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Politics of Transnational Regulation (LAWS90148)
Graduate courseworkPoints: 12.5On Campus (Parkville)
About this subject
- Overview
- Eligibility and requirements
- Assessment
- Dates and times
- Further information
- Timetable(opens in new window)
Contact information
May
Lecturer/s
Professor Stepan Wood Coordinator
Email: law-masters@unimelb.edu.au
Phone: +61 3 8344 6190
Website: law.unimelb.edu.au
Overview
Availability(Quotas apply) | May |
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Fees | Look up fees |
From corporate self-regulation to multi-stakeholder certification, transnational private regulation is exploding. Multinational firms and powerful governments often succeed in exploiting the resulting overlaps and intersections amongst actors and institutions to bypass unattractive forums, shift decision-making to preferred arenas, shape outcomes in their favour and impose their desired rules on others. Marginalized equity-seeking actors such as workers, indigenous peoples, subsistence producers and industry-affected communities sometimes resist these efforts successfully. Rarely, they even exploit these overlaps and intersections to advance their own interests. Using real-world examples and cutting-edge interdisciplinary theory, the subject examines how powerful actors exploit transnational governance interactions in their favour and how these interactive dynamics can instead be harnessed to improve regulatory capacities, raise standards and empower weaker actors. The teacher heads the interdisciplinary Transnational Business Governance Interactions research network and is a leading scholar and practitioner of transnational private regulation.
Principal questions and topics to be addressed will include:
- What is transnational private regulation? Definition, actors, institutions, processes, history, trends, examples and relation to domestic and international law
- What are transnational governance interactions? Drivers, mechanisms, pathways, forms, impacts and spatio-temporal dynamics
- How do powerful actors exploit transnational governance interactions to advance their interests and sometimes to frustrate transnational regulation?
- When and how can transnational governance interactions be harnessed to enhance regulatory capacities, raise social and environmental standards, or empower weaker actors?
- What legal and other theories and methodologies might help to explain, predict and evaluate these interactive dynamics?
- What happened in selected cases of transnational governance interactions drawn from various sectors and issue areas including:
- Agri-food
- Biofuels
- Climate Change
- Derivatives Trading
- Financial Technology
- Fisheries
- Food safety
- Forestry
- Indigenous Peoples’ Rights
- Labour Standards
- Oil and Gas
- Social Responsibility Standards
- Sports Mega-Events
- Supply Chain Management
- What can be learned from these case studies? Implications for legal theory, practice, ethics and professionalism in a globalizing world.
Intended learning outcomes
A student who has successfully completed this subject will be able to:
- Demonstrate an advanced and integrated understanding of the emergence, proliferation, characteristics and interactive dynamics of transnational private regulation
- Independently investigate, analyse, critically reflect on and synthesise the forms, drivers, mechanisms, pathways, impacts and spatio-temporal dynamics of transnational governance interactions
- Articulate empirically-informed theories of the factors influencing the success or failure of efforts to harness transnational governance interactions to enhance the quality of transnational private regulation or empower weaker actors
- Apply these theories with creativity and initiative to real-world or hypothetical examples
- Plan and execute original research into transnational private regulation and transnational governance interactions using library resources and publicly available materials
- Advise future clients in a sophisticated and ethical manner on how overlaps, intersections and conflicts amongst transnational private regulatory actors and institutions can be managed to advance clients' goals and serve public interests
Last updated: 3 November 2022
Eligibility and requirements
Prerequisites
None
Corequisites
None
Non-allowed subjects
None
Recommended background knowledge
Some knowledge of international law recommended but not required.
Applicants without legal qualifications should note that subjects are offered in the discipline of law at an advanced graduate level. While every effort will be made to meet the needs of students trained in other fields, concessions will not be made in the general level of instruction or assessment. Most subjects assume the knowledge usually acquired in a degree in law (LLB, JD or equivalent). Applicants should note that admission to some subjects in the Melbourne Law Masters will be dependent upon the individual applicant’s educational background and professional experience.
Inherent requirements (core participation requirements)
The Melbourne Law Masters welcomes applications from students with disabilities. The inherent academic requirements for study in the Melbourne Law Masters are:
- The ability to attend a minimum of 75% of classes and actively engage in the analysis and critique of complex materials and debate;
- The ability to read, analyse and comprehend complex written legal materials and complex interdisciplinary materials;
- The ability to clearly and independently communicate in writing a knowledge and application of legal principles and interdisciplinary materials and to critically evaluate these;
- The ability to clearly and independently communicate orally a knowledge and application of legal principles and interdisciplinary materials and critically evaluate these;
- The ability to work independently and as a part of a group;
- The ability to present orally and in writing legal analysis to a professional standard.
Students who feel their disability will inhibit them from meeting these inherent academic requirements are encouraged to contact Student Equity and Disability Support.
Last updated: 3 November 2022
Assessment
Additional details
- Class participation (10%)
- Facilitation of class discussion of an assigned reading (10%)
- Research paper (80%) (6,500-8,000 words) (7 August) on topic to be agreed with subject coordinator.
Last updated: 3 November 2022
Quotas apply to this subject
Dates & times
- May
Mode of delivery On Campus (Parkville) Contact hours 24-34 hours Total time commitment 150 hours Pre teaching start date 17 April 2019 Pre teaching requirements The pre-teaching period commences four weeks before the subject commencement date. From this time, students are expected to access and review the Reading Guide that will be available from the LMS subject page and the subject materials provided by the subject coordinator, which will be available from Melbourne Law School. Refer to the Reading Guide for confirmation of which resources need to be read and what other preparation is required before the teaching period commences. Teaching period 15 May 2019 to 21 May 2019 Last self-enrol date 22 April 2019 Census date 15 May 2019 Last date to withdraw without fail 28 June 2019 Assessment period ends 7 August 2019 May contact information
Lecturer/s
Professor Stepan Wood Coordinator
Email: law-masters@unimelb.edu.au
Phone: +61 3 8344 6190
Website: law.unimelb.edu.au
Additional delivery details
This subject has a quota of 30 students.
Enrolment is on a first come, first served basis. Waitlists are maintained for subjects that are fully subscribed.
Students should note priority of places in subjects will be given as follows:
- To currently enrolled Graduate Diploma and Masters students with a satisfactory record in their degree
- To other students enrolling on a single subject basis, eg Community Access Program (CAP) students, cross-institutional study and cross-faculty study.
Please refer to the Melbourne Law Masters website for further information about the management of subject quotas and waitlists.
Last updated: 3 November 2022
Further information
- Texts
Prescribed texts
Specialist materials will be made available free of charge from the Melbourne Law School prior to the pre-teaching period.
- Links to additional information
- Available through the Community Access Program
About the Community Access Program (CAP)
This subject is available through the Community Access Program (also called Single Subject Studies) which allows you to enrol in single subjects offered by the University of Melbourne, without the commitment required to complete a whole degree.
Entry requirements including prerequisites may apply. Please refer to the CAP applications page for further information.
- Available to Study Abroad and/or Study Exchange Students
This subject is available to students studying at the University from eligible overseas institutions on exchange and study abroad. Students are required to satisfy any listed requirements, such as pre- and co-requisites, for enrolment in the subject.
Last updated: 3 November 2022