Master of Public and International Law

This subject is an introduction to the foundational principles and rules of the public international legal order. It is designed as an introduction to international law and, therefore, provides students with an understanding of the key concepts of international law, its history and contemporary relevance, sources of international law and the role of some key international institutions, such as the United Nations (UN). The subject is grounded in both theory and practice in order to consider how international law works in shaping and dealing with a range of issues such as dispute settlement, jurisdiction and immunities, and the use of force. Contemporary examples will be used to enrich student learning. Students will be encouraged to critically evaluate the position and relevance of international law in international politics and society by addressing past and current developments through case studies. The members of the teaching team are scholars in international law who have developed specific areas of specialisation in international law.

Indicative list of principal topics:

• The nature, purpose and language of international law
• Sources of international law
• International legal personality, statehood and sovereignty
• Jurisdiction of states and jurisdictional immunities
• The responsibility of states for violations of international law
• Peaceful settlement of disputes and the functions of the International Court of Justice
• Regulation of the use of force in international relations (jus ad bellum)

This subject provides an introduction to the basic concepts and norms of the public international legal order. It is designed for those with no (or very limited) background in international law. Students who have completed an undergraduate subject in international law or have some professional experience are advised to consider other international law offerings.

Important information about this Subject

This subject is a pre-requisite for many other international law subjects in the Melbourne Law Masters. We recommend part-time students enrol in this subject when they first start their program of study. For full-time students, Principles of International Law (LAWS90295) is the alternative five-day intensive offering.

All students enrolled in the following internationally focussed courses are strongly recommended to take either LAWS90295 Principles of International Law or LAWS70173 International Law (if you don't already have prior professional or educational background in public international law):

• Master of Environmental Law
• Master of Human Rights Law;
• Master of Law and Development;
• Master of Public and International Law;
• Graduate Diploma in Environmental Law
• Graduate Diploma in Human Rights Law
• Graduate Diploma in Environmental Law
• Graduate Diploma in International Law.

More information on course planning in the Melbourne Law Masters.

View detailed information in the Handbook

This subject canvasses a wide range of the most challenging current questions in comparative constitutional law. It does so from a global perspective, which appreciates the diversity of constitutional arrangements across the world while acknowledging their interconnections and their many shared problems. The issues on which the subject focusses in 2025 range across questions of method to problems of substance and will be explored both conceptually and empirically. Each seminar is led by a comparative scholar affiliated with Melbourne Law School, drawing on the resources of one of the leading comparative constitutional law centres in the world.

Indicative list of principal topics:

• The challenges of constitutional comparison
• Democracy and its discontents
• Legal and constitutional pluralism
• Comparative Indigenous constitutionalism
• Interpreting Constitutions
• Constitutional cultures
• Federalism in the Global South
• Constitutional amendment and change
• Fourth branch institutions
• Political parties
• Knowledge institutions
• Constitutions and climate change
• International leverage and national constitutions

The subject coordinators will ensure interlinkages between seminars and will draw the subject together in a final seminar on future directions. The subject should be of considerable interest to Australian and international students from all regions of the world.

View detailed information in the Handbook

From one of the earliest concerns of political philosophy to the subject of a treaty ratified by almost every country in the world, corruption has played a fascinating role in human affairs. Corruption’s importance as a matter of law and policy has grown in recent decades, thanks to increasing awareness of its devastating effects on development efforts, human rights, democracies, economies, and environmental protection efforts. Responding to that growing importance, this subject provides an overview of domestic, regional, and global approaches to corruption.

Although this seminar provides an overview of many aspects of anti-corruption law and policy, it covers issues of political corruption in greater depth, such as bribery of public officials, campaign and party financing, lobbying, and conflicts of interest. It also covers in greater depth several current issues in Australian anti-corruption law—including the ideal role of the recently-established National Anti-Corruption Commission—and several “global pressure points”—including the effects of corruption on climate change mitigation efforts.

The domestic approaches examined in this subject include those undertaken by Australia, New Zealand, and the United States, as well as several Latin American and Asian countries. The regional approaches targeted include those sponsored by the Organization of American States, the Asian Development Bank, Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, Council of Europe, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, and the World Bank. Finally, at the global level, this seminar covers the United Nations Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC).

Entering into force in 2005 and obtaining 191 States Parties by August 2024, UNCAC has brought about a comprehensive, global approach to corruption. This subject explores the five pillars of that approach—international cooperation, preventative measures, criminalisation and law enforcement measures, asset recovery, and technical assistance and information exchange—and their relationship with domestic and regional initiatives. A major question at this stage will be UNCAC’s ability (or potential) to improve those pre-existing initiatives.

