LAWS3401: Advanced Constitutional Law

NB: In addition to the assessments noted below, and in light of the seminar nature of this unit, attendance requirements for this course are applied strictly.  That is, students are required to attend 70% of classes to satisfy the pass requirements for this unit. Failure to meet this requirement will result in an Absent Fail grade being recorded as the student’s result for this unit (see The University of Sydney Law School Resolutions: Coursework Awards cl 11).  

The assessments are as follows: 

1: Early Feedback Task (0%) : This in-class quiz will be held on March 12 2026 at 4:15pm (Sydney, Australia time) is designed to provide students with timely insights into their understanding and engagement with the unit content and is tailored to reflect key concepts from Weeks 1-3 relating to the 'executive power of the Commonwealth', including prerogative and inherent power, representative and responsible government, reserve powers, the relationship between the two houses of Parliament, and relevant cases discussed.

2: Class Presentation/Participation (20%): This consists of two components:  

a) Seminar Presentation and Discussion Leadership.  Students will be responsible for leading the discussion on a particular case or reading, including raising the key issues arising and on their facilitation of class discussion during their allocated week.  This discussion will be augmented by questioning from, and dialogue with, the coordinator and other students.  Students will be assessed on the clarity and depth of their analysis, engagement, questions, quality of argument. 

b) Written seminar brief: Students will submit to the coordinator a set of notes used for their presentation, no more than 1000 words, in which the main issues from the reading are identified.  This is to be submitted no later than the date allocated for the presentation.

3. Final Assessment (Student choice of one option) (80%). Students will choose one of the following options for their final assessment: 

(a) MAJOR ASSIGNMENT (Option 1) Moot - Oral and Written Submissions (80%):  The Moot will be assessed on oral submissions and advocacy, being a secure assessment, requiring each person to present their case in 20-30mins (40%) orally and in written submissions of 4000-5000 words (40%) which must be submitted no later than the date of the moot.  It will take place during the week beginning 25th May 2026 at a time suitable to both mooters and Coordinator, between 9am and 6pm (Sydney, Australia time). The Moot problem will be released to students on the Canvas site on Tuesday 10th March 2026 at 12:00pm and due during the week beginning 25th May 2026, between 9am and 6pm (Sydney, Australia time). Students will be divided into groups. While some collaboration is permitted, students will be assessed individually; or,  

(b) MAJOR ASSIGNMENT (Option 2) Formal Written Advice / viva voce (80%): The topic(s) for Written Advice 5000-6000 words (60%) will be released to students on Canvas site on Tuesday 10th March 2026 at 12:00pm and due on Friday 22 May 2026 at 11:59pm (Sydney, Australia time).  Successful completion requires both independent legal research, as well as a reasoned defence of the advice provided. The topic will be on an advanced constitutional law problem with a focus on executive power. Students must be prepared to defend their advice orally, viva voce (20%) 15 minutes, to the unit coordinator as part of a secure task.   

NB:  Students must note carefully that both options constitute a major piece of assessment, there being no formal examination in this Unit; that it is required that progress be made on it throughout the semester as it will simply not be possible to make any sort of satisfactory attempt if work on it is only commenced very late in the semester. It is for this reason that the Special Consideration options are very limited and students must note these carefully; and if they realise they are unable to undertake this assessment in this form and make progress on it throughout the semester, they should seek to withdraw from this Unit before the Census date or otherwise seek to Discontinue. 

Word Limit Penalty: Unless otherwised advised by the Unit Coordinator, if the prescribed word limit is exceeded, this will attract a penalty of 10% of the total marks available for the piece of assessment for every 250 words, or part thereof. The word count includes words in footnotes which go beyond mere referencing and excludes words in a case list and bibliography (if required).

Special Consideration

Formal Advice: As students will have almost the whole of the semester to complete, the outcome of a successful Special Consideration application submitted before the closing date is a short extension of very limited duration.  If students have not commenced their Advice by Week 12, given its complex nature and length, it will simply not be possible to make a “fair attempt” to be complete in Semester 1 and hence the very limited period permissible for any extension. Students are advised to monitor their work and progress carefully and if they do not believe they can submit by the due date (or any limited extension date), they should consider withdrawing from the unit before the Census Date or otherwise consider applying for a late discontinuation under special circumstances. Applications for special consideration after the closing date specified in the Assessment Table, will be at the discretion of the unit coordinator.

Moot:  If Special Consideration is granted because a student is unable to participate in the oral aspect of the Moot in Week 13, then a student may be excused from undertaking this at the unit co-ordinator's discretion, or otherwise be required to present oral submissions in a viva voce secure setting.  However, the student must nevertheless submit written submissions and will be marked on these alone for the total mark if oral submissions cannot proceed. The student, however, will not be permitted to attend any of the other Oral submissions of any Moot. In these precise circumstances, only a short extension of a very limited duration is available.  As with the Advice option, students are advised to work on their written and oral submissions from the time of the Release Date, noting the limited availability of Special Consideration options.  A student’s written submissions must be submitted no later than the actual scheduled time and date of their Moot. NB: given that the student will have heard all the Oral submissions of the other students, it is simply not possible to accept written submissions after the scheduled time of that student’s Moot. In these circumstances, any application for special consideration may result in an extension of necessarily limited duration and any application after the closing date specified in the Assessment Table will be at the discretion of the unit coordinator.

Referencing: The Sydney Law School expects students to use the Australian Guide to Legal Citation (4th edition, 2018) for your footnoting style, although you should confirm this with your lecturer. A link to the library website where this is set out comprehensively is available at Referencing and Citation Styles: AGLC4. 

Assessment requirements to pass a unit of study: A student must make a genuine attempt at all assessment tasks set out in this Unit of Study in order to obtain a Pass mark and grade (or above); otherwise an Absent Fail grade will be recorded as the student’s result for this Unit of Study.  As the EFT is an early diagnostic tool, this task is not included in the final grade for the unit.