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Welcome to the sixth edition of the Melbourne LLB Newsletter for 2008. 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.
rule of law in post-conflict rebuilding: seminar
Institute for International Law and the Humanities Twilight Seminar
Presented by Associate Professor Balakrishnan Rajagopal
Convenor: Associate Professor Dianne Otto
Establishing the rule of law is increasingly seen as the panacea for all the problems that afflict many non-western countries, particularly in post-conflict settings. Development experts prescribe it as the surest short cut to market-led growth; human rights groups advocate the rule of law as the best defence against human rights abuses; and in the area of peace and security, the rule of law is seen as the surest guarantee against the (re)-emergence of conflicts and the basis for rebuilding post-conflict societies. Therefore, in a very direct sense, the rule of law has come to be seen as the common element that development experts, security analysts, and human rights activists agree upon and as the mechanism that links these disparate areas.
In this seminar, Associate Professor Balakrishnan Rajagopal will argue that this new-found fascination with the rule of law is misplaced. Underlying this 'linkage' idea is a desire to escape from politics, by imagining the rule of law as technical, legal, and apolitical. In other words, there is a tendency to think that failures of development, threats to security, and human rights violations could all be avoided or managed by a resort to law. The rule of law agenda threatens to obfuscate the real tradeoffs that need to be made in order to achieve these worthy goals.
Balakrishnan Rajagopal is the Ford International Associate Professor of Law and Development and Director of the Program on Human Rights and Justice at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He has published numerous scholarly articles in leading law journals and is the author of International Law from Below: Development, Social Movements and Third World Resistance.
When: Tuesday 1 July 2008 at 5:30 to 7:30pm
Where: Room 920, Melbourne Law School
RSVP by tel 03 8344 6589 or email law-iilah@unimelb.edu.au
giving teeth to international human rights treaties: seminar
Commissions, Courts and Corporations - A Practitioner's Perspective
The Centre for Comparative Constitutional Studies is pleased to invite you to an evening seminar by Professor Brian Burdekin, AO.
Professor Burdekin is a leading international expert on National Human Rights Institutions. He is currently Visiting Professor at the Raoul Wallenberg Institute in Sweden, teaches in the postgraduate program at Melbourne Law School, and is International Adviser to a number of National Human Rights Institutions in Africa, Asia, and Central and Eastern Europe. From 1995 to 2003, as Special Adviser on National Institutions to the first three United Nations High Commissioners for Human Rights, he conducted over 200 missions to 55 countries in Africa, Asia, Europe, and Latin America where governments or civil society had expressed interest in creating an independent Human Rights Commission or similar institution.
Previous positions include Federal Human Rights Commissioner of Australia (1986 to 1994) and adviser to a former Australian Prime Minister, Deputy Prime Minister and Federal Attorney General (1978 to 1986). Prior to this he was a diplomat and lawyer.
Seminar Details
In the last two decades the international order has changed dramatically and institutions designed to protect human rights have evolved. New institutions, in particular National Human Rights Commissions, have (with Australia's assistance) been created in over 50 countries, in part to address the significant inadequacies of judicial systems in redressing violations by the Executive or forces it controls. Governments have increasingly privatized or out-sourced many essential services but, in breach of international law, have frequently failed to ensure the private sector is appropriately regulated.
In this seminar Professor Burdekin will consider recent international developments in protecting human rights with reference, in particular, to developments in Australia, Africa, Europe, China, India, Indonesia, Korea, and other Asian countries where he has recently been advising governments, commissions and civil society.
When: Thursday 17 July 2008 at 6:00 to 7:00pm
Where: Room 920, Melbourne Law School
RSVP: Dr Madeline Grey by Tuesday 15 July 2008 by tel 03 8344 1011 or email law-cccs@unimelb.edu.au
The Victoria Law Foundation and the Victorian Bar cordially invite you to the Law Week Oration 2008, to be presented by Chief Justice Murray Gleeson AC, Chief Justice, High Court of Australia.
When: Thursday 31 July 2008 at 4:45pm for 5:00pm
Where:
Supreme Court of Victoria, 210 William Street, Melbourne
RSVP by Thursday 24 July 2008 by email contact@victorialaw.org.au with Oration in the subject line or tel 03 9604 8100.
