LAW4172 · Human rights in Australian law

Overview

The unit seeks to provide comprehensive coverage of the wide-ranging legal forms, policies and practices in Australia that relate to the upholding of human rights standards. The perspective adopted is new in the sense that human rights laws are not viewed as simply being those laws that expressly refer to rights protection. Rather it is to recognise that in the absence of a strong jurisprudential culture of rights in the Common law world generally, and certainly in Australia, laws protecting as well as infringing human rights nonetheless are apparent.

Offerings

Assessment

The Handbook does not list a final examination among the assessment items. That is not a guarantee there is none.

Assessment details may change. Please refer to the assessment information in Moodle closer to the start of the teaching period.

Requisites

Learning outcomes

1. Articulate and critically analyse the diverse cultural, philosophical, political and legal origins of human rights
2. Evaluate the nature and degree of Australia's human rights obligations under international law and their impact on Australian law and practice
3. Critically assess the variety of domestic legal forms by which human rights are expressed - constitutional, statutory, interpretive, common law and codes of practice and evaluate their role and effectiveness in implementing Australia's international human rights obligations
4. Analyse and distinguish between the various Australian laws across the whole range of legal specialities that seek to, or in practice do, protect human rights in Australia
5. Demonstrate cognitive and creative skills in articulating the institutional, policy and procedural mechanisms for human rights protection in Australia and evaluating the impact of statutory and common law changes on human rights protection in Australia
6. Demonstrate legal research and reasoning skills in assessing the impact of statutory and common law changes on human rights protection in Australia
7. Communicate effectively and persuasively in respect of legal rules and policies in an interactive learning environment.
8. Learn and work with autonomy and utilise feedback in this unit and across their undergraduate studies to improve on their capabilities and relate the material covered to relevant aspects of other LLB units they have undertaken.

Workload

Minimum total expected workload to achieve the learning outcomes for this unit is 144 hours per semester typically comprising a mixture of scheduled learning activities and independent study. The unit requires on average three/four hours of scheduled activities per week. Scheduled activities may include a combination of teacher directed learning, peer directed learning and online engagement.

Student experience, not official rules. Nothing here changes what the Handbook says.