Outline

Overview

The main purpose of this course is to build on the fundamental understandings achieved in Public Law and Federal Constitutional Law in order to provide a far broader and deeper understanding of the subject. This will be achieved by, first, examining in depth the fundamental aspects and tenets of constitutionalism in the Australian context and from a more jurisprudential perspective. Reliance will be placed on comparative jurisdictions, in particular the United States and the United Kingdom. A detailed analysis will first be attempted of the following major concepts in the more precise context of Westminster-based systems: the rule of law, parliamentary sovereignty, the ambit of executive power and the precise status and principles of responsible government, judicial review and constitutional rights, separation of powers, constitutional conventions, the reserve powers of the Governor-General, the status of common law principles as fundamental constitutional guarantees. A principal focus will be the nature and ambit of executive power, and the evolving jurisrprudence of the High Court on this question. The course will examine the evolving notion of parliamentary supremacy from Diceyan orthodoxy to the more recent debates involving leading constitutional scholars in the UK and Australia. In relation to separation of powers, the different constitutional consequences which result when the doctrine is entrenched in a written constitution (as in the US and Australia) on the one hand, and when it exists as a convention without being so entrenched, on the other, will be explored. The relationship between executive and legislative power will be the principal focus. This will enhance an understanding of the definition, nature and limits of judicial, executive and legislative power and their inter-relationship, an issue which becomes particularly important at moments of constitutional uncertainty and stress, especially at the crossroads of their power. The functionalist/formalist debate will be examined to determine the most appropriate interpretive methodology with respect to the application of the constitutional limitations which may emanate from the separation of powers. In so doing, the principal decisions of the High Court of Australia and other relevant courts in other jurisdictions. There will be an opportunity to evaluate major Australian constitutional decisions in a detail not possible in the prerequisite and undergraduate courses. A principal underlying theme will be the extent to which the tenets of constitutionalism are being complied with in Australia and the extent to which they can be. The course will be enriched and made more presently relevant by the exploration of current developing themes in constitutional law. The precise topics may vary from year to year. Depending on the topic, this may involve the introduction of completely new themes or the integration of developments with topics already examined.

Unit details and rules

Unit code	LAWS5101
Academic unit	Law
Credit points	6
Prohibitions ?	LAWS3401
Prerequisites ?	LAWS5007 and LAWS5011
Corequisites ?	LAWS5011
Assumed knowledge ?	None
Available to study abroad and exchange students	Yes

Teaching staff

Coordinator	Peter Gerangelos, peter.gerangelos@sydney.edu.au
Lecturer(s)	Peter Gerangelos, peter.gerangelos@sydney.edu.au

Type	Description	Weight	Due	Length
Presentation	Class Presentation/Participation Class Participation/Presentation	0%	Ongoing	30 mins
Outcomes assessed:
Assignment	Research Essay or Moot Research Essay or Moot, including written submissions	0%	Week 12 Due date: 20 May 2022 at 13:00 Closing date: 27 May 2022	5000-6000 words
Outcomes assessed:
= hurdle task ?

Assessment summary

A: RESEARCH ESSAY OR MOOT (80%-100%, depending on whether class presentation/participation is redeemed)

This assessment task is compulsory. Students must elect either the Research Essay or the Moot. Failure to attempt and submit this assessment will result in a Fail Grade. The chosen assessment is worth 80% of the total mark for this Unit.

Research Essay: The word length for the Research Essay is 5000-6000 words. The due date is 1pm on Friday 20 May 2022. The release date is 28 February. The closing date is 27 May. It is one of the forms of assessment designed especially for the purposes of this Unit. It requires both independent legal research beyond the readings provided, as well as the development and defence of a thesis or reasoned main argument. Both these components are essential for a satisfacory attempt of this assessment and students will be marked accordingly.

Moot: Students electing to do the Moot will be assessed on the oral submissions and written submissions. The oral presentation/submissions of the Moot, which lasts about 150 mins in total, will take place at a date in Week 13 that is organised and scheduled with the relevant teams in the Moot and the Unit Coordinator. The written submissions are to be 5000-6000 words in length and are to be submitted at the very same time as the scheduled moot time of each student. The release date of the Moot Problem is 28 February. (Whether the oral aspect of the Moot will be held will depend on relevant COVID restrictions at the time. If it cannot be held, then the students will be marked on their written submissions.) If the oral part of the Moot proceeds, students will receive a mark that is comprised of 50% for their oral presentation/submissions and 50% for their written submissions. Students will be divided into groups of 4 when doing the Moot, two on each side of the argument. While of course there will need to be some collaboration, students will be assessed individually for their oral presentation/submissions, and their written submissions.