At each of its three levels of legal inquiry (domestic, regional, and global), this seminar examines questions of substantive law (what conduct is targeted), procedure (how are suspected violations of the law exposed and addressed), institutions (how is each legal framework administered and modified), and effectiveness. This subject addresses not only the merits of anti-corruption law, but the criticisms and dangers of it as well.

Although this subject relies primarily on legal analysis, it also applies perspectives and findings from the fields of economics, history, and political science. That interdisciplinarity enables the consideration of the broader questions that inform anti-corruption law. Those questions include: How are definitions and patterns of corruption changing over time? What effects does corruption have on development, businesses, local economies, and global capitalism? What effects does it have on human rights, democratisation, elections, and lawmaking? What lessons have been learned about the effectiveness of different legal approaches to corruption? How could domestic, regional, and international anti-corruption initiatives be improved?

indicative list of principal topics:

• What is corruption? How is corruption defined by different legal regimes?
• How does corruption manifest in distinct environments, including campaign and party finance, elections, lawmaking, law enforcement, government procurement, business, international development and climate change mitigation efforts, and banking and finance? What are corruption’s economic, political, and social effects?
• What are the regulatory challenges involved in preventing, exposing, and punishing corruption in its distinct environments? To what extent have domestic, regional, and international legal regimes been successful in meeting those challenges?
• How could those laws and institutions be improved? In particular, what are the main successes and shortcomings of the UN system for preventing and combating corruption? What are its prospects for improvement?
• What are the different roles that lawyers play in addressing corruption? What skill sets do they employ?

View detailed information in the Handbook

This subject focuses on the effectiveness of legislation. Legislation plays a fundamental, and ever more significant, role in our legal systems. Many lawyers and policy analysts advise on proposals for legislative change. But this is often done without explicit frameworks for assessing the effectiveness of legislation, the ways in which legislation has failed or risks failing, and strategies and design options for reducing the risk of failure.

This course explores what it means for legislation to be effective. It takes as its starting point the critical analysis of failed laws, identifying common process errors and design flaws that contribute to such failures. It explores some common criticisms of legislation: that it is too uncertain, too prescriptive, too inflexible, too complex. It moves on to explore law reform strategies and legislative design options that can reduce the risk of failure, and the institutional prerequisites for those design options to be effective. Particular attention is paid to the challenges of designing legislation in the context of imperfect information and a changing environment, including the implications of technological change and the opportunities and challenges of automated decision-making, including use of algorithms and AI.

The subject will be of considerable interest to Australian and international students with an interest in the law reform and policy process. It is especially well suited to students with practical experience in these fields.

Indicative list of principal topics:

• What it means for legislation to be effective,
• Approaches to assessing the effectiveness of legislation,
• Analysing the nature and causes of legislative failure,
• Understanding interdependencies between legislation and the institutions that apply it,
• Strategies for enhancing the effectiveness of legislation,
• Complex legislation: causes of complexity and design options for reducing complexity,
• Designing legislation for an uncertain and changing world.

View detailed information in the Handbook

The executive is the branch of the constitutional order we associate with ‘the government’, as well as the branch whose conduct we primarily have in mind when we speak of the demands of ‘the rule of law’. The executive is also the most fluid and elusive branch of the constitutional order, in the sense that determining who or what is ‘the executive’ presents conceptual as well as practical puzzles. Executive branch actors and activities in Australia today, for example, feature a complex mix of logics and institutions inherited from the twentieth century ‘welfare state’ and ‘neoliberal’ and ‘managerial’ tools and commitments that have gained dominance since.

The aim of this subject is to bring these puzzles into focus by examining different conceptual, legal and practical expressions of the contemporary executive branch, in theory and practice. We begin by interrogating the location and role of executive branch actors and activities within the constitutional order and their relation to law and the ideal of ‘the rule of law’. We then examine the key ideas, objectives, features, operational logics and institutional structures typically associated with nine different expressions of the executive branch: bureaucracy, provider of social welfare, administrative decision-maker, algorithm, market facilitator, manager, contractual party, regulator, and lawmaker. Insights taken from these studies are then brought to an investigation of two Australian case studies to provoke reflection on the implications of the legal, conceptual and practical complexity of contemporary executive branch actors and activities for relationships between people and their governments and commitment to the ideal of ‘the rule of law’.

