Course

Judging and the Judiciary - LAWS8147

Faculty: Faculty of Law

School: Faculty of Law

Course Outline: See below

Campus: Sydney

Career: Postgraduate

Units of Credit: 6

EFTSL: 0.12500 (more info)

Indicative Contact Hours per Week: 24

Enrolment Requirements:

Prerequisite: Academic Program must be either 9200, 9210, 9230, 9235, 5740, or 5235

Excluded: JURD7447

CSS Contribution Charge: 3 (more info)

Tuition Fee: See Tuition Fee Schedule

Further Information: See Class Timetable

View course information for previous years.

Description

This course looks at the institutional and individual role of the judge in the justice system. The aim of the course is to examine the constitutional position of the judiciary, the role of the judge in securing access to justice for the Australian public, including the important development of case management, the process of hearing and deciding cases and judicial accountability. The course will cover the following topics:
  • Role of the judge in the justice system;
  • Constraints on the exercise of judicial power;
  • Judicial ethics;
  • Access to justice and case management;
  • Fact finding;
  • Judgment writing;
  • Judicial appointments;
  • The judiciary and the media.

LLM Specialisations

Recommended Prior Knowledge

Knowledge of the Australian constitutional system

Learning Outcomes

A candidate who has successfully completed this course should be able to:
  • Understand the Constitutional position of and constraints on the judiciary;
  • Appreciate the role of the judge in ensuring due process, access to justice and the minimisation of cost and delay;
  • Understand the judicial skill-set necessary for fact finding and judgment writing;
  • Examine and critique forms of judicial accountability such as methods of appointment, the provision of reasons, appeal, open justice and reporting by the media.

Assessment

Research Essay 70%
Reflective Journal 20%
Class Participation 10%

Texts/resources

Required: TBC

Recommended: TBC

A full up-to date reading list will be provided in the detailed course outline.
Law Books

Study Levels

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