On successful completion of this course, students will be able to:
1. Analyse the principles of Australian constitutional law, undertake self-directed legal research at an advanced level, and evaluate complex legal information. 
2. Critique the operation of Australian constitutional law from a theoretical and policy perspective. 
3. Structure sustained and concise arguments for a legal audience. 
4. Analyse the operation of Australian constitutional law from a policy perspective, and in the context of social and cultural diversity. 
5. Communicate effectively individually and as part of a team. Work in collaboration with others to prepare written documents. Engage with team members in an ethical and professional manner.
6. Apply legal and theoretical concepts to specific situations.

There is no textbook for this course. The class guides on MyUni will direct you to required readings.

Tony Blackshield and George Williams, Australian Constitutional Law and Theory: Commentary and Materials (7th ed, Federation Press, 2018). This is the leading practitioner textbook. Students may find this text a useful reference or starting point for understanding the more advanced analysis in this course.

Sarah Joseph and Melissa Castan, Federal Constitutional Law: A Contemporary View (Thomson Reuters, 5th ed, 2019). This is the required textbook for Australian Constitutional Law. It may be a helpful refresher of basic principles.

MyUni will be used to post announcements, class guides, additional class materials (including slides if used, and if available, audio recordings of lectures) and announce assignment tasks.

Students are expected to check MyUni regularly to keep up to date with these materials and additional learning resources throughout the course.

Advanced Constitutional Law will be taught in weekly three-hour seminars from weeks 1-12 of the semester.

A typical seminar will consist of a combination of a short lecture, seminar-style activity, time for work on the group assignment, and detailed discussion of set readings. There may be guest speakers for some classes.

Students are expected to prepare for seminars by completing set readings and attempting the seminar questions before class; and to participate actively in class discussions.

The information below is provided as a guide to assist students in engaging appropriately with the course requirements.

Contact time: attend 3 hour seminar week. This amounts to 36 hours of formal class time across the semester.

Preparation time: In addition to attending seminars it is anticipated that students will do substantial independent work to prepare for classes and to complete the course assignments. The University expects full time students (those undertaking 12 units per semester) to devote a total of 48 hours per week to their studies. This means you should spend an average of 12 hours per week on this course.

The course will focus in detail on contemporary constitutional issues. Accordingly, the structure below may be changed to adapt to current issues.

Week 1	Introduction to the course
Week 2	Principles of constitutional judgment writing
Week 3	Critical constitutional judgment writing
Week 4	Arguments in constitutional cases: the role of lawyers
Week 5	Constitutional interpretation part 1: legalism
Week 6	Constitutional interpretation part 2: realism
Week 7	Genesis of constitutional disputes: the role of litigants
Week 8	Fact finding in constitutional cases
Week 9	The role of individual judges
Week 10	First Nations Constitutions
Week 11	Lawmaking in the shadow of the Constitution
Week 12	Constitutional change

There are no additional requirements for completion of this course other than described elsewhere in this document.

Assessment item	% of final mark	Dates	Length	Individual or Group Activity?	Redeemable in exam?	Learning Outcomes
Judgment writing	20%	Friday, week 11	1,500 words	Group	NA	1, 3, 5, 6
Class participation	10%	In class	NA	Individual	NA	1, 2, 4, 5, 6
Research proposal presentation	10%	First six weeks of class	10 minutes	Individual	NA	3, 5
Reflection on judgment writing	30%	Friday, week 12	2,000 words	Individual	NA	1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
Research essay/recording	30%	Friday, SWOTVAC	2,000 words or 15 minutes	Individual	NA	1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

Judgment Writing (20%)

This assessment will provide students with an opportunity to apply their understanding of the role of the High Court in constitutional interpretation. The assignment will require students, working in groups, to write part of a judgment in a real High Court case.

Students will have the opportunity to give feedback on the contribution of group members. The mark that each student receives may be adjusted to reflect unequal contributions.

Class Participation (10%)

The grade will be based on preparation, quality of contributions, and engagement with other students.

Research Proposal Presentation (10%)

Students will be required to present the proposed topic for their research essay or recorded presentation in either an oral presentation to the class or a recorded presentation to be played in class. In either case, they will be required to respond to questions. 5 minutes will be allocated to the presentation, and 5 minutes to questions. 

Reflection on Judgment Writing (30%)

Writing individually, students will explain how they reached their  conclusion in the judgment writing exercise assignment. This is an
opportunity to explain how students applied the concepts learned in the course, and how they worked with their peers.

Research Essay/presentation (30%)

This assessment will allow students to demonstrate their research and comunication skills, and to apply their understanding of the concepts covered in the course. The assignment will require students to identify, research, and analyse an appropriate constitutional case study. 

Students can choose to present their work in either a 2,000 word research essay or a 15 minute recorded video or audio presentation. Regardless of the format chosen, students will be assessed on their understanding of the law, depth and quality of research, critical thinking, and communication. 

Students must retain a copy of all assignments submitted.

All written assignments in this course are to be submitted electronically through Turnitin.  All assessments will be submitted and monitored through text or code comparative software (e.g. Turnitin) where possible.

All written work in the Law school is required to comply with the approved Law School styleguide, The Australian Guide to Legal Citation (4th edition).

Extensions: Requests for extensions must be made electronically according to law school policy. Extensions will be granted only  in accordance with University Policy. Work commitments, travel, holidays or sporting engagements are not usually grounds for an extension.

Turnaround time: The written assignments for this course will be returned to students within 2– 4 weeks of the submission date.

