Administrative law is about the legal rules and institutions aimed at keeping the ‘governors’ (principally, decision-makers in the executive arm of government) ‘accountable’. For this reason administrative law is at the coal-face of the legal relationship between the governors and the governed.
Judicial review is an important aspect of administrative law which focuses on the relationship between the courts and the executive arm of government. This course will cover most of the significant legal principles that arise in judicial review applications, though not all comprehensively. We will identify and consider important current trends and problems in the law of judicial review.
Topics to be covered include:
- The Scope of Judicial review (i.e. judicial review jurisdiction)
- Judicial review remedies
- The legality/merits distinction and jurisdiction error
- Jurisdictional facts and rationality review
- Excluding procedural fairness obligations
- The content of procedural fairness (and national security)
- Relevant considerations
- Unreasonableness and Reasons
- Judicial review of rule-making
- Statutory Attempts to Restrict Judicial Review
- Standing
- The Impact of Judicial Review
To develop their knowledge and skills, students will engage in a range of learning activities, including intensive seminars, lectures, tutorials and research work.
Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion, students will have the knowledge and skills to:
- Distinguish, communicate and apply the major principles and legal arguments relating to judicial review of administrative action.
- Research, critically examine and analyse recent cases to identify trends in judicial review to address legal questions.
- Research, critically evaluate and apply the functional impact of court review on government administrative decision-making.
- Demonstrate the ability to plan and execute a research project applying legal research principles and methodologies through critical, detailed analysis.
Indicative Assessment
- The proposed means of assessment for this course will provide students with at least two pieces of assessment, including one piece during the semester. More information about the means of assessment, including the relationship between the assessment and the learning outcomes of the course, will be available in the Class Summary and on the course WATTLE page. (100) [LO 1,2,3,4]
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Workload
- Classes offered in non-standard sessions will be taught on an intensive base with compulsory contact hours (approximately 26 hours of face to face teaching). The course will also require advanced preparation through assigned readings. In total, it is anticipated that the hours required for completion of this course (class preparation, teaching and completion of assessment) will not exceed 120 hours.
- Classes offered during semester periods are expected to have three contact hours per week. Students are generally expected to devote at least 10 hours overall per week to this course. In total, it is anticipated that the hours required for completion of this course (class preparation, teaching and completion of assessment) will not exceed 120 hours.
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Inherent Requirements
Not applicable
Requisite and Incompatibility
Prescribed Texts
Students must rely on the approved Class Summary which will be posted to the Programs and Courses site approximately two weeks prior to the commencement of the course. Alternatively, this information will be published in the Program course list when known.
Preliminary Reading
Students must rely on the approved Class Summary which will be posted to the Programs and Courses site approximately two weeks prior to the commencement of the course.
Fees
Tuition fees are for the academic year indicated at the top of the page.
Commonwealth Support (CSP) Students
If you 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). More information about your student contribution amount for each course at Fees.
- Student Contribution Band:
- 34
- Unit value:
- 6 units
If you are a domestic graduate coursework student with a Domestic Tuition Fee (DTF) place or international student you will be required to pay course tuition fees (see below). Course tuition fees are indexed annually. Further information for domestic and international students about tuition and other fees can be found 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 |
|---|---|
| 2025 | $5280 |
- International fee paying students
| Year | Fee |
|---|---|
| 2025 | $6720 |
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.