Course overview
The course discusses selected topics relating to the Australian constitutional system. Topics include Commonwealth and State legislative power, including constitutional interpretation; the process of characterisation and an examination of heads of power specified in s51 of the Australian Constitution; the legal relations between the Commonwealth and the States and the resolution of inconsistencies between laws; implications in The Australian Constitution; Commonwealth and State social and economic relations; and constitutional rights.
Course learning outcomes
- Describe, analyse and evaluate the principles of constitutional law, the criteria for validity of Commonwealth laws and the role of institutions of government in making, executing and interpreting laws
- Apply constitutional law to complex problems, and reflect on and critique the operation of constitutional law from a theoretical/policy perspective
- Structure and sustain concise and cohesive written and verbal arguments for a mixed audience
- Communicate effectively
- Exercise professional judgement in managing a constitutional law dispute in an ethical and professional manner
- Analyse the impact of constitutional law principles in Australia with a focus on the diverse peoples subject to them
- Describe and evaluate ways in which Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander values, culture and knowledge are recognised in the Australian Constitution and its interpretation