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Comparative Indigenous Rights (LAWS90127)
Graduate courseworkPoints: 12.5On Campus (Parkville)
About this subject
- Overview
- Eligibility and requirements
- Assessment
- Dates and times
- Further information
- Timetable (login required)(opens in new window)
Contact information
August
Lecturer(s)
Jeff Hewitt (Coordinator)
Email: law-masters@unimelb.edu.au
Phone: 13 MELB (13 6352), International: +(61 3) 9035 5511
Website: law.unimelb.edu.au
Overview
Availability(Quotas apply) | August |
---|---|
Fees | Look up fees |
This highly topical subject analyses the rights of Indigenous peoples in Australia, Canada, the United States and New Zealand. Topics discussed include Aboriginal title and the doctrine of discovery, treaties, land and resource rights, self-determination, and Indigenous families and justice. The subject will be taught from a critical perspective, comparing and assessing the treatment of Indigenous rights in the four jurisdictions. In exploring these issues, the subject will also examine aspects of legal pluralism, and assess a variety of normative and political justifications for Indigenous rights.
Principal topics include:
- History of the concept of Aboriginal title and the doctrine of discovery
- Concepts of sui generis agreement-making between Indigenous peoples and governments
- Implications of distinctions between government obligations and Indigenous rights
- Overview of current practice
- Law applicable to Indigenous entities
- Legal framework for Indigenous governance
- Human rights and their influence on Indigenous rights
- Remedies.
Intended learning outcomes
A student who has successfully completed this subject will:
- Have a broader understanding of the rule of law and its relationship to colonialism in the selected countries
- Appreciate the sources of Indigenous legal traditions within Indigenous rights, including the development of an appreciation for the role of non-textual materials in understanding law
- Identify how Indigenous legal traditions can be made more accessible through formal state legal institutions and Indigenous community mechanisms
- Develop practical reasoning skills necessary to apply Indigenous law to contemporary problems and conflicts
- Critically and constructively examine tensions between governments and Indigenous communities
- Have a sophisticated theoretical and doctrinal understanding of each of the topic areas used in the syllabus to explore the relationship between Indigenous peoples' law and formal state law
- Distinguish and analogize, compare and contrast, the treatment of Indigenous rights in four jurisdictions
- Understand the relationship of Indigenous rights to property law, contract law, constitutional law and international law.
Last updated: 23 March 2024
Eligibility and requirements
Prerequisites
None
Corequisites
None
Non-allowed subjects
None
Recommended background knowledge
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 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: 23 March 2024
Assessment
Description | Timing | Percentage |
---|---|---|
Option 1: Take-home examination
| 11 - 14 October 2024 | 100% |
Option 2: Research paper on a topic approved by the subject coordinator
| 30 October 2024 | 100% |
Hurdle requirement: A minimum of 75% attendance is required. | Throughout the teaching period | N/A |
Last updated: 23 March 2024
Quotas apply to this subject
Dates & times
- August
Principal coordinator Mode of delivery On Campus (Parkville) Contact hours Total time commitment 150 hours Pre teaching start date 17 July 2024 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 14 August 2024 to 20 August 2024 Last self-enrol date 22 July 2024 Census date 15 August 2024 Last date to withdraw without fail 20 September 2024 Assessment period ends 30 October 2024 August contact information
Lecturer(s)
Jeff Hewitt (Coordinator)
Email: law-masters@unimelb.edu.au
Phone: 13 MELB (13 6352), International: +(61 3) 9035 5511
Website: law.unimelb.edu.au
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 a quota of 30 students.
Enrolment is on a 'first in' basis. Waitlists are maintained for subjects that are fully subscribed.
Students should note priority of waitlisted 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.
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: 23 March 2024
Further information
- Texts
Prescribed texts
Specialist materials will be made available via the LMS during 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.
Additional information for this subject
If required, please contact law-masters@unimelb.edu.au for subject coordinator approval.
- 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: 23 March 2024