coursemapLoading course
ANU Law School · ANU College of Law, Governance and Policy
Legislation dominates the contemporary legal landscape. Almost all fields of legal regulation involve legislation in some form. The ability to interpret and understand the operation of legislation is a skill essential to understanding law and its operation. This course will provide an advanced study of the rules and principles governing statutory interpretation. Students who have encountered statute law in a variety of contexts (criminal law, torts law, administrative law etc) and been introduced to the relevant common law principles, will benefit from a more detailed consideration of statutory interpretation as a fundamental skill involved in all areas of practice but particularly those areas involving government. The course will cover the following topics: - The legislative process and its role in statutory interpretation, including the role of extrinsic materials; - Approaches to the interpretation of legislation, including comparisons with interpretation of contracts and treaties; - Interpretation Acts and drafting conventions; - Extrinsic and intrinsic aids to assist in interpretation, including the role of legal assumption; - Remedial, penal and fiscal provisions; - Obligatory and discretionary provisions; - Commencement and retrospective effect of legislation; and - Consistency and contrariety of legislative provisions and legislation. To develop their knowledge and skills, students will engage in a range of learning activities, which includes lectures and drafting workshops.
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
- Classes offered in non-standard sessions will be taught semi-intensively with compulsory contact hours of 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. Students are generally expected to devote at least 10 hours overall per week to this course. 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.
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 finalised. Preliminary Reading 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.