Indicative list of principal topics: ·

• Introducing ‘the executive branch’
• The executive branch and ‘the rule of law’
• The executive as bureaucracy
• The executive as provider of social welfare
• The executive as administrative decision-make
• The executive as algorithm
• The executive as market facilitator
• The executive as manager
• The executive as contractual part
• The executive as regulator
• The executive as lawmaker
• Case study #1 (eg, outsourced prison management
• Case study #2 (eg, social housing reform and regulation)

View detailed information in the Handbook

This subject canvasses a series of cutting-edge issues in public law at an advanced level that requires deep analysis and critical thinking. While its primary focus is public law in Australia, many of the issues are relevant in common law systems elsewhere and comparative experiences are used to throw light on Australian law and practice. The issues range widely across constitutional and administrative law. Each seminar is led by one of Melbourne Law School’s leading experts in the field.

Indicative list of principal topics:

• Judicial and merits review
• Non-statutory executive power
• Parameters of responsible government in Australia
• Treaties and agreements with Indigenous peoples
• Judicial power and punitive measures
• Citizenship
• Resource and environmental management in the Australian federation
• Political communication in a digital era
• Statutory bills of rights
• Climate change litigation
• Constitutional concepts of property
• External dimensions of the Australian Constitution
• ‘Fourth branch’ institutions.

The subject coordinators will ensure interlinkages between seminars and will draw the subject together in a final seminar on future directions. The subject should be of considerable interest to Australian students, to international students from common law countries and to all students curious about the latest developments in public law from a common law perspective.

View detailed information in the Handbook

Following a five year inquiry and the 2017 release of the report of the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses into Child Sexual Abuse after, the issue of child sexual abuse in institutional settings gained extensive attention from the public, political representatives and legal commentators. The inquiry contributed to new understandings of the incidence and extent of physical, sexual, psychological and emotional abuse in a range of institutional settings, including schools, hospitals, churches, sporting organisations, foster homes and other accommodation services. The debate on how the law may best respond to the abuse continues, with judicial attention to the now current law, and some political attention to law reform. There are many challenging issues associated with the legal redress of child abuse, including time limits for claims, liability for the criminal acts of others, the onus of proof, and the appropriate compensation regime.

This subject examines the relevant tort law in Australia and the challenges of its application to abuse situations, recent and proposed tort law reforms, and Australian ‘Redress Scheme’.

Bill Madden is a lawyer specialising in injury compensation including intentional torts and the overlays provided by statutory reform and statutory schemes. He is a regular writer and presenter on tort law topics.

Indicative list of principal topics:

• Findings of the Royal Commission
• Liability of perpetrators
• Direct liability of organisations
• Vicarious liability
• Non-Delegable duty
• Damages
• Limitation laws
• Applications to stay proceedings
• Setting aside earlier settlements
• Statutory reforms
• The Redress scheme
• Challenges

Note: This subject includes reference to material which some participants may find confronting or difficult at a personal level. Students may have differing views on some of these topics, but they do form part of the subject and may be discussed in class. Universities are neutral places for objective study and rational discussions. Any discussions on such topics in class must be respectful of differing views. The University of Melbourne Counselling and Psychological Services (CAPS) provides free, confidential, short-term professional counselling to currently enrolled students and staff, as well as a range of workshops, mental health training, and helpful resources.

View detailed information in the Handbook

This topical subject deals with the interface between private law and public law in common law systems from the perspectives of history, doctrine, theory and practice. It will explore the traditional absence of such a division in the common law, and the reasons for this, as a basis for understanding the relevance of the distinction in the contemporary legal system. The subject will critically assess the distinction from a theoretical perspective, testing whether the idea of a distinction between public law and private law can withstand scrutiny. A range of cutting-edge doctrinal issues will be examined and placed in wider context. These include whether public law principles should extend to the activities of non-governmental entities such as private firms and charities; whether the law should recognise a special set of rules to regulate public contracts; whether public authorities should be governed by the ordinary law of tort or a set of special administrative liability principles; procedural divisions between public law and private law; the role of the public interest in private remedies and of private remedies in public law cases; and whether public law issues should be heard by specialist administrative courts. The subject should be of interest to lawyers working in any field in a common law legal system and to those trained in the different traditions of the civil law who are interested in better understanding the structures and assumptions of the common law.

Indicative list of principal topics:

• History of the concept of public law in common law legal systems
• Concepts of public and private
• Implications of a distinction between public law and private law
• Overview of current practice
• Law applicable to non-governmental entities
• Legal framework for public contracts
• Liability of public authorities
• Remedies
• Specialist or generalist courts.

