Constitutions in Global Perspective (LAWS90218)
Graduate courseworkPoints: 12.5On Campus (Parkville)
About this subject
Contact information
April
Teaching staff:
Cheryl Saunders (Subject Coordinator)
Maartje de Visser
For current student enquiries, contact the Law School Academic Support Office
Overview
| Availability(Quotas apply) | April |
|---|---|
| Fees | Look up fees |
This subject canvasses a wide range of the most challenging current questions in comparative constitutional law. It does so from a global perspective, which appreciates the diversity of constitutional arrangements across the world while acknowledging their interconnections and their many shared problems. The issues on which the subject focusses in 2025 range across questions of method to problems of substance and will be explored both conceptually and empirically. Each seminar is led by a comparative scholar affiliated with Melbourne Law School, drawing on the resources of one of the leading comparative constitutional law centres in the world.
Principal topics are likely to include:
- Comparative constitutional methods
- Pluralism
- The global south in comparative constitutional law
- Constitutional amendment
- Separations of power
- Comparing multi-level systems of government.
- Constitutional repair after democratic decay
- Environmental constitutionalism
- Framing constitutional protection of rights
- Guarantor institutions
- Global constitutionalism
- Future directions
The subject coordinators will ensure interlinkages between seminars and will draw the subject together in a final seminar on future directions. The subject should be of considerable interest to Australian and international students from all regions of the world.
Intended learning outcomes
A student who has successfully completed this subject will:
- Have an advanced understanding of theory, method and practice in comparative constitutional law
- Be able to engage critically with discussion and analysis in relation to key issues canvassed in this subject
- Be familiar with, and be able to apply to other contexts, insights from significant themes that run across one or more seminars including, for example, questions about culture and context; the tension between localism and universalism; and the links between domestic constitutional and international law
- Be well-placed to anticipate and apply analytical skills to other problems of method and substance in comparative constitutional law
- Understand the insights that can be derived for domestic constitutional arrangements from comparative experience, properly applied
- Be aware of the extent to which democratic constitutional systems share broadly comparable challenges, despite differences in context
Generic skills
Generic skills that will be developed through successful completion of this subject include:
- A capacity to understand and apply, at an advanced level, methods of comparative constitutional law that are appropriate for the purpose sought
- The ability to think conceptually and analytically about comparative constitutional law
- The ability to think conceptually and analytically about the relationship between domestic constitutional and international law
- An appreciation of how and why constitutional systems vary and evolve over time
- Advanced research skills in understanding and explaining issues involving comparative constitutional law in sufficient detail to be reliable for the purposes of sustaining an argument
- An ability to think creatively about problems and solutions for complex challenges in comparative constitutional law
- Advanced skills in researching issues in comparative constitutional law
Last updated: 4 March 2025
Eligibility and requirements
Prerequisites
Students must meet one of the following prerequisite options:
Option 1
Admission into a Melbourne Law Masters program
AND
Constitutional law, administrative law at the level of a first law degree.
Option 2
Admission into the MC-JURISD Juris Doctor
AND
All of
| Code | Name | Teaching period | Credit Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| LAWS50028 | Constitutional Law | Semester 2 (On Campus - Parkville) |
12.5 |
| LAWS50032 | Administrative Law | Semester 1 (On Campus - Parkville) |
12.5 |
Corequisites
Non-allowed subjects
Recommended background knowledge
Applicants without legal qualifications should note that subjects are taught at an advanced graduate level and requires a thorough background in common law. While efforts are made to meet the needs of students trained in other fields, teaching and assessment activities are designed to give an advanced and integrated understanding of the discipline of law for legal practitioners, learners and researchers.
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: 4 March 2025
Assessment
| Description | Timing | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
Option 1: Take-home examination
| 27 - 30 June 2025 | 100% |
Option 2: Research paper on a topic approved by the subject coordinator
| 23 July 2025 | 100% |
| Hurdle requirement: A minimum of 75% attendance is required. | N/A |
Additional details
Note: Students must choose assessment from the options listed above. If an option contains parts, all parts must be completed if that option is chosen.
Last updated: 4 March 2025
Quotas apply to this subject
Dates & times
- April
Principal coordinator Cheryl Saunders Coordinator Maartje de Visser Mode of delivery On Campus (Parkville) Contact hours 34 Total time commitment 150 hours Pre teaching start date 2 April 2025 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 30 April 2025 to 6 May 2025 Last self-enrol date 7 April 2025 Census date 16 May 2025 Last date to withdraw without fail 13 June 2025 Assessment period ends 25 July 2025 April contact information
Teaching staff:
Cheryl Saunders (Subject Coordinator)
Maartje de VisserFor current student enquiries, contact the Law School Academic Support Office
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
Please refer to the Melbourne Law Masters enrolment webpage for further information about re-enrolment, subject quotas and waitlists.
Melbourne Law School may reserve places in a subject for incoming international cohorts or where a subject is core to a specialisation with limited alternate options.
Last updated: 4 March 2025
Further information
- Texts
- Related Handbook entries
This subject contributes to the following:
Type Name Course Graduate Diploma in Government Law Course Master of Laws Course Graduate Diploma in Laws Course Master of Public and International Law Course Juris Doctor - 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.
Please note Single Subject Studies via Community Access Program is not available to student visa holders or applicants
Entry requirements including prerequisites may apply. Please refer to the CAP applications page for further information.
Additional information for this subject
If subject coordinator approval is required, or for further information about Community Access Program study, please contact us
- Available to Study Abroad and/or Study Exchange Students
Last updated: 4 March 2025