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Welcome to the third edition of the Melbourne LLB Newsletter for 2009. The purpose of this publication is to inform you of key issues and events related to your studies. If you need any further clarification on anything, please contact the Melbourne Law School Student Centre on 8344 4475, or the contact listed.
meetings with associate dean (undergraduate)
Associate Professor Maureen Tehan, Associate Dean (Undergraduate), will be available to answer questions and discuss any issues students may have in relation to any aspect of the LLB at informal meetings to be held every fortnight during Semester 1, 2009.
You are encouraged to take advantage of this opportunity to obtain information on your course, discuss difficulties, make suggestions, and generally contribute to ensuring the LLB program works well and meets your needs.
The next meeting will be on Thursday 9 April 2009 and they will be held every two weeks (please note there will be no meeting on 23 April 2009). The meetings will be very informal and you can come along at any time between 1:00 and 2:00pm. The venue is Room 108, Melbourne Law School. Details of further meetings can be found on the online LLB calendar of events.
instructions for submitting assignments online
From 2009 all assignments will be submitted online only via the Assignment Tool unless advised otherwise.
A link to the Assignment Tool is available in the left-hand menu on LMS/Blackboard subject pages for all subjects. Detailed submission instructions are provided on the subject pages. A step-by-step guide for submitting assignments online is also available.
Admission to Legal Practice (Board of Examiners)
Speakers:
When: Tuesday 31 March 2009 at 12:45 to 1:45pm
Where: GM15, Melbourne Law School
Please note that Ms Patricia Turner is no longer able to attend on this date. She will be re-scheduled to a date in Semester 2.
Centipedes, Liars and Unconscious Bias
Speaker: The Honourable Justice Tony Pagone QC, Supreme Court of Victoria
When: Tuesday 7 April 2009 at 12:45 to 1:45pm
Where: GM15, Melbourne Law School
Ethics and Abortion Law Reform
Speaker: Professor Julian Savulescu, Uehiro Chair in Practical Ethics, Centre for Neuroethics, University of Oxford
When: Tuesday 21 April 2009 at 12:45 to 1:45pm
Where: GM15, Melbourne Law School
The Guest Lecture Series is a series of weekly lectures in law and legal practice for Melbourne Law School students. All LLB students are invited and strongly encouraged to attend all lectures in the Melbourne Guest Lecture Series.
Details of all forthcoming Guest Lectures for Semester 1, 2009, are available online.
safety standards and indigenous products: what role for traditional knowledge?
Presented by Meredith Kolsky Lewis (Wellington Law School)
Convenor: Andrew Mitchell
Professor Anne Orford will chair the event.
In this IILAH seminar, Ms Lewis will examine legal questions relating to the export of indigenous plant-based foods and medicinal products. In particular, it will look at recent bans and other forms of import restrictions on kava from Pacific Island countries and tea tree oil from Australia. Both products have traditional uses which date back hundreds of years. In both cases, the products have been adapted into new uses, and health problems have been linked to these new uses. Yet the trade restrictions have covered the products as a whole, thus burdening the traditional uses as well as the new, adapted uses. The seminar will consider the implications of such bans on indigenous communities/developing countries, and explore whether steps could be taken to minimize the risk of imposing overbroad regulations on products which may have a traditional and safe use as well as new, perhaps not-so-safe uses. In this regard Ms Lewis will suggest that traditional knowledge, which is at present a concept limited to the intellectual property/TRIPS context within the WTO, may also have a role to play in the SPS and TBT contexts.
Meredith Kolsky Lewis (BA Northwestern University, JD and MSFS Georgetown University) is the New Zealand alternate member of the International Trade Law Committee of the International Law Association; a Founding Executive Committee member and currently Secretary of the Society of International Economic Law (SIEL), and a member of the Asian WTO Research Network. She has provided trade-related technical assistance in Vietnam (funded by NZAID) and Indonesia (funded by US AID) and has provided training on various WTO issues for the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade. Meredith is serving as a judge in the preliminary written and final oral rounds (in Taipei) of the 2009 ELSA WTO Moot Court Competition.
