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ANU Law School · ANU College of Law, Governance and Policy
Building on previous public law studies, particularly Australian Public Law, this course aims to deepen student understanding of key aspects of the Commonwealth Constitution and the way it has been interpreted by the High Court of Australia. Specifically, we consider: - The scope of Commonwealth legislative power, by reference to key federal heads of legislative power including the corporations power (s 51(xx)), the external affairs power (s 51(xxix)), the races power (s 51(xxvi), the taxation power (s 51(ii)) and the grants power (s 96); - The principles of interpretation and ‘characterisation’ applied by the High Court when interpreting the scope of federal legislative power; - The principles that operate to resolve a clash or conflict between Commonwealth and State laws (s 109); - Many of the important constitutional limitations placed on the exercise of Commonwealth and State legislative power, including both the express limitations set out in the text (eg, ss 90 and 92) and those that have been implied by the High Court from the text and structure of the Constitution (eg, federal/State immunities, and implications from representative government); - The important role that the High Court has played in shaping the federal system and protecting federal government institutions created by the Constitution; and - The historical and social context in which federal constitutional law has developed. In conjunction with LAWS6105 Australian Public Law, this course meets the requirements of the Law Admissions Consultative Committee Prescribed Academic Areas of Knowledge for Federal and State Constitutional Law.
The proposed means of assessment for this course will provide students with at least two pieces of assessment, including one piece during the semester. More information about the means of assessment, including the relationship between the assessment and the learning outcomes of the course, will be available in the Class Summary and on the course WATTLE page.
Learning outcomes 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
- Classes offered in non-standard sessions will be taught on an intensive base with compulsory contact hours (approximately 26 hours of face to face teaching). The course will also require advanced preparation through assigned readings. In total, it is anticipated that the hours required for completion of this course (class preparation, teaching and completion of assessment) will not exceed 120 hours. - Classes offered during semester periods are expected to have three contact hours per week. Click here for the LLM Masters Program course list Other Information Commonwealth constitutional law will be taught entirely through seminars, rather than divided into lectures and tutorials. Online students will attend the seminars by webcasting into the seminar through Adobe Connect. Seminar time will be used flexibly in an effort to encourage participation and engagement with the course materials. Although there will be no separate ‘tutorial’ program, class time will be spent on problems and activities designed to prepare students for the assessment tasks (ie the take-home mid-semester exam and the final exam). There will be occasions when seminar leaders will do most of the talking, but all of the seminar leaders in the course are committed to a learning experience built on informed dialogue. For this reason, seminars will not merely summarise the reading material but will focus on an analysis of the cases and other primary materials. For the seminar-style of teaching and learning to succeed, it is important for students to prepare for each and every classes. A document entitled ‘Seminar Plan’ will state the required reading and set out reading questions and problems which students should be in a position to discuss in class. Seminar leaders may also distribute further problems or questions they wish students to consider prior to class (which will be posted on the course Wattle page). Although all seminars will be recorded, the seminar style of teaching means that we cannot guarantee that all of the discussion will be captured. The interactive style of the seminars is also intended to benefit those students who prepare for, and engage during, the seminar. We therefore encourage students to attend classes in person. If you must miss a seminar, you should prepare as normal so you can actively listen to the discussion in your regular seminar group. (Despite best efforts, sometimes classes may fail to record properly. If this occurs, the seminar will not be re-recorded.)
Students must rely on the approved Class Summary which will be posted to the Programs and Courses site approximately two weeks prior to the commencement of the course. Alternatively, this information will be published in the Program course list when known.