This course introduces the concepts and practices of donor-assisted legal institutional reform in Asia and the Pacific, with an focus on fragile and conflict affected settings. It uses perspectives from law, criminology, sociology, history and politics in order to understand the political economy of law and justice interventions, and the institutions and actors that have shaped this field in the last 30 years. The focus will be on ethically-informed professional practice -- the profiles and practices of reform actors who undertake policing interventions, the reform of justice and correctional institutions and changes to judiciaries and court systems. The course uses case-studies to explore issues such as the intersection of formal and non-state justice, Islamic legal ordering, the rise of non-Western donors, the ethics of reform and how we understand the role of external actors in creating transnational legal orders.
Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion, students will have the knowledge and skills to:
Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to:- Have an advanced understanding of the landscape of law and justice reform in Asia and the Pacific and the key concepts, institutions, actors and history of the field
- Use criminological and socio-legal theory to understand and critique law and justice reform policies advanced by transnational legal actors in Asia and the Pacific
- Be familiar with key policy preoccupations of western law and justice donors, including policing reform, judicial independence and correctional facility reform
- Analyse and evaluate law and justice practices by western or regional intervenors in fragile and conflict-affected settings
- Be familiar with the challenge of legal and institutional reform impacts in settings with highly developed legal pluralism and/or systems of Islamic ordering
- Be able to reflect professionally on the ethics of law and justice interventions.
Other Information
This course seeks to build student familiarity with the applied policy field of donor-assisted law and justice reform internationally, in tandem with reflection on some of the professional skills necessary to participate effectively in that field. Accordingly, the assessment covers the traditional research and writing skill, but is also weighted toward group work and oral presentation skills both of which are essential for professional practice in this field.Indicative Assessment
- Class presentation (20%)
- Research essay - 3500 words (50%)
- Policy note or reform design outline developed cooperatively in group work - 1000 words or equivalent in video and infographic format (30%)
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
This course will require 30 contact hours and 130 hours workload in total.Prescribed Texts
Linn Hammergren (2015) Justice Reform and Development: Rethinking Donor Assistance to Developing and Transitional Countries (Routledge)Preliminary Reading
Livingston Armytage (2013) A Journey to Fairness in Asia (Cambridge University Press)
Randall Peerenboom (2010), Judicial Independence in China: Lessons for Global Rule of Law Promotion (Cambridge University Press)
Taylor, Veronica L. (2016) ‘Big Rule of Law ©®?™(pat.pending): Branding and Certifying the Business of the Rule of Law’ in Farrall and Charlesworth (eds) Strengthening the Rule of Law through the UN Security Council (Routledge)
Simion K and Taylor,V L., (2015) Professionalizing Rule of Law: Issues and Directions (Folke Bernadotte Academy)
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 |
|---|---|
| 2019 | $3840 |
- International fee paying students
| Year | Fee |
|---|---|
| 2019 | $5460 |
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.