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion, students will have the knowledge and skills to:
By the conclusion of this course, it is intended that students who have successfully completed all of the course requirements should be able to:- Demonstrate mastery of knowledge and understanding of the range of current issues currently influencing developments in the Australian constitutional law;
- Explain, critically analyse and integrate that knowledge and understanding so as to evaluate and anticipate future developments in Australian constitutional law;
- Identify, review and critically contribute, using a range of research principles and methods, to scholarly discussion on principles and practices underlying current developments in constitutional law;
- Investigate and analyse the interrelationships between recent developments in constitutional law and its influence on broader public law principles;
- Generate and critically analyse knowledge of constitutional law principles and demonstrate application to a variety of complex problems in both practical and theoretical contexts; and
- Plan, research and critically analyse and evaluate legal scholarship and other material discussing recent developments to produce a professional piece of written work.
Other Information
This is an intensive course with a 4 day compulsory intensive (see LLM timetable for dates).Approximately 6 weeks from the completion of the intensive your final assessment will be due. Contact with fellow students and the convenor, both prior to the intensive and after, is conducted via the Wattle course site.
Indicative Assessment
Assessment is likely to consist of:- Class Participation (10%)
- Research Essay (100%)
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 hours of face to face teaching (4 day intensive). The course will also require advanced preparation through assigned readings. In total, it is anticipated that the hours required for completion this course (class preparation, teaching and completion of assessment) will not exceed 120 hours.Click here for the LLM Masters Program timetable
Requisite and Incompatibility
Prescribed Texts
The Constitution will be central to class discussion and is available from the Co-op Bookshop or at http://www.comlaw.gov.au/Details/C2005Q00193Preliminary Reading
Further introductory material includes:- Joseph, Sarah and Melissa Castan, Federal Constitutional Law: A Contemporary View (Thomson Reuters: 3rd ed, 2009)
- Hanks, Peter, Frances Gordon and Graeme Hill, Constitutional Law in Australia (LexisNexis Butterworths, 3rd ed, 2012)
- Ratnapala, Suri and Jonathan Crowe, Australian Constitutional Law: Foundations and Theory (Oxford University Press, 3rd ed, 2012)
- Saunders, Cheryl, It’s Your Constitution (Federation Press, 2nd ed, 2003)
- Saunders, Cheryl, The Constitution of Australia: A Contextual Analysis (Hart Publishing, 2011)
- Zines, Leslie, The High Court and the Constitution (Federation Press, 5th ed, 2008)
Assumed Knowledge
Students without an Australian law degree must have completed LAWS8587 Legal Framework of RegulationFees
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.
Class summaries, if available, can be accessed by clicking on the View link for the relevant class number.
Winter Session
| Class number | Class start date | Last day to enrol | Census date | Class end date | Mode Of Delivery | Class Summary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6899 | 03 Sep 2018 | 03 Sep 2018 | 14 Sep 2018 | 18 Oct 2018 | In Person | N/A |
