Dr Rebecca La Forgia

Room 2.10, Ligertwood Building

Email: rebecca.laforgia@adelaide.edu.au
Phone: 08 8313 0877

On successful completion of this course, students will be able to:

1. Explain and identify the practice of international legal interpretation in a variety of contexts. 
2. Examine the operation and application of international law in practical and real case based contexts. 
3. Refine and develop reflective written skills and communication skills of writing legal arguments, listening and persuasion. 
4. Present persuasive and detailed written arguments based on contemporary international legal research.
5. Develop written and oral skills to explore and defend legal interpretative positions from a variety of perspectives. 
6. Undertake self-directed international legal research that supports interpretative arguments over contemporary applications of international law in society.

All required readings and resources will be available online via MyUni. There will also be the choice to purchase the compiled readings in one collated bundle.

A list of recommended readings will be made available through My Uni. My Uni will also feature a page of links to useful internet resources and news articles. These will be particularly helpful in locating material on contemporary international events and issues relevant to the course.
 

The course is supported by the Course Home page on MyUni website. The website contains links to the following resources:

1. Course information, including the Course Profile and the seminar and lecture guide.

2. Course materials – such as items of assessment, lecture PowerPoint slides, and other course materials which will be posted from time to time. 

Lectures – audio streaming of lectures and video streaming of lecture slides will be posted (where available) under the Course Materials link as soon as possible after each lecture. This is subject as always to the technology working, so attendance is encouraged.  Also please note this course has interactive seminars as a core part of the teaching and learning and this makes up the majoirty of content.  There will be extensive use of audio visual materials and due to copyright this can not be recorded. This aspect of the course will not be recorded.

3. Grade book – where students’ grades will be entered for each assignment.

MyUni will also be used to post announcements, and assignment tasks. Students are expected to check MyUni regularly to keep up to date with these materials and additional learning resources throughout the course. Students should also regularly check their email

4. Students will also have access to short pre-recorded videos to support their learning.

The course will be taught in a three hour block.  The general format will be a 30 minute overview lecture  of the set material and then followed by two and half hours of seminars per week.  The method of teaching will be interactive, the seminars will use practical real life scenarios/ contexts, and will be supplemented by audio/visual materials and guest speakers where possible. Given the reliance on a wide range of materials the seminars will not be recorded. Therefore attendance is highly recommended.  Seminars are an important component of your learning in this course. The communication and listening skills developed in seminars by regularly and actively participating in discussions and listening to your peers and giving constructive and thoughtful responses are considered to be most important and worthwhile skills. This course will develop your capacity to interpret and analyse international law to a high level, the seminars are crucial in developing this skill.

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

Preparation time: In addition to attending formal classes 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.

How do we create meaning in the wide range of contexts in which international law is used? ranging from security, international human rights, international environmental concerns, corporate social responsibility and international political issues. This course develops the set of skills to assess and understand the creation of meaning in these ( and other) contexts. Furthermore it develops the skills to ask and answer - how do we assess the validity of any given interpretation? These are some of the core questions of this course.

Schedule

Week	Lecture and Seminar Topic
1	The Practice of Interpretation in International law. Overview of approaches to the question of interpretation in international law. From Government Lawyer to a Non Governmental Organisation. and other participants - Ways of interpreting international law depending on your position. Introduction to Scenarios and International Law.
2	Business and Human Rights- Soft Law? Treaty? What is international law's effective medium?
3	International law and International diplomacy - WTO and Vaccines.
4	International law and the use of armed drones; international laws perspectives from IHRL, IHL and long term and short term security interests. Drones as a case example of international law/technology and the future.
5	Live Simulation event of International Law. A Panel will be organised on a current event.  This is interpretation and articulation of international law in a public context.
6	International right to sanitation - the practical use of international legal interpretation to evolve and implement a right.
7	Class Presentation of Access to Essential Medicines and International Law.
8	International Law and Objects; Silent Interpretation using the work of Charlesworth, Joyce and Hohmann
9	International Legal interpretation and formation of public meaning through narratives Sands; East West Street  Genocide and Crimes Against Humanity and Saab Narratives of International Law Hunger and Climate Change.
10	The role of Politics, multilateralism and International law; China, Australia and the United States in the context of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and the WTO Appellate Body.
11	Leadership in International Law; The role of the Personal/ Case study.
12	Revision for the course and Q andA.

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

Assessment Task	Due	Weighting	Length	Redeemable	Learning Outcome
Contemporary Case Study on International Legal Interpretation.	Wednesday Week 4 at 2.00pm	20%	1,500 words.	Yes. (On basis of bonafide effort of not less than 40%).	1, 3, 4, 5
Oral Group Work Presentation	Friday Week 7 in class.	10%	Details My uni	No	2,4,5
Research Essay	Thursday the  16th June at 2.00pm	70% or 90%	5,000 words	No	1,2,3,4,5,6

All assessment tasks are compulsory.

1.  The contemporary case study on international legal interpretation.
Worth 20%.
This is an individual piece of assessment.  
DUE DATE: Wednesday week 4  at 2.00pm  The word length is 1,500 words.

2.  Oral Group Work Presentation 
 week 7 in class.

3.  Research Essay
A 5,000 word research paper on a series of questions ( 70% or 90%).  Topics to be distributed. Due Thursday the 16th June.

Students must retain a copy of all assignments submitted.

All assessments will be submitted and monitored through text or code comparative software (e.g. Turnitin) where possible.

They must be submitted in accordance with the specific directions contained in instructions which will be made available on MyUni.

Late Submission Penalties:
When an assessment is submitted after the due date, without an extension, 5% of
the total mark possible will be deducted for every 24 hours or part thereof
that the assignment is late, including each day on a weekend. For example, an
essay 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:
5% of the total mark possible for a written assessment will be deducted for
every 100 words (or part thereof) by which it exceeds a stipulated word limit.
For example, a 3,000 word essay graded at 63% will have 5% deducted if it is
between 3,001 and 3,100 words long for a final mark of 58%. If the essay is
between 3,101 and 3,200 words long, 10% will be deducted for a final mark of
53%, etc. Word limits include all words in the text, in headings, in quotations,
but exclude citations 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.

Extensions: Requests for extensions must be made electronically, according to law school policy, at https://law.adelaide.edu.au/intranet

Extensions will be granted only for unexpected illness, hardship or on compassionate grounds in accordance with University Policy. Work commitments, travel, holidays or sporting engagements are not unexpected circumstances.

Courses for which a result of conceded pass has been obtained may not be presented towards the degree requirements for the Bachelor of Laws or the Honours Degree of Bachelor of Laws programs, or any postgraduate law program, nor to satisfy prerequisite requirements within any law course.

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.

Student feedback

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.