Objectives

On completion of this subject, students should:

• have developed a broader and deeper understanding of the following themes and topics that were introduced in the compulsory core LLB subjects Principles of Public Law and Constitutional Law and their equivalents:
  o the structure and operation of the Australian Commonwealth and state constitutions, in theory and practice, in particular in relation to the areas covered in this subject, which have been chosen to enable students to focus on the most relevant, current and challenging aspects of Australian constitutional law.
  o constitutional skills and techniques, including constitutional interpretation and characterisation
  o the relevance of constitutional law to how governments address public policy issues and to how Commonwealth legislation is drafted and interpreted
  o the impact of constitutional law on the individual and different groups within society
  o the different ways in which constitutional disputes arise and the factors that affect their resolution
  o the main aspects of practice and procedure in constitutional litigation.
• be able to draw on this understanding at an advanced level
  o to describe and critically analyse the fundamental principles of constitutional law
  o to identify relevant constitutional law decisions and state and critically analyse the legal principles that emerge from them
  o to critically analyse the relationship between these legal principles and the fundamental principles of constitutional law
  o to apply constitutional law principles to new fact situations
  o to develop arguments as to what legal principles should be applied when the relevant constitutional provisions or decisions are unclear or in conflict
  o to present these descriptions, analyses and applications of principles in the form of written and (optionally) oral arguments that are appropriately structured, developed, supported and referenced, in particular in the form of a written opinion, an outline of argument and (optionally) an oral argument on a constitutional matter
• have enhanced general cognitive skills in relation to reading and comprehending legal materials; logical analysis and reasoning; legal research and writing; application of legal principles to factual situations; identifying relevant factual information; identifying and considering options to resolve legal problems; drawing on the knowledge of other disciplines to understand and resolve legal issues.