Glossary

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Law and Contemporary Issues - GENL2022

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: 3

CSS Contribution Charge: 3 (more info)

Tuition Fee: See Tuition Fee Schedule

Further Information: See Class Timetable

Available for General Education: Yes (more info)

View course information for previous years.

Description

This course focuses on how the law impacts and/or reacts to changing social and political issues and how the law must constantly adapt and undergo renewal in order to meet the changing needs of society and it is the role of Australian legislatures to effect these changes. It examines the operation of parliaments and the role of the courts in providing judicial oversight of legislation. It then explores how the parliament and the courts must react and adapt to changes in contemporary Australian society. This will be done by examining the legal responses which may or have been made to contemporary issues, such as gay and lesbian rights, multiculturalism, asylum seekers, climate change, social justice and human rights for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, constitutional recognition of indigenous people, social media and a Bill of Rights.
The topics may be varied if new issues emerge during the course of the semester.

Recommended Prior Knowledge

None

Course Objectives

In line with the aims of the General Education program at UNSW, the course aims to broaden students’ understanding of their social and cultural environment and to enhance their skills of comparative analysis. In particular the course aims at facilitating the student’s ability to:

Be acquainted with some legal terminology;
Identify what sources and pressures may call for the law to be altered;
Identify the main issues which lead or have led to change in contemporary Australian law;
Understand how laws are made, regulated and changed; and
Be aware of the role of law as a social mechanism.

Learning Outcomes

A candidate who has successfully completed this course should be able to:

Understand the process by which the principal institutions in the Australian legal system develop laws;
Be aware of the policy considerations informing the law from a contemporary perspective;
Demonstrate an appreciation of the contextual factors that influence the operation of the law and the impact law has on society, politics, the economy and culture;
Evaluate the impact of laws on people's conduct;
Debate the political, religious, cultural and societal issues which may lead to changes in the law;
Demonstrate the ability to think critically and to justify personal views in a reasoned manner; and
Demonstrate effective communication skills in both speaking and writing.

Assessment

Class Participation 10%
40 minute revision test 20%
2000 word essay 35%
2 hour end of session open book exam 35%

Course Texts

TBC

A full up-to date reading list will be provided in the detailed course outline.