NB: Students must note carefully that this is a major piece of assessment, whether the Research Essay or the Moot is chosen, there being no other formal examination in this Unit; and 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.

Special Consideration

Research Essay: Students will have been warned from Week 1 that it is imperative that they make an immediate start on their Research Essay and it is their responsibility to do so. They will have substantially the whole of the semester to work on it. The outcome of a successful Special Consideration application submitted before the closing date is a short extension. The closing date is 27 May 2022. As students will have had the whole of the semester to complete their Research Essay, and as this is more than ample time to have it completed, the only permissible extension will be of very limited duration. If students have not commenced their research essay by Week 12, given its complex nature and length, it will simply not be possible to make a “fair attempt” at it and complete it in Semester 1 in any event and hence the very limited period permissible for any extension. Therefore, students must monitor their work and progress on their Research Essay carefully and if they not believe they will be able to submit their Essay by the due date or any limited extension date that may be granted, 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: The oral presentation/submission of the Moot must be undertaken in Week 13. If Special Consideration is granted because a student is unable to participate in the oral aspect of the Moot at the time it has been scheduled, then a student may be excused from undertaking this. However, the student must still submit written submissions and will be marked on these alone for the total mark for the Moot. The student, however, will not be permitted to attend any of the other Oral submissions of any Moot. In these precise circumstances, the closing date will be 27 May as it is with the Research Essay. Also, as with the Research Essay, students must be working on their written and oral submissions from the time of the Release Date, noting the limited availability of Special Consideration options.

Otherwise, when undertaking the oral aspect of the Moot, a student’s written submissions must be submitted no later than the actual scheduled time and date of the oral presentation/submissions in the student’s own Moot group. 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.

B: CLASS PRESENTATION/PARTICIPATION (20%)

This is worth 20% of the final mark in this Unit (and it is redeemable). This is based on student presentation of their arguments and views on selected readings as well as their overall participation in class discussion and responses to questions from the Convenor. If this mark is redeemed, then the Research Essay or moot will be worth 100% of the final mark.

Detailed information for each assessment can be found on Canvas.

Assessment criteria

The University awards common result grades, set out in the Coursework Policy 2014 (Schedule 1).

As a general guide, a high distinction indicates work of an exceptional standard, a distinction a very high standard, a credit a good standard, and a pass an acceptable standard.

Result name	Mark range	Description
High distinction	85 - 100	Completely answers the question. Contains striking originality of approach or analysis. Demonstrates exhaustive or innovative research (where independent research required). Exceptionally well written, structured and expressed. Exceptional statement and defence of a main thesis or argument. Is otherwise exceptional in some way.
Distinction	75 - 84	Completely answers the question. Achieves a critical and evaluative approach to the issues. Content and structure is well organised in support of the argument. Demonstrates extensive research and analysis to support a well-documented argument. Generally well expressed and free from errors. Has a clear structure and is well articulated. Excellent statement and defence of a main thesis or argument.
Credit	65 - 74	Covers main issues fairly well in answering the question. Contains no significant errors. Demonstrates an attempted critical approach to the issues. Demonstrates reasonably sound research and analysis in addressing the key issues. Satisfactory statement and defence of a main thesis and argument. Has a clear structure and reasonably clear expression.
Pass	50 - 64	Identifies the key issues, but does not follow through with a reasoned argument. Contains some significant errors. Displays satisfactory engagement with the key issues. Offers a descriptive summary of material relevant to the question. Superficial use of material, and may display a tendency to paraphrase. Demonstrates little evidence of in-depth research or analysis. Adequate expression. Poor statement and defence of a main thesis and argument. Overall, demonstrates the minimum level of competence in the assessment and satisfies the requirements to proceed to higher-level studies in the degree or subject area.
Fail	0 - 49	Does not answer the question. Contains significant or numerous errors. Few or no identifiable arguments. Content that is inappropriate or irrelevant. Lack of research or analysis. Difficult or impossible to understand through poor grammar, expression or structure. There is no, or unsatisfactory, statement and defence of main thesis or argument. Overall, does not demonstrate the minimum level of competence in the assessment.

For more information see guide to grades.

Late submission

In accordance with University policy, these penalties apply when written work is submitted after 11:59pm on the due date:

Deduction of 5% of the maximum mark for each calendar day after the due date.
After ten calendar days late, a mark of zero will be awarded.

