733-214 LSB3: High Court, Human Rights & Justice

Credit Points

HECS Band

Coordinator

Prerequisites

733-102 LSA1: Democracy & the Aust. Legal System or equivalent.

Semester

Contact

Subject Description

This subject aims to evaluate the role of the High Court in the development and recognition of human rights in Australia. Principles of justice, judicial independence and the doctrine of precedent will be considered. Individual judges, their judgements and their influence on the law in this area will be examined and critiqued. Theories of legal reasoning will be analysed, and the transition in the High Court from legal formalism to judicial activism will be evaluated. Students will study landmark cases in areas such as freedom of political speech, Aboriginal native title, freedom of assembly, and the implementation of our international human rights obligations. On completion of the subject students should understand the principles and politics of the High Court and judicial reasoning, and be able to critically analyse the development of human rights law in Australia.

Assessment

Written work totalling 2000 words and a 2-hour final exam.

Prescribed Texts

• Williams, Human Rights Under the Australian Constitution. Oxford University Press, 1999.