Handbook 1996 : Faculty of Law (Volume 3 page 222)
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Optional Law subject.
Prerequisite: History and Philosophy of Law; Torts and the Process of Law.
Contact: 2 hours per week
Timetable: Second semester
Objectives:
Students completing this subject should: have developed an understanding of the range of critical and theoretical analyses of the underlying assumptions of the Anglo/Australian legal system and the implications of these for the relationship between the system and Indigenous Australians; have gained an understanding and awareness of the spiritual, cultural and historical factors and the contemporary social, political and historical forces that affect the lives of Indigenous Australians; have gained an understanding of the legal consequences of colonisation and the subsequent operation of the Anglo/Australian legal system upon the lives of Indigenous Australians; have gained an understanding of the constitutional history and framework of laws and government affecting Indigenous Australians; have gained a critical understanding of the common law and legislative regimes that regulate land tenure, use and management, including resource development, of Indigenous Australians; understand the ways in which the Anglo/Australian legal system and the law of Indigenous Australians intersect and conflict and in particular have developed a critical analysis about the issues surrounding proposals for the recognition of customary law within the Anglo/Australian legal system; have developed an understanding of the impact of the criminal justice system on the lives of Indigenous Australians and the specific ways in which the criminal justice system deals with Indigenous Australians; have gained an understanding of sovereignty as a legal and political concept and of the significance of sovereignty for Indigenous Australians both domestically and at international law; have gained an understanding of the concept of self-determination and the ways in which it may be implemented within the Anglo/Australian legal and constitutional system; have gained an understanding of the ways in which the experiences of indigenous people in other common law countries are relevant to and may inform legal and political debate on issues relating to Indigenous Australians.
Content:
Indigenous laws and cultures: past and present, diversity and cohesion of Indigenous societies, language, demography, social conditions including health, housing, employment, impact of the criminal justice system; Land: tenure, communal native title, Murray Islands case (and subsequent cases) Native Title legislation, Native Title Tribunal, statutory tenure including Aboriginal reserve lands and the assumptions underlying the different regimes; Land: historical uses and management, current uses and management regimes, resource planning and use issues including access, participation and benefits deriving from resource projects; Government: sovereignty, constitutional issues, division of responsibilities between Commonwealth and States and Territories, financial arrangements arising out of these issues; Government: self-government regimes, self-management, ATSIC as an example of self-management, self-determination, the difference between these concepts, activities in other countries promoting and developing self-management; Human rights and anti discrimination law including constitutional issues, international law perspectives, the concept of 'equality' and 'special measures' under the Racial Discrimination Act 1975 (CW); The interaction between customary law and the Anglo/Australian legal system, possible methods of recognition, critical analysis of the range of proposed methods of recognition; Sovereignty, international law and the rights of indigenous people including the quest for recognition of sovereignty at international law, sovereignty as a domestic issue, activities and processes in international forums including the United Nations; Proposals for Reconciliation including a Treaty and its implementation, constitutional entrenchment, international precedents; In relation to each topic students will be required to engage in critical analysis of the content of the law and the assumptions underlying it and its impact on Indigenous Australians.
Assessment:
Research Essay 5-6,000 words (70 per cent) or Research Project undertaken at an organisation of Indigenous Australians (70 per cent) and Take-Home Examination (30 per cent). Students are also expected to participate actively in class.
Prescribed texts:
Law subject : Next:730-207 | Prev:730-387 | Search | Help
Handbook 1996 : Faculty of Law (Volume 3 page 222)
Status: Official 1996 Date created: Oct 9 1995 Last modified: Oct 9 1995 Authorised by: Academic Registrar Email enquiries: Course_Information@registrar.unimelb.edu.au
Maintained by: Faculty of Law.
Copyright © University of Melbourne 1995,1996.