LAW4112 Advanced Constitutional Law

Workload:
2x 2 hour tutorial each week, weekly readings, allow 2 hours.

Prescribed Prerequisites/Recommended Prerequisites:
Prescribed Prerequisites (post-2015): Co-requisites (post-2015): Corporations Law and Equity. ILR & RAW (pre-2015).
 * FOL, Criminal Law A, Public Law, Torts, Contracts A & B, Constitutional Law

Recommended Prerequisites: Better to do after admin and constitutional law, towards the end of the degree

Assessments:

 * Research assignment due week 12
 * Exam
 * In-class participation

Recorded Lectures:
No.

Past exams available:
No, this was the first year of the unit

Textbook recommended?
Yes, there is no textbook, but Professor Goldsworthy had put together faculty notes, with the relevant readings only. Was a lot cheaper than a textbook and all the readings were in one place.

Comments:
Semester 2, 2015

This was a very interesting subject, but not something to do if you want easy marks. It was thought provoking and theoretical based, rather than problem style. The faculty notes were a perfect guide to the course, and the readings were what the tutorials were based on. There were only 20 people in the class, so there was no powerpoints or overly structured classes, they were more of a discussion on theory. It is worth the class just to see Goldsworthy discuss his ideas. There are participation marks so be prepared to speak up and voice your opinion or lose those marks. The research assignment was very broad, we were given 12 topics to choose from as well as the option to create our own topic. It was due in week 12.

The exam was difficult to prepare for given it was the first subject. He did give us a run down on the style, and it did stick the readings and those subject matters discussed. Reviewing the readings and arguments made for and against ideas in class was the best way to prepare.

Preparation time outside of class is not that much, just the readings, which I would allocate 2-3 hours per week to do. Therefore it can be done with a heavier load, as the assignment is not due until the end of the semester. This unit is best if you really liked Constitutional Law, and wanted to understand more of its complexities. You will not enjoy it if you did not like Constitutional, or if you wish to rote learn content. It requires you to think, and engage.