School: Business and Law

This unit information may be updated and amended immediately prior to semester. To ensure you have the correct outline, please check it again at the beginning of semester.

  • Unit Title

    Constitutional Law II
  • Unit Code

    LAW2314
  • Year

    2019
  • Enrolment Period

    1
  • Version

    3
  • Credit Points

    15
  • Full Year Unit

    N
  • Mode of Delivery

    On Campus
    Online
  • Unit Coordinator

    Mr Toby Matthew NISBET

Description

This unit examines various provisions of the Australian Constitution. It focuses on: federalism, considering the financial, trading and legal relationships between States and Commonwealth; freedoms and other limitations on legislative power; and race and racism issues at a constitutional level. Students will be encouraged to consider the health of our federation; and to consider the role of rights and freedoms in limiting the power of a parliamentary majority elected by the people.

Prerequisite Rule

Students must pass 1 units from LAW2104

Learning Outcomes

On completion of this unit students should be able to:

  1. Demonstrate clear written communication skills in the maintenance and development of a thesis in legal arguments.
  2. Conduct effective legal research with (intellectual) independence.
  3. Work effectively in a team and reflect on individual and team performance.
  4. Understand Australian federalism in relation to the financial, trade and legal relationships between the Commonwealth, States and Territories.
  5. Explain the role of rights and freedoms in limiting legislative power.
  6. Develop reasoned solutions to practical and theoretical constitutional problems by applying relevant laws and principles.
  7. Understand the impact of racism in Australia and the impact of our core constituting documents on race relations.

Unit Content

  1. Characterisation
  2. Employment - conciliation and arbitration
  3. Finance and trade arrangements and distribution of powers - Taxation including excise; Trade and Commerce; Freedom of interstate trade.
  4. Legal relations - corporations power and external affairs power.
  5. Race power and racial discrimination, aliens and immigration
  6. Constitutional limits on legislative power.
  7. Developing a thesis in legal arguments.
  8. Advanced research skills.
  9. Teamwork skills.

Learning Experience

ON-CAMPUS

Students will attend on campus classes as well as engage in learning activities through ECU Blackboard.

JoondalupMount LawleySouth West (Bunbury)
Semester 213 x 2 hour lectureNot OfferedNot Offered
Semester 213 x 1 hour tutorialNot OfferedNot Offered

For more information see the Semester Timetable

ONLINE

Students will engage in learning experiences through ECU Blackboard as well as additional ECU learning technologies.

Additional Learning Experience Information

This unit will be offered in the on-campus and off-campus modes.

On-campus students attend a weekly 2 hour seminar and 1 hour tutorial. Off-campus students access the unit via Blackboard. Regular online access is required. The tutorial program is a student-led problem solving exercise. Students will be taught characterisation as a critical analytical method of constitutional law problem solving and will practise characterisation each week. All students gain participation marks via discussion boards on Blackboard. Students will be placed in small groups for a teamwork exercise, the outcome of which is a presentation to the class for on-campus students, or a recorded presentation to be placed on Blackboard for off-campus students. Students will be given some guidance on how to approach the exercise as a team; and will be required to reflect on their teamwork experiences. Students will be held accountable for their contributions in a team environment.
There will be an exercise to enable us to understand the impacts of racism in Australia, before going to study the Racial Discrimination Act and its quasi-Constitutional status in Australia.

Assessment

GS1 GRADING SCHEMA 1 Used for standard coursework units

Students please note: The marks and grades received by students on assessments may be subject to further moderation. All marks and grades are to be considered provisional until endorsed by the relevant Board of Examiners.

ON CAMPUS
TypeDescriptionValue
AssignmentAssignment25%
ParticipationTutorial and seminar participation10%
PresentationTutorial group presentation15%
ExaminationFinal examination50%
ONLINE
TypeDescriptionValue
AssignmentAssignment25%
ParticipationOnline discussion and participation10%
PresentationOnline group recorded presentation15%
ExaminationFinal examination50%

Disability Standards for Education (Commonwealth 2005)

For the purposes of considering a request for Reasonable Adjustments under the Disability Standards for Education (Commonwealth 2005), inherent requirements for this subject are articulated in the Unit Description, Learning Outcomes and Assessment Requirements of this entry. The University is dedicated to provide support to those with special requirements. Further details on the support for students with disabilities or medical conditions can be found at the Access and Inclusion website.

Academic Misconduct

Edith Cowan University has firm rules governing academic misconduct and there are substantial penalties that can be applied to students who are found in breach of these rules. Academic misconduct includes, but is not limited to:

  • plagiarism;
  • unauthorised collaboration;
  • cheating in examinations;
  • theft of other students' work;

Additionally, any material submitted for assessment purposes must be work that has not been submitted previously, by any person, for any other unit at ECU or elsewhere.

The ECU rules and policies governing all academic activities, including misconduct, can be accessed through the ECU website.