This unit has an exception to the standard University policy or supplementary information has been provided by the unit coordinator. This information is displayed below:

The late submission of a piece of assessment, which has not been granted an extension, will attract a penalty of 5% (or 4 marks) of the total marks allocated to the piece of assessment per calendar day or part thereof.

Academic integrity

The Current Student website provides information on academic integrity and the resources available to all students. The University expects students and staff to act ethically and honestly and will treat all allegations of academic integrity breaches seriously.

We use similarity detection software to detect potential instances of plagiarism or other forms of academic integrity breach. If such matches indicate evidence of plagiarism or other forms of academic integrity breaches, your teacher is required to report your work for further investigation.

You may only use artificial intelligence and writing assistance tools in assessment tasks if you are permitted to by your unit coordinator, and if you do use them, you must also acknowledge this in your work, either in a footnote or an acknowledgement section.

Studiosity is permitted for postgraduate units unless otherwise indicated by the unit coordinator. The use of this service must be acknowledged in your submission.

Learning support

Simple extensions

If you encounter a problem submitting your work on time, you may be able to apply for an extension of five calendar days through a simple extension.  The application process will be different depending on the type of assessment and extensions cannot be granted for some assessment types like exams.

Special consideration

If exceptional circumstances mean you can’t complete an assessment, you need consideration for a longer period of time, or if you have essential commitments which impact your performance in an assessment, you may be eligible for special consideration or special arrangements.

Special consideration applications will not be affected by a simple extension application.

Using AI responsibly

Co-created with students, AI in Education includes lots of helpful examples of how students use generative AI tools to support their learning. It explains how generative AI works, the different tools available and how to use them responsibly and productively.

Weekly schedule

WK	Topic	Learning activity
Week 01	Introduction and Case Study, the1975 Dismissal	Seminar (4 hr)
Week 02	Constitutional Principles analysed from the Case Study in Week 1: Responsible Government/the executive power of the Commonwealth, sources of power	Seminar (4 hr)
Week 03	Parliamentary Supremacy and Case Study: the Burmah Oil case.	Seminar (4 hr)
Week 04	"Breadth/Depth" Constitutional Analysis and relevant study of illustrative cases	Seminar (4 hr)
Week 05	The concept of "depth" and an executive "nationhood" power	Seminar (4 hr)
Week 06	The Impact of the Pape and Williams cases	Seminar (4 hr)
Week 07	Theoretical, Jurisprudential and Historical Perspectives	Seminar (4 hr)
Week 10	Reflections, Theoretical and Jurisprudential Perspectives	Seminar (4 hr)
Week 11	Critical Evaluation of Constitutional Cases relating to s 61 and "nationhood". Concepts of "necessity".	Seminar (4 hr)
Week 12	Reform of the Constitution	Seminar (4 hr)

Attendance and class requirements

Attendance: All students are required to attend 70% of classes to satisfy the pass requirements for each unit of study. This will be strictly enforced in this Unit, especially as the seminar format and the discussion that occurs there is at the very core of this course and also of integral relevance to the assessment tasks being undertaken. Moreover, there is no formal examination in this course, rendering attendance in class of fundamental importance.
Attendance requirements must be satisfied by in-person attendance as specified by the Unit Coordinator. Failure to meet this requirement will normally result in a student being precluded from having their main assessment marked and having a Fail Grade recorded for this Unit.
Word count: Written assessments (research essay or moot submissions) must comply with the formatting requirements, details of which will be provided when the details of the assessment are released to students early in the semester.
The total word count for essay and other written assessments will exclude: bibliography; footnote numbers; footnote citation; cover page and include: body text; headings and sub-headings; quotations; anything other than numbers and citations in footnotes.
Referencing guide: The Sydney Law School expects you to use the most recent version of the Australian Guide to Legal Citation (4th edition, 2018) for your footnoting style, although you should confirm this with your lecturer, and a link to the website where this is set out comprehensively is available at About the Australian Guide to Legal Citation (AGLC).

Study commitment

Typically, there is a minimum expectation of 1.5-2 hours of student effort per week per credit point for units of study offered over a full semester. For a 6 credit point unit, this equates to roughly 120-150 hours of student effort in total.

Required readings

All readings for this unit can be accessed through the Library Reading List, available on Canvas. The prescribed text is:

The Constitution of the Commonwealth of Australia: History, Principles and Interpretation by N T Aroney, P A Gerangelos, S Murray and J Stellios, (Sydney: Cambridge University Press, 2015)
There is also a volume of printed readings, Advanced Constitutional Law Readings 2022, which students are required to purchase and which will also be available online as a pdf.

Learning outcomes

Learning outcomes are what students know, understand and are able to do on completion of a unit of study. They are aligned with the University's graduate qualities and are assessed as part of the curriculum.

