Handbook home
Law and Global Health (LAWS90262)
Graduate courseworkPoints: 12.5On Campus (Parkville)
To learn more, visit 2023 Course and subject delivery.
About this subject
- Overview
- Eligibility and requirements
- Assessment
- Dates and times
- Further information
- Timetable(opens in new window)
Contact information
Overview
Availability(Quotas apply) | Semester 1 |
---|---|
Fees | Look up fees |
The importance of health to the functioning of societies has never been more apparent than it is today. Nor has the global nature of health. Today’s major risks to health are global in nature, including the rapid spread of pathogens across borders in our highly interconnected world, and the commercial practices of multinational corporations that market harmful products. These health risks cannot be combated without international cooperation including in:
- preventing / limiting the spread of pathogens
- regulating harmful commercial practices
- conducting medical and public health research, and making the fruits of this research (including vaccines, therapeutics and other medical products and equipment) globally available, and
- developing and disseminating trustworthy medical and public health information.
Law – at all levels, from international to national and sub-national – has a fundamental role to play in global health. It can be among the most powerful tools for protecting and promoting health, but it can also fall well short of achieving its potential, or even actively contribute to harm, if poorly designed or implemented, of where it pursues other policy objectives in ways that conflict with those of health.
This subject is called ‘Law and global health’ rather than ‘Global health law’. This reflects the reality that, while there are a range of international instruments (including both legally binding and non-legally binding) that are specifically designed to protect and promote global health, global health can be equally influenced by international instruments across diverse areas such as human rights, climate change and environment, animal health, intellectual property, international trade, and international investment. While the subject will focus primarily on the instruments and organisations that are explicitly dedicated to health, it will examine the critical connections with other relevant areas of law, policy and practice.
The subject will cover both communicable diseases (including pandemics such as COVID-19, and the growing problem of antimicrobial resistance) and non-communicable diseases (such as heart disease, stroke, cancer, diabetes and chronic lung disease).
Principal topics will include:
- An introduction to global health priorities, including infectious diseases, noncommunicable diseases, climate change and antimicrobial resistance
- Global health narratives, concepts and approaches
- An introduction to the World Health Organization
- Global governance of infectious diseases, including the International Health Regulations (2005) and the proposed new treaty on pandemic prevention, preparedness and response
- Global governance of noncommunicable diseases, particularly the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control
- Trade, investment, intellectual property and health
Intended learning outcomes
A student who has successfully completed this subject will:
- Have a sound understanding of major current global health priorities, and of major narratives in, and approaches to, global health, including social determinants of health, universal health coverage, human rights, health security, One Health, and commercial determinants of health
- Have an advanced and integrated understanding of the powers, responsibilities and limitations of international organisations, and an awareness of the ways in which the mandates and work of a wide range of international organisations are relevant to global health
- Have an advanced and integrated understanding of the role of international instruments in protecting and promoting, or potentially harming, global health
- Have an advanced and integrated understanding of the ways in which international instruments that are specifically dedicated to global health interact with a wide range of other international instruments and regimes, and some of the legal and practical implications of these interactions
- Have an advanced and integrated understanding of the wide range of actors that play major roles in global health.
Generic skills
- legal analysis skills, including of international legal frameworks and rules, and their significance for national activities
- capacity to analyse and reflect on the ways in which international legal frameworks developed to address different policy challenges intersect, and the significance and impact of these intersections
- specialised ability to develop a research question in this complex field and to creatively carry out research involving diverse sources
- advanced written communication skills, including in reflective writing and a legal research paper
Last updated: 31 January 2024
Eligibility and requirements
Prerequisites
Admission into the MC-JURISD Juris Doctor
AND
Code | Name | Teaching period | Credit Points |
---|---|---|---|
LAWS50024 | Principles of Public Law | Semester 1 (On Campus - Parkville) |
12.5 |
AND
an additional 37.5 credit points from the Juris Doctor program
Corequisites
None
Non-allowed subjects
Code | Name | Teaching period | Credit Points |
---|---|---|---|
LAWS70151 | Global Health Law | July (On Campus - Parkville) |
12.5 |
Inherent requirements (core participation requirements)
The University of Melbourne is committed to providing students with reasonable adjustments to assessment and participation under the Disability Standards for Education (2005), and the Assessment and Results Policy (MPF1326). Students are expected to meet the core participation requirements for their course. These can be viewed under Entry and Participation Requirements for the course outlines in the Handbook.
Further details on how to seek academic adjustments can be found on the Student Equity and Disability Support website: http://services.unimelb.edu.au/student-equity/home
Last updated: 31 January 2024
Assessment
Description | Timing | Percentage |
---|---|---|
Reflective piece
| During the teaching period | 20% |
Research paper on a topic approved by the teacher
| During the assessment period | 80% |
Additional details
The due date of the above assessment will be available to students via the Assessment Schedule on the LMS Community.
Last updated: 31 January 2024
Quotas apply to this subject
Dates & times
- Semester 1
Principal coordinator Jonathan Liberman Mode of delivery On Campus (Parkville) Contact hours Total time commitment 144 hours Pre teaching requirements Please refer to the Reading Guide on the LMS subject page for confirmation of which resources need to be read and what other preparation is required before the teaching period commences. Teaching period 27 February 2023 to 28 May 2023 Last self-enrol date 10 March 2023 Census date 31 March 2023 Last date to withdraw without fail 5 May 2023 Assessment period ends 23 June 2023
What do these dates mean
Visit this webpage to find out about these key dates, including how they impact on:
- Your tuition fees, academic transcript and statements.
- And for Commonwealth Supported students, your:
- Student Learning Entitlement. This applies to all students enrolled in a Commonwealth Supported Place (CSP).
Subjects withdrawn after the census date (including up to the ‘last day to withdraw without fail’) count toward the Student Learning Entitlement.
Additional delivery details
This subject has an enrolment quota of 60 students.
All timely JD elective nominations are subject to a selection process, which the Academic Support Office will perform after the timely re-enrolment period ends.
Please refer to the Melbourne Law School website for further information about the management of subject quotas.
Last updated: 31 January 2024
Further information
- Texts
Prescribed texts
- Specialist materials will be made available via the LMS
- 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.
Last updated: 31 January 2024