LAW2314|3|1

School: Business and Law

This unit information may be updated and amended immediately prior to semester. To ensure you have the correct outline, please check it again at the beginning of semester.

  • Unit Title

    Constitutional Law II
  • Unit Code

    LAW2314
  • Year

    2019
  • Enrolment Period

    2
  • Version

    3
  • Credit Points

    15
  • Full Year Unit

    N
  • Mode of Delivery

    On Campus
    Online
  • Unit Coordinator

    Mr Toby Matthew NISBET

Description

This unit examines various provisions of the Australian Constitution. It focuses on: federalism, considering the financial, trading and legal relationships between States and Commonwealth; freedoms and other limitations on legislative power; and race and racism issues at a constitutional level. Students will be encouraged to consider the health of our federation; and to consider the role of rights and freedoms in limiting the power of a parliamentary majority elected by the people.

Prerequisite Rule

Students must pass 1 units from LAW2104

Learning Outcomes

On completion of this unit students should be able to:

  1. Demonstrate clear written communication skills in the maintenance and development of a thesis in legal arguments.
  2. Conduct effective legal research with (intellectual) independence.
  3. Work effectively in a team and reflect on individual and team performance.
  4. Understand Australian federalism in relation to the financial, trade and legal relationships between the Commonwealth, States and Territories.
  5. Explain the role of rights and freedoms in limiting legislative power.
  6. Develop reasoned solutions to practical and theoretical constitutional problems by applying relevant laws and principles.
  7. Understand the impact of racism in Australia and the impact of our core constituting documents on race relations.

Unit Content

  1. Characterisation
  2. Employment - conciliation and arbitration
  3. Finance and trade arrangements and distribution of powers - Taxation including excise; Trade and Commerce; Freedom of interstate trade.
  4. Legal relations - corporations power and external affairs power.
  5. Race power and racial discrimination, aliens and immigration
  6. Constitutional limits on legislative power.
  7. Developing a thesis in legal arguments.
  8. Advanced research skills.
  9. Teamwork skills.

Learning Experience

ON-CAMPUS

Students will attend on campus classes as well as engage in learning activities through ECU Blackboard.

JoondalupMount LawleySouth West (Bunbury)
Semester 213 x 2 hour lectureNot OfferedNot Offered
Semester 213 x 1 hour tutorialNot OfferedNot Offered

For more information see the Semester Timetable

ONLINE

Students will engage in learning experiences through ECU Blackboard as well as additional ECU learning technologies.

Additional Learning Experience Information

This unit will be offered in the on-campus and off-campus modes.

On-campus students attend a weekly 2 hour seminar and 1 hour tutorial. Off-campus students access the unit via Blackboard. Regular online access is required. The tutorial program is a student-led problem solving exercise. Students will be taught characterisation as a critical analytical method of constitutional law problem solving and will practise characterisation each week. All students gain participation marks via discussion boards on Blackboard. Students will be placed in small groups for a teamwork exercise, the outcome of which is a presentation to the class for on-campus students, or a recorded presentation to be placed on Blackboard for off-campus students. Students will be given some guidance on how to approach the exercise as a team; and will be required to reflect on their teamwork experiences. Students will be held accountable for their contributions in a team environment.
There will be an exercise to enable us to understand the impacts of racism in Australia, before going to study the Racial Discrimination Act and its quasi-Constitutional status in Australia.

Assessment

GS1 GRADING SCHEMA 1 Used for standard coursework units

Students please note: The marks and grades received by students on assessments may be subject to further moderation. All marks and grades are to be considered provisional until endorsed by the relevant Board of Examiners.

ON CAMPUS
TypeDescriptionValue
AssignmentAssignment25%
ParticipationTutorial and seminar participation10%
PresentationTutorial group presentation15%
ExaminationFinal examination50%
ONLINE
TypeDescriptionValue
AssignmentAssignment25%
ParticipationOnline discussion and participation10%
PresentationOnline group recorded presentation15%
ExaminationFinal examination50%

Disability Standards for Education (Commonwealth 2005)

For the purposes of considering a request for Reasonable Adjustments under the Disability Standards for Education (Commonwealth 2005), inherent requirements for this subject are articulated in the Unit Description, Learning Outcomes and Assessment Requirements of this entry. The University is dedicated to provide support to those with special requirements. Further details on the support for students with disabilities or medical conditions can be found at the Access and Inclusion website.

Academic Misconduct

Edith Cowan University has firm rules governing academic misconduct and there are substantial penalties that can be applied to students who are found in breach of these rules. Academic misconduct includes, but is not limited to:

  • plagiarism;
  • unauthorised collaboration;
  • cheating in examinations;
  • theft of other students' work;

Additionally, any material submitted for assessment purposes must be work that has not been submitted previously, by any person, for any other unit at ECU or elsewhere.

The ECU rules and policies governing all academic activities, including misconduct, can be accessed through the ECU website.

LAW2314|3|2