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Course

Federal Constitutional Law - LAWS2150

Faculty: Faculty of Law

School: Faculty of Law

Course Outline: See below

Campus: Sydney

Career: Undergraduate

Units of Credit: 6

EFTSL: 0.12500 (more info)

Indicative Contact Hours per Week: 4

Enrolment Requirements:

Pre-requisite: LAWS1160 or JURD7160.

Excluded: JURD7250

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 continues students’ exposure to the field of public law, to which they have been earlier introduced in LAWS1141: Principles of Public Law. In this course students engage with the intellectual debates surrounding methods of constitutional interpretation, before embarking on a study of the scope of specific Commonwealth legislative powers of importance in the contemporary operation of Australia’s federal system. The course also examines the effect of express and implied constitutional limitations upon the powers of government – particularly those which protect civil and political rights. Understanding of the scope of valid legislative action is developed through application of propositions of constitutional law to actual and hypothetical legislative instruments.


Course Learning Outcomes

The student will be able to:
  1. Demonstrate awareness of the broader principles of public law underpinning federal constitutional law;
  2. Formulate an accurate statement of applicable constitutional law on the ambit and limits of legislative power;
  3. Apply propositions of constitutional law to hypothetical problems testing the validity of legislative action;
  4. Engage in critical analysis of the role and methods of the High Court in interpreting the Constitution;
  5. Navigate and apply complex statutory enactments in the context of ascertaining constitutional validity; and
  6. Demonstrate effective oral communication skills by discussing and debating course concepts in a scholarly, reflective and respectful manner.

Topics

Fundamentals of Australian Constitutional Law
The High Court and Constitutional Method
- Constitutional Interpretation
- Characterisation of Laws
Inconsistency of Commonwealth and State Laws
The Trade and Commerce Power
The External Affairs Power
The Races Power
The Corporations Power
The Defence Power
The Taxation Power
- Defining taxation
- Constitutional Constraints on Money Bills
- Fiscal Federalism – Tax and Spending
Express Freedoms
- Freedom of Interstate Trade and Commerce
- Trial by Jury
- Freedom of Religion
Implied Freedoms
- Freedom of Political Communication
- Judicial Power and Liberty
The Federal Compact: the Melbourne Corporation Principle

Assessment

  • Take-home problem essay - 40%
  • Final examination - 50%
  • Class participation - 10%

Texts

Williams, Brennan and Lynch, Blackshield & Williams Australian Constitutional Law & Theory: Commentary and Materials (6th ed, Federation Press, 2014)
Law Books

Study Levels

Undergraduate Study Postgraudate Study Postgraduate Research Study Non-Award Study

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