Meredith has been awarded a Visiting International Research Fellowship by the Melbourne Law School and will be six weeks at the Law School conducting joint research relating to food miles with Andrew Mitchell.
When: Thursday 2 April 2009 at 12:45 to 2:00pm (light lunch provided at 12:45pm)
Where: Room 920, Level 9, Melbourne Law School
RSVP: law-iilah@unimelb.edu.au, tel (03) 8344 6589
All welcome!
key thinkers seminar series 2009
Key Thinkers is a series of public lectures held every Thursday evening during the teaching semester. Academics from the University of Melbourne, with occasional guests, will give an hour-long talk on internationally well-known thinkers whose works have inspired their own. This will be followed by thirty minutes of questions and discussion. This is a cross-faculty initiative and the thinkers are chosen from very diverse fields and disciplines. The lecturers are all highly experienced presenters and the content of the lectures will be aimed at a lay audience but with enough complexity to also appeal to more specialized listeners.
Further details and a schedule are available in the flyer.
discover research, discover careers (research-powered careers series 2009)
Find out what a PhD can do for your career - and our future
Meet a panel of research students, graduates, academics, and industry representatives who will show how their graduate research has led to careers tackling the big challenges of our time.
Event details:
27 April 2009 at 6:30pm Facing a Hot, Dry Future
How your research-driven career in environmental, sustainability or water
management will help us adapt to climate change.
28 April 2009 at 6:30pm Healthy Futures: Medical Research Careers
How your research-driven career in medical or health research will improve the
health outlook for current and future generations.
30 April 2009 at 6:30pm A Fair Go for All: Improving Equity and Opportunity
How your research-driven career in policy, social or economic development
will improve well-being for a range of populations in Australia and internationally.
5 May 2009 at 6:30pm Unlock your Electric Potential
How your research-driven career in engineering, physics, and earth sciences can
ensure safe, reliable, and environmentally-friendly supply of energy for generations
to come.
Further information, venue details, and registrations.
2009 international trade law symposium
The 2009 International Trade Law Symposium will take place on 3 to 4 April 2009 at Old Parliament House in Canberra.
The Symposium is jointly hosted by the Trade and Business Focus Group of the International Law Section, the Attorney-General’s Department, and the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. In addition to a review of developments in international trade law, speakers will contribute their expertise to discussions on the following topics:
There will also be an opportunity for Symposium participants to join in discussions on the formation of an Australia-New Zealand regional grouping of the Society of International Economic Law. For further information, please see the program.
Please note that places are strictly limited and that registrations will close at 5pm on Wednesday 1 April 2009.
This year the organizers are able to invite a small number of full-time students to the Symposium at the reduced registration rate of $100.
Requests for registration forms and all further enquiries should be directed to Hendryk Flaegel on 02 6246 3726 or by email at hendryk.flaegel@lawcouncil.asn.au
australian national internships program
The Australian National Internships Program (ANIP) is a hands-on opportunity for a student to go into a workplace and undertake a research project. As part of the real world experience students have the opportunity to work in an office environment, learn to prioritize tasks and deadlines for completion of tasks, and learn to express themselves concisely and provide a succinct understanding of a complex topic. An internship is not just work experience, or unpaid help in an office. The major focus is the completion of the Research Report.
Through the ANIP, Australian and overseas university students from any discipline can be placed with the Australian Federal Parliament, the Australian Public Service, the Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly or Public Service, or with non-government organizations (including lobby groups).
The Australian National Internships Program is located on the campus of the Australian National University (ANU) in Canberra.
Applications for Semester 2, 2009, will close on Friday 1 May 2009.
Further details are available on the ANIP website.
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volunteer with global aid partnerships
Global Aid Partnerships (GAPS) is an organization which seeks to facilitate sustainable development in the areas of education, medical development, and community development by establishing partnerships across the developed and developing world.
We are currently recruiting students interested in volunteering in Africa or Australia.