View detailed information in the Handbook

Royal commissions and other forms of public inquiries are used by all governments. Inquiries such as the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sex Abuse, the Hayne Banking Royal Commission and the Covid-19 Hotel Quarantine Inquiry are a frequent response by government to a major issue or event. Most Australian governments also have standing bodies with inquisitorial powers. The Federal Government has a variety of standing commissions, such as the Australian Crime Commission and the National Anti-Corruption Commission. Nearly every state now has a corruption commission, and several have crime commissions and police integrity bodies, all with coercive investigative powers. Coronial inquests occur in every state and territory. Lawyers advising clients affected by these inquiries require a detailed knowledge of their procedural rules, administrative and constitutional law, procedural fairness, common law privileges and other rights.

This subject is designed to equip students to deal with such inquiries at any level, whether in government departments, the private bars, working as solicitors or in corporate law offices, or as legal advisers to corporations.

Indicative list of principal topics:

• Introduction to public inquiries
• Appointment and composition
• Supply of information
• Power to compel
• Limits on the power to compel, including public interest immunity, privilege against self-incrimination and privileges of parliament
• Application of administrative law, including procedural fairness and judicial review
• The role of counsel assisting
• Legal representation and assistance
• Contempt
• Reopening of completed inquiries.

View detailed information in the Handbook

In the first half of the 20th century most civil actions were for causes of action not much affected by statute: trespass, negligence, libel and slander, breach of contract and the various forms of equitable suit. Most criminal prosecutions were for offences created by statute but whose elements were treated as identified largely by judge-made law. There were great codifying acts; intellectual property acts, facultative acts, and regulatory statutes, but judge-made law was of central and dominating importance. The second half of the 20th century saw many changes. Statute became the central and dominating form of regulation of rights and obligations. The proper construction and application of statutes always has been, but now more than ever is, an essential legal skill. This subject seeks to develop and refine those skills by seeking to have students consider basic questions about legal thought and legal reasoning and then apply those lessons to the tasks of construction and application.

Indicative list of principal topics:

• Legal thought and legal reasoning – Framing the right question, assembling and stating relevant arguments and reaching a concluded view
• Construction—a text-based activity but involving more than a dictionary in one hand and the text in the other
• The importance of the constitutional framework and other basic assumptions
• The search for meaning and the metaphor of intention
• The place of Interpretation legislation, including rights Acts
• The canons of construction, their use and abuse ('canons to the right of them; canons to the left of them; on into the valley of death')
• Ambiguity and its resolution, including the use of extrinsic materials
• Inconsistencies, repeals, amendment, consolidation and retrospectivity
• The legislative misfire
• Special rules for special areas
• Rules and regulations—power to make, construction and use in construing the legislation
• Overarching theories and descriptions of the construction process.

View detailed information in the Handbook

Corporations appear in an increasing number of international legal domains, from trade and investment to development, human rights and environmental law. In each of these domains, international law seeks to facilitate corporate activity or hold corporations accountable for their actions. The subject seeks to offer students the historical and theoretical foundations to understand and critically analyse the engagement between international law and the corporation.

Students will be introduced to competing theoretical accounts of the corporation and guided in developing an understanding of the way different conceptions of the corporation shape the development of international law, and the prospects for holding corporations accountable. Students will also gain a broad understanding of how different domains of international law treat and understand the corporation.

This subject will also offer a foundation in the history of international law and corporations, from the historical involvement of corporations in imperialism to the way corporations continue to be implicated in drivers of social and economic inequality both within and between nations today. Students will be given the tools to identify how corporations have sought to influence international law, and how international law – and states – have sought to engage with the corporation.

Indicative list of principal topics:

• The history of the relationship between companies and States.

• Conceptions of the Corporation.

• Corporations and Development.

• Corporations and international legal regimes, such as Trade, Investment, Human Rights and Environment.

• Corporate Influence in international institutions.

• Business Associations as International Actors.

View detailed information in the Handbook

Today, international law and its institutions are being called upon to respond to and redress multiple, intersecting global crises, including climate change and its manifold consequences; global instability and conflict, including amongst nuclear powers; ‘trade wars’; rising inequality between and within states; and new technologies, including Artificial Intelligence.

Understanding these developments requires knowledge in and across various distinct domains of international law, including the peaceful settlement of disputes; international environmental law, the use of force and the laws of war; international economic law; law and development; international migration law; and global health law.

This subject considers these crises, and their mutual imbrications, examining the role of international law in addressing them by drawing on these distinct but related subject legal domains. It aims to think across these crises and domains to identify points of contact, co-constitution and rupture, and to consider both the potential and limitations of international law.