Late Submission Penalties: When an assessment is submitted after the due date, without an extension, 5% of the totalmark
possible will be deducted for every 24 hours or part thereof that it is late, including each day on a weekend and public holidays. For example, an assignment that is submitted after the due date and time but within the first 24 hour period, and that has been graded at 63%, will have 5% deducted, for a final grade of 58%. An essay that is more than 24 hours late will lose 10%, etc.Word

Length Penalties: For a written assessment, 5% of the total mark possible will be deducted for every 100 words (or part thereof) by which it exceeds a stipulated word limit. For example, an assignment graded at 63% will have 5% deducted if it is between 1 and 100 words over the word count for a final mark of 58%. If the assignment is between 101 and 200 words over the word count, 10% will be deducted for a final mark of 53%, etc. Word limits include all words in the text, in headings, in quotations, and substantive text in the footnotes, but exclude references in footnotes. Any separate cover page, table of contents, bibliography or list of sources is excluded from the word limit. If the word limit is misstated, this may be regarded as academic dishonesty.

For a recorded presentation (ie if a student takes the recorded presentation option for the 30% research task), 5% of the total mark possible will be deducted for every 1 minute (or part thereof) by which it exceeds the time limit. For example, an assignment graded at 63% will have 5% deducted if it is between 1 second and 60 seconds over the time limit for a final mark of 58%. If the assignment is between 61 and 120 seconds over the time limit, 10% will be deducted for a final mark of 53%, etc.

Finality of Assessment Grades

Students are advised that Course Coordinators will not enter into negotiations of any kind with any student regarding changes to their grades. It is irrelevant, in any given circumstance, that only a minimal number of additional marks are required to inflate a student’s grade for any individual assessment item or course as a whole. Pursuant to the University’s Assessment for Coursework Programs Policyand the Adelaide Law School Assessment Policies and Procedures, grades may only be varied through the appropriate channels for academic review (such as an official re-mark).

Moderation

In accordance with the University’s Assessment for Coursework Programs Policy, course coordinators ‘ensure that appropriate marking guidelines and cross-marking moderation processes across markers are in place’ in each course. Procedures adopted by Adelaide Law School to ensure consistency of marking in courses with multiple markers include:

• assurance of the qualifications of markers, and their knowledge of the content covered in each course;
• detailed marking guidelines and assessment rubrics to assist in the marking of items of assessment;
• sharing of example marked assessments at various grade bands across markers;
• reviewing of selected marked assessments from each marker by the course coordinator;
• comparison of the marks and their distribution across markers;
• automatic double-marking of all interim assessment receiving a fail grade, and of final assessments where a student’s overall result is a fail grade;
• the availability of re-marking of assessments in accordance with Adelaide Law School’s Assessment Policies and Procedures.

Approval of Results by Board of Examiners

Students are reminded that all assessment results are subject to approval (and possible moderation/change) by the Law School’s Board of Examiners. Assessment results at the University are not scaled. Under the Assessment for Coursework Programs Policy, students are assessed ‘by reference to their performance against pre-determined criteria and standards … and not by ranking against the performance of the student cohort in the course’. However, under that same policy, the Board of Examiners (as the relevant Assessment Review Committee for courses at Adelaide Law School) is required to ‘ensure comparability of standards and consistency’ in assessment. On occasions, the Board of Examiners will form the view that some moderation is required to ensure the comparability of standards and consistency across courses and years, and accordingly provide fairness to all law students. All assessment results are therefore subject to approval (and possible change) until confirmed by the Board of Examiners and posted on Access Adelaide at the end of each semester.

The course is constantly being updated and revised to reflect the evolution of the law, to respond to student feedback, and to engage with the latest teaching practices. Student feedback is collected each time the course is run, including through SELT reports. Previous SELT reports, and staff feedback on them, are posted on the course MyUni site for students to view and consider.

The University Writing Centre provides academic learning and language development services and resources for local, international, undergraduate and postgraduate coursework students enrolled at the University of Adelaide.

The centre offers practical advice and strategies for students to master reading, writing, note-taking, time management, oral presentation skills, referencing techniques and exam preparation for success at university through seminars, workshops and individual consultations.

Lex Salus Program

Lex Salus (law and wellbeing) is an initiative of the Adelaide Law School aimed at destigmatising mental health issues; promoting physical, mental and emotional wellness; building a strong community of staff and students; and celebrating diversity within the school. It also seeks to promote wellness within the legal profession, through the involvement of the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of South Australia, the Honourable Chris Kourakis, as the official Patron of the program.

Students can participate in the Lex Salus program by attending barbecue lunches, pancake breakfasts, knitting and crochet circles, seminars, guest speakers, conferences and other activities. Our Facebook page, website and regular all-student emails promote upcoming events, and have tips and information on wellness.

Our Lex Salus YouTube channel also includes videos on topics like managing stress, and interviews with LGBTQ lawyers and their supporters which celebrate diversity and individuality. Students who commit to 10 hours of volunteering with Lex Salus in one year can have their service recognised on their academic transcript and through a thank you morning tea with the Chief Justice and law school staff.

Student Life Counselling Support

The University’s Student Life Counselling Support service provides free and confidential service to all enrolled students. We encourage you to contact the Student Life Counselling Support service on 8313 5663 to make an appointment to deal with any issues that may be affecting your study and life.

Academic Integrity

All students must be familiar with the University’s Academic Integrity Policy. Academic Misconduct is a serious matter and is treated as such by the Law School and the University. Academic Misconduct (which goes beyond plagiarism) can be a ground for a refusal by the Supreme Court of South Australia to admit a person to practice as a legal practitioner in South Australia. Academic Integrity is an essential aspect of ethical and honest behaviour, which is central to the practice of the law and an understanding of what it is to be a lawyer.