Volunteer in Kenya or Rwanda with GAPS this year and see things like you've never seen them before. Check out the range of volunteering programs on the GAPS website (from teaching in village schools to creating public health programs and post-genocide programs, from streamlining community centres to instructing in orphanages) and our sightseeing options (from gorilla-watching to exploring Swahili ports).
Volunteer from Australia and get involved as a general member working in teams on exciting and involved projects in Kenya and Rwanda. Develop programs for early childhood education, post-genocide understanding, health promotion and much more. Check the GAPS website and apply for the latest positions advertised.
To find out more and register your interest in volunteering, please visit the GAPS website or email recruitment@gaps.org.au.
get ready for work series 2009 - more dates available
Not sure whether the legal research skills you’ve developed through your degree will be good enough for practice?
The Law School’s Legal Research Skills Adviser, Natalie Wieland, is providing a four part series to help get you ready to work in a firm. This will provide you with the skills you need to be both effective and efficient when taking on research tasks. When completing a clerkship or traineeship, you will be required to complete numerous research tasks. By having the necessary skills you will become a highly valued employee and will be called on regularly to participate in client matters.
Each session will consist of a one hour lecture and a research task to be completed in class, working in groups.
At the completion of the four workshops you will receive certification that you have successfully attended and completed the tasks.
Dates: Friday 29 May 2009 and Friday 26 June 2009 (new
additional dates)
Time: 9:30am to 4:30pm
Where: Large Computer Lab, Law Library
Session 1 – Understanding Legal Resources
This session will take you through legal research resources, ensuring that you
are aware of what exists in and beyond Melbourne University. This session will
help you:
Session 2 – Understanding Authority, Currency and Developing Methodologies
This session will take you through the importance of having sound methodologies
that apply to all resources, whether they are paper-based or electronic. This
session will help you:
Session 3 – How to Refine the Task
In practice you will be asked to do a variety of research tasks for different
purposes. This session will help you ask the right questions so you can spend
your time effectively. This session will help you:
Session 4 – How to Create a Research Trail
In practice all research you conduct needs to be charged out so you need to
be accountable. This session will help you:
How to Book:
You can register
for the series online.
Please note places are limited.
kirby cup law reform competition 2009
The topic for 2009 is on Animal Welfare Law Reform. The question for this year is:
What are the key issues that arise from the present federal regulatory framework for animal welfare? In considering appropriate law reform recommendations, assess whether Codes of Practice for animal welfare provide a reliable and satisfactory mechanism for regulating animal welfare; or whether a national Animal Welfare Act or harmonization of State/Territory legislation would be more appropriate.
Teams wishing to participate must register for the competition by 10 April 2009. Entries must then be submitted to the Australian Law Reform Commission by 4 May 2009.
The oral advocacy component of the competition will be held during the Australian Law Students Association Conference in Brisbane, 13-19 July 2009.
Further details and registration forms are available on the Australian Law Reform Commission website.
applications for cultural and community relations funds
Applications are now invited for funding assistance from the University of Melbourne's Cultural and Community Relations Advisory Group (CCRAG) during 2009.
The CCRAG is an advisory group to the Vice Chancellor on cultural and community relations matters, making recommendations for funding for University cultural and community activities and events. Funds are available to individuals and groups within the University and its community for projects of University-wide or broader public interest.
Activities assisted in 2008 included conferences and seminars, athletic events, lunchtime concerts, student theatre, art exhibitions, community forums, public lectures and student debating competitions.
For more information about the CCRAG and its activities, including application guidelines and application forms, please visit the CCRAG website.
The Dreamlarge Knowledge Transfer Student Grants 2009 are available for students enrolled in a University of Melbourne degree. The Knowledge Transfer Project Grants aim to:
The Grants are normally for up to $2,500. Six grants will be awarded for amounts up to $5,000 including the Melbourne University Credit Union (MUCU) Dreamlarge Knowledge Transfer Student Grant.
The projects need to involve an external partner and be endorsed by a Faculty at the University of Melbourne. Students must work in teams of at least three and the projects should start in 2009.
Applications will close on 15 May 2009.
Successful applicants will be notified by the end of June 2009.
Further information and application forms are available online.
global mobility week and exchange fair
If you are considering completing part of your University of Melbourne degree overseas, make sure you check out some of the many events and activities during Global Mobility Week, which runs from Monday 30 March to Thursday 2 April 2009.
There are opportunities to speak directly with staff and students from many of the University's international partner institutions at the Exchange Fair on Thursday 2 April in the Grand Buffet Hall, Union House. Some former University of Melbourne exchange students will also be available to answer questions and speak about their experiences studying overseas.
For more information, visit the Global Mobility Week website.
Enquiries: Leeyong Soo, tel 03 8344 8414, email lsoo@unimelb.edu.au
Having won the Australian tournament of the Philip C Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition, the Melbourne Law School team recently competed in the international rounds in Washington DC with 113 other teams from around the world. The team comprised Seamus Coleman (LLB), Dave Heaton (LLB), Sienna Merope (LLB), Felicity Ryburn (JD), and Sonja Zivak (JD), and was coached by Associate Professors Andrew Mitchell and Tania Voon.
The team won its four preliminary round moots (against Belarus, Guyana, Malaysia, and the United Arab Emirates) and proceeded to the advanced rounds with 23 other teams, ranked 12th. Unfortunately, the team was knocked out in the run-off rounds in a close match against University College London (UCL) on 26 March. UCL proceeded to the Grand Final, where it was defeated by the Universidad de los Andes (Colombia) before a bench presided over by The Hon Judge Bruno Simma, a current Member of the International Court of Justice (ICJ).
These five Melbourne Law School students have shown exceptional talent, passion, camaraderie, and sportsmanship throughout the competition. They have thoroughly enjoyed this extraordinary experience and made the most of the opportunity to meet students, coaches and moot judges of many different nationalities. While in DC, the team also met with senior officials from the Australian Embassy, the United States Trade Representative, the International Monetary Fund, and the World Bank, and rubbed shoulders with the likes of Dame Rosalyn Higgins (former President of the ICJ) and Emeritus Professor Ivan Shearer AM RFD (former Member of the United Nations Human Rights Committee).
Sincere thanks go to all the individuals who assisted in the team's development, as well as Allens Arthur Robinson, Mallesons Stephen Jaques, and Melbourne Law School for generous financial support.
melbourne law school wto moot success!
The Melbourne Law School WTO Moot Team has won the Pacific Regional Round of the 2008-2009 ELSA Moot Court Competition on the Law of the World Trade Organization (WTO).
The Melbourne team comprises Laura Bellamy (LLB), Rudi Kruse (JD), Erica Leaney (LLB), and Christopher Tran (LLB). The team coaches are Associate Professors Andrew Mitchell and Tania Voon.
Having won the regional round on the basis of its written submissions, the team now progresses to the International Final Oral Round, to be held in Taipei from 19-23 May 2009. Following their successful Exhibition Moot held on 12 March 2009 (chaired by The Hon Justice Susan Kenny), they will continue to hone their mooting skills in preparation for Taipei.
The team’s success is very much deserved and reflects their dedication, superb command of WTO law, and advanced analytical and advocacy skills. We are very proud of their achievement.
Ben Kiely and Anna Martin, Reprieve
Ben Kiely (Vice-President, Reprieve Returned Death Row Intern and Articled Clerk, Mallesons) and Anna Martin (Returned Death Row Intern) will talk about the work done by Reprieve Australia and their experiences acting for those facing the death penalty in Texas.
When: Wednesday 1 April 2009 at 1:00 to 2:00pm
Where: GM17, Melbourne Law School
RSVP: law-careers@unimelb.edu.au
Please send any feedback/comments or suggestions you have about this newsletter to Tom Hewitt-McManus.
previous editions of LLB newsletter
Previous editions of the newsletter are available on the Melbourne LLB website.