At the same time, international law remains deeply implicated in the very social problems and transformations that imperil humankind and the planet – and that threaten to make this century its last. As a mode of thought and governance, ‘crisis’ is not new to international law. As Judge Hilary Charlesworth famously observed, international law is a ‘discipline of crisis’: throughout its history ‘crises’ have both empowered and shaped and the field - giving it purpose, while also limiting its imagination and capacity for reflexivity.

This subject critically examines the historical and theoretical role that global crises – real and imagined – have played in the formation, development and functioning of international law.

Indicative list of principal topics:

• Global Crises and International Law: A history
• Thinking through crises
• Climate change and ‘just transition’
• Global Conflict
• The new New International Economic Order
• Migration and/as Decolonisation
• Pandemics
• Technological transformation
• The Geographies of ‘crises’: for whom, where?

View detailed information in the Handbook

This highly topical subject analyses the rights of Indigenous peoples in Australia, Canada, the United States and New Zealand. Topics are discussed within a framework of encounter and include land and resource rights; doctrine of discovery; Aboriginal title; human rights; treaties; role of cultural institutions in state narratives; and constitutional freedoms. The subject is taught from a critical perspective, comparing and assessing law’s responses to and attempted control of Indigenous peoples in a global context.

Indicative list of principal topics:

• History of the concept of Aboriginal title and the doctrine of discovery
• Concepts of sui generis agreement-making between Indigenous peoples and governments
• Encounters between governments, public cultural institutions, and Indigenous peoples
• Implications of government constitutional obligations and Indigenous rights
• Overview of current practices
• Human rights and their influence on Indigenous rights

View detailed information in the Handbook

Historical experience demonstrates that, without justice, it is exceedingly difficult to establish an inclusive and lasting peace. And yet, while States pay significant lip service to the importance of accountability, all too often it is the victim of - or is otherwise shaped by - real politik. For this reason, an expert international criminal lawyer must be a master of both law and politics.

With this in mind, this subject will explore why, how and when individuals can be held individually criminally responsible for serious international crimes by the International Criminal Court (ICC), other international mechanisms, and national jurisdictions. In addition to considering the substantive rules of international criminal law, students will explore a range of legal policy issues relating to the prosecution of serious international crimes, and critiques of the international criminal justice project, including through case studies on Afghanistan, Palestine, the Rohingya, ISIS and the crime of aggression. Drawing on the lecturer’s experience in relation to the practice of international criminal law, and the insights of other senior practitioners, the subject is focused throughout on contemporary issues of international criminal law that are of real relevance to practitioners and scholars alike.

Indicative list of principal topics:

• The nature of law, war and crime, and the relationship between peace and justice;
• The development of international criminal law, including the contribution of the ad hoc international and mixed criminal tribunals;
• The Rome Statute crimes (genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity and the crime of aggression) and their relationship to customary international law;
• The modes of individual criminal responsibility and the defences recognised by international criminal law;
• The ICC’s personal and temporal jurisdiction;
• The proceedings and practice of the ICC;
• The stakeholders of international criminal law (including victims, witnesses and defendants);
• The role of new ad hoc criminal mechanisms (such as the International, Impartial and Independent Mechanism for Syria); and
• The prosecution of international crimes in national jurisdictions, including on the basis of universal jurisdiction.

View detailed information in the Handbook

The implementation of the legal rules governing the conduct of military hostilities is literally a matter of life and death. This subject briefly introduces the historical development of international humanitarian law and raises a series of questions around the effective implementation of the law.

• What is an armed conflict and how do we determine the legal character of a conflict?
• How do combatants distinguish between civilians and enemy combatants and how can protection for civilians in armed conflict—particularly women and children—be improved?
• Who can lawfully be targeted and killed and who can be detained?
• Which weapons are prohibited and which are permitted?

Indicative list of principal topics:

• The historical development of international humanitarian law and its rationale in a broader context
• The Geneva Conventions of 1949 and the Additional Protocols of 1977 and developments in customary international law
• The unique role of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in armed conflict
• The relationship of international humanitarian law to other related areas of international law, such as arms control and disarmament, human rights, peacekeeping and international criminal law
• Implementation of the law through case studies
• Current issues for development of the law, such as the application of human rights law, the law of occupation and emerging technologies.

View detailed information in the Handbook

The concept of development has been crucial to structuring international legal relations from the end of World War II to the present day. During that time, international law and institutions have taken on ‘development’ as a