This is a public lecture with no reserved seating.
the torture team: the responsibility of lawyers for abusive interrogation
Allen Hope Southey Memorial Lecture
Speaker: Professor Philippe Sands QC, Professor of Law, University College London
What happens when lawyers do the bidding of their political masters?
In this lecture, Professor Philippe Sands lays out the story behind the human-rights abuses sanctioned by the most senior lawyers in the Bush Administration and the terrible consequences of their actions. Who were the men and women who constructed the policy and provided the rationale for the one-page memorandum signed by Donald Rumsfeld on 2 December 2002 authorizing interrogation techniques prohibited by the Geneva Conventions and amounting to torture under international law?
Drawn from his book Torture Team, Philippe Sands has traced the origins of the memorandum through interview and investigation, and assesses the possibility that lawyers who are complicit in a policy of abuse may expose themselves to the risk of war crimes investigations.
Philippe Sands, QC, has been Professor of Law at University College London since 2002 and has taught at Boston College School of Law, Cambridge University, New York University Law School, and Melbourne Law School. He is also a practising barrister at Matrix Chambers and has been involved in leading cases before English and international courts, including those concerning Senator Augusto Pinochet and the Guantanamo and Belmarsh detainees. His previous book was the internationally acclaimed Lawless World: Making and Breaking Global Rules (Allen Lane 2005). Torture Team: Deception Cruelty and the Compromise of Law is published by Penguin Australia in June 2008.
When: Thursday 21 August 2008 at 6:00 to 7:15pm
Where: Melbourne Law School
law student mentoring program 2008
Victorian Women Lawyers, in conjunction with the Women Barristers Association, would like to invite female University of Melbourne Law students to participate in the 2008 Law Student Mentoring Program. Further details are available in the flyer for the program. Applications for mentors and students close on 1 July 2008.
the melbourne BCL scholarship at oxford
The Melbourne Law School has a faculty agreement with the Faculty of Law, University of Oxford. Under that agreement, Melbourne and Oxford jointly fund an annual scholarship providing £5,000 for a Melbourne University Law graduate to study for the Bachelor of Civil Law (BCL) at Oxford.
The Bachelor of Civil Law is Oxford’s one-year full-time postgraduate program for those who have an outstanding degree from a common law jurisdiction. Among legal practitioners and academics alike, the BCL is one of the most highly esteemed masters-level qualifications in the common law world.
Eligibility
Applicants must have completed the Melbourne LLB or the Melbourne JD and must also be admitted into the Oxford BCL for 2008/9.
Applications
Applications should include a full curriculum vitae and a short statement (not exceeding two pages) of the reasons for undertaking the Oxford BCL.
Applications should be forwarded no later than 30 June 2008 to:
Anthony Manahan
Manager
Melbourne Law School Student Centre
The University of Melbourne
Tel: 03 8344 6181
Fax: 03 8344 0106
Email: a.manahan@unimelb.edu.au
Further Information
For further information concerning the Scholarship please contact:
Dr Matthew Harding
Lecturer
Melbourne Law School
Tel: 03 8344 1080
Email: m.harding@unimelb.edu.au
For further information concerning the BCL please contact:
Mr Paul Burns
Academic Administrator
Faculty of Law
The University of Oxford
Email: paul.burns@law.ox.ac.uk
Dr Andrew Mitchell and Dr Tania Voon are delighted to announce the 2008-2009 Melbourne Law School teams for the Philip C Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition and the European Law Students’ Association Moot Court Competition on the Law of the World Trade Organization (WTO).
The names and photos of the team members are available here.
730-470 centre for transnational legal studies (ctls)
This is an exciting international study opportunity for later year LLB students. Please refer to the Centre for Transnational Legal Studies subject page for further details and application information.
Applications for Semester 1, 2009 should be submitted to Anthony Manahan, Manager, Melbourne Law School Student Centre by Monday 7 July 2008.
human rights mooting competition
The annual Victorian Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities Act Moot will be held again this year in late August and early September. Each law school in Victoria is entitled to submit two teams of 3 persons each playing the roles of senior counsel, junior counsel and instructing solicitor. Students in both the LLB and JD programs are encouraged to apply for selection and place themselves in the running to receive $3,000 for the winning team and $1,000 for the losing team.
Application forms are available from John Tobin electronically by email and must be submitted in hard copy to John Tobin, Room 941, Melbourne Law School by Friday 8 August 2008. Some prior knowledge of the Victorian Charter is helpful but not essential and applications will be assessed on a range of criteria including prior mooting experience. All general enquiries should be directed to John Tobin via email or phone (03 8344 7679).
The 2008 Voiceless Grants Program is now officially open.
Voiceless works to promote respect and compassion for animals, increase awareness of the conditions in which they live, and take action to protect animals from suffering.
Expressions of interest are due by Friday 27 June 2008.
Voiceless is particularly interested in receiving applications addressing our high priority areas: factory farming, live export; kangaroo culling and other hunting and poisoning activities; animal experimentation; animals in entertainment - zoos, circuses, racing and rodeos; and animals killed for fashion - fur and skins.
Please visit the Voiceless website for all the details concerning eligibility, judging criteria, and how to apply.
For inspiration, take a look at the Project Suggestions.
information session with associate dean (undergraduate)
2008 is a year of transition for the Melbourne Law School and particularly LLB students.
Do you have questions about the LLB, the schedule for final offerings of compulsory subjects, the optional program, new Special Consideration policies, academic misconduct, and the new admission to practice rules or any other matters relating to the LLB?
The Associate Dean (Undergraduate), Associate Professor Maureen Tehan, will be available to answer your questions and discuss any of these and other related issues in the first week of Semester 2.
This is an informal event to enable you to obtain information and discuss any issues of concern for you.
When: Wednesday 30 July 2008 at 1:00pm
Where: Room 102, Melbourne Law School
Please try to come along.
As part of the transition to the new student system, every student’s course plan is being reviewed to ensure that you are on track in terms of completion and in the context of the teach-out.
This exercise will result in the Student Centre knowing exactly what you have done and what you still need to do. In some very rare cases, we may need to contact you to clarify any ambiguities.
Your plans will be finalized and setup in time for re-enrolment for 2009 via the new student system.
stream allocation (alloc8) for semester 2, 2008
Key Dates
| Alloc8 opens for viewing: | Wednesday 16 July 2008 |
| Alloc8 opens for editing: | Thursday 17 July 2008 |
| Alloc8 closes: | 3:30pm on Friday 8 August 2008 |
Allocation of Streams
All compulsory LLB subjects are divided into small groups or ‘streams’ to accommodate the large number of students enrolled.
Alloc8 is timetabling software that will allocate you a stream on the basis of your enrolment, stream capacity and availability. All students enrolled in an LLB or LLB combined degree must use the Alloc8 timetabling system.
How does it work?
Alloc8 does not require you to lodge preferences. The system will provide you with a clash free timetable (unless this is impossible) that you are able to amend if alternatives exist. You will be able to view your Alloc8 timetable from Wednesday 16 July 2008. You may edit your timetable from Thursday 17 July. You can do this from any computer with internet access through the Alloc8 homepage via your Student Portal. If you are unable to log on to the system in the first instance, log out and try again in about 10 minutes.
NOTE: You will need a University of Melbourne PIN to access the Alloc8 system.
What if I change my subjects after Alloc8 has opened?
All subjects in which you are enrolled will appear on the timetable solved on 16 July 2008. Alloc8 will solve a new timetable each time you amend your subject selection after this date. Subjects you do not amend will not necessarily be preserved on your timetable in the time originally allocated.
What do I do if I have problems with my timetable?
If Alloc8 has not solved a timetable for you, contact the Melbourne Law School Student Centre on 03 8344 4475 or in person. An Alloc8 administrator will be able to assist you. If you are unable to change streams and have a genuine need to do so, you may seek assistance from an Alloc8 administrator. Alloc8 administrators are located in Melbourne Law School Student Centre and will be available from 10am to 1pm and 2pm to 4pm, Monday to Friday.
While Alloc8 administrators will assist where they can, it is important to note that work commitments or preference for a particular class will not be considered valid reasons for stream changes.
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.