Outcomes
Graduate qualities

At the completion of this unit, you should be able to:

LO1. demonstrate a deeper understanding of Australian constitutional law, including from a comparative, historical and jurisprudential perspective, than that which had been developed in the compulsory units, Public Law and Federal Constitutional Law.
LO2. demonstrate a thorough appreciation of the nature of the executive and executive power pursuant to the Australian constitution, the implied constitutional principles which shape and determine these (eg, representative and responsible government, the separation of powers and relevant principles recognised by the common law); and the constitutional regulation of the relationship between executive power and, mainly, legislative power and also judicial power.
LO3. demonstrate a thorough appreciation of those constitutional issues arising from the above which are relevant to considerations of constitutional reform.
LO4. demonstrate enhanced legal research skills, analytical skills, critical judgment and thinking in a legal context and legal writing skills through the articulation of the resolution of complex legal issues.

Graduate qualities

The graduate qualities are the qualities and skills that all University of Sydney graduates must demonstrate on successful completion of an award course. As a future Sydney graduate, the set of qualities have been designed to equip you for the contemporary world.

GQ1	Depth of disciplinary expertise Deep disciplinary expertise is the ability to integrate and rigorously apply knowledge, understanding and skills of a recognised discipline defined by scholarly activity, as well as familiarity with evolving practice of the discipline.
GQ2	Critical thinking and problem solving Critical thinking and problem solving are the questioning of ideas, evidence and assumptions in order to propose and evaluate hypotheses or alternative arguments before formulating a conclusion or a solution to an identified problem.
GQ3	Oral and written communication Effective communication, in both oral and written form, is the clear exchange of meaning in a manner that is appropriate to audience and context.
GQ4	Information and digital literacy Information and digital literacy is the ability to locate, interpret, evaluate, manage, adapt, integrate, create and convey information using appropriate resources, tools and strategies.
GQ5	Inventiveness Generating novel ideas and solutions.
GQ6	Cultural competence Cultural Competence is the ability to actively, ethically, respectfully, and successfully engage across and between cultures. In the Australian context, this includes and celebrates Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures, knowledge systems, and a mature understanding of contemporary issues.
GQ7	Interdisciplinary effectiveness Interdisciplinary effectiveness is the integration and synthesis of multiple viewpoints and practices, working effectively across disciplinary boundaries.
GQ8	Integrated professional, ethical, and personal identity An integrated professional, ethical and personal identity is understanding the interaction between one’s personal and professional selves in an ethical context.
GQ9	Influence Engaging others in a process, idea or vision.

Outcome map

Learning outcomes	Graduate qualities
Learning outcomes

Responding to student feedback

This section outlines changes made to this unit following staff and student reviews.

Student feedback was extremely positive with no suggestions for change in terms of content, presentation and teaching. Students were very pleased with the seminar form, class discussion and guidance provided in class to substantive content. The assessment was also regarded very positively combining class presentation/participation - which involves some collaboration, - and an election between either a research essay or moot. All assessment were individually assessed. This all gave students a variety of options and was very positively regarded.

Additional information

Resources - Sydney Law Students

Disclaimer

The University reserves the right to amend units of study or no longer offer certain units, including where there are low enrolment numbers.

To help you understand common terms that we use at the University, we offer an online glossary.

Current students

Overview

Overview

Unit details and rules

Teaching staff

Assessment

Assessment

Assessment summary

Assessment criteria

Late submission

Academic integrity

Learning support

Learning support

Simple extensions

Special consideration

Using AI responsibly

Weekly schedule

Weekly schedule

Attendance and class requirements

Study commitment

Required readings

Learning outcomes

Learning outcomes

Graduate qualities

Outcome map

Responding to student feedback

Responding to student feedback

Additional information

Additional information

Disclaimer

On this page

Useful links

Media

Student links

About us

Connect

Current students

LAWS5101: Advanced Constitutional Law

Semester 1, 2022 [Normal day] - Camperdown/Darlington, Sydney

Overview

Overview

Unit details and rules

Teaching staff

Assessment

Assessment

Assessment summary

Assessment criteria

Late submission

Academic integrity

Learning support

Learning support

Simple extensions

Special consideration

Using AI responsibly

Weekly schedule

Weekly schedule

Attendance and class requirements

Study commitment

Required readings

Learning outcomes

Learning outcomes

Graduate qualities

Outcome map

Responding to student feedback

Responding to student feedback

Additional information

Additional information

Disclaimer

On this page

Useful links

Media

Student links

About us

Connect