LAW5712 Advanced Constitutional Law B
| Semester 2, 2013 External Toowoomba | |
| Units : | 1 |
| Faculty or Section : | Faculty of Business and Law |
| School or Department : | School of Law |
| Version produced : | 11 April 2013 |
Staffing
Examiner: Jeremy Patrick
Moderator: Anthony Gray
Requisites
Pre-requisite: LAW5701
Other requisites
Students are required to have access to a personal computer, e-mail capabilities and Internet access to UConnect. Current details of computer requirements can be found at http://www.usq.edu.au/ict/students/standards/default.htm.
Rationale
The Constitution is the basis of all statute law in Australia, and an understanding of it is fundamental to an understanding of the Australian legal system. It is core legal knowledge in terms of admission as a legal practitioner in Australia.
Synopsis
This course considers the Commonwealth's ability to pass laws in the area of race, immigration and aliens, as well as its financial powers. The trade and commerce power and corporations power are also considered. The course introduces human rights law in the context of Australian constitutional law.
Objectives
On successful completion of this course students should be able to:
- understand different heads of power the Commonwealth has available to it in relation to international matters
- understand heads of power the Commonwealth has available to it in relation to financial affairs
- understand the Commonwealth’s powers with respect to corporations
- understand the Commonwealth’s powers over trade and commerce
- explain how the Australian Constitution provides for the protection of rights
- conduct legal research in the context of a constitutional law issue
- communicate effectively in written/oral form in relation to constitutional law issues.
Topics
| Description | Weighting(%) | |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | The international dimension – Commonwealth’s powers over race, immigration and aliens | 20.00 |
| 2. | Trade and commerce | 20.00 |
| 3. | Financial powers | 25.00 |
| 4. | Corporations power | 15.00 |
| 5. | Human rights and the Australian Constitution | 20.00 |
Text and materials required to be purchased or accessed
ALL textbooks and materials available to be purchased can be sourced from USQ's Online Bookshop (unless otherwise stated). (https://bookshop.usq.edu.au/bookweb/subject.cgi?year=2013&sem=02&subject1=LAW5712)
Please contact us for alternative purchase options from USQ Bookshop. (https://bookshop.usq.edu.au/contact/)
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Clarke, J, Keyzer, P & Stellios, J 2009, Hanks' Australian constitutional law: materials and commentary, 8th edn, LexisNexis Butterworths, Chatswood, New South Wales.
Reference materials
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Gray, A 2009, Human rights in Australia: looking forward, looking back, VDM Publishing, Germany.
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Zines, L 2008, The High Court and the Constitution, 5th edn, Federation Press, Annandale, New South Wales.
Student workload requirements
| Activity | Hours |
|---|---|
| Assessments | 22.00 |
| Directed Study | 52.00 |
| Private Study | 91.00 |
Assessment details
| Description | Marks out of | Wtg (%) | Due Date | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT | 0 | 0 | 09 Aug 2013 | |
| ESSAY/MOOT | 50 | 50 | 27 Sep 2013 | |
| 2-HOUR EXAMINATION | 50 | 50 | End S2 | (see note 1) |
NOTES
- The examination is scheduled to be held in the end-of-semester examination period. Students will be advised of the official examination date after the timetable has been finalised.
Important assessment information
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Attendance requirements:
If you are an international student in Australia, you are advised to attend all classes at your campus. For all other students, there are no attendance requirements for this course. However, it is the students' responsibility to study all material provided to them or required to be accessed by them to maximise their chance of meeting the objectives of the course and to be informed of course-related activities and administration. -
Requirements for students to complete each assessment item satisfactorily:
To satisfactorily complete an individual assessment item a student must achieve at least 50% of the marks. (Depending upon the requirements in Statement 4 below, students may not have to satisfactorily complete each assessment item to receive a passing grade in this course.) -
Penalties for late submission of required work:
If students submit assignments after the due date without prior approval of the examiner, then a penalty of 5% of the total marks gained by the student for the assignment may apply for each working day late up to ten working days at which time a mark of zero may be recorded. -
Requirements for student to be awarded a passing grade in the course:
To be assured of receiving a passing grade a student must achieve at least 50% of the total weighted marks available for the course. -
Method used to combine assessment results to attain final grade:
The final grades for students will be assigned on the basis of the aggregate of the weighted marks obtained for each of the summative assessment items in the course. -
Examination information:
This will be an open examination. Candidates may have access to any printed or written material and a calculator during the examination. -
Examination period when Deferred/Supplementary examinations will be held:
Any Deferred or Supplementary examinations for this course will be held during the next examination period. -
University Student Policies:
Students should read the USQ policies: Definitions, Assessment and Student Academic Misconduct to avoid actions which might contravene University policies and practices. These policies can be found at http://policy.usq.edu.au/portal/custom/search/category/usq_document_policy_type/Student.1.html.
Other requirements
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Computer, e-mail and Internet access:
Students are required to have access to a personal computer, e-mail capabilities and Internet access to UConnect. Current details of computer requirements can be found at http://www.usq.edu.au/ict/students/standards/default.htm.