Principles of Public Law 733511
Subject Objectives
On completion of this subject, students should:
- Understand the concept of public law in common law legal systems and the historical process by which it developed;
- Understand and be able to use foundational concepts of public law in common law legal systems: including statehood; sovereignty (parliamentary and otherwise); citizenship; representative government; responsible government; separation of powers; rule of law; human rights protection; federalism; the Crown
- Understand the nature of public international law; its principal sources; and the institutional structure of the UN system;
- Understand and be able to use foundational concepts of public international law
- Understand and be able to apply the relationship between national and international public law in common law legal systems;
- Understand, be able to use and be able to engage in debate on the distinction between public and private law in common law legal systems;
- Understand how public law underpins techniques and practices across the legal system, including statutory interpretation; the relationship between common law and statute; territorial limits of law; the use of discretion;
- Understand and be able to engage in debate on the role of courts in a common law legal system and the interface between courts and other branches of government;
- Understand the process of the historical evolution of the Australian constitutional and legal systems and its contemporary significance in Australia
- Understand the significance of the use of a written entrenched Constitution;
- Be aware of the historical and theoretical framework for written Constitutions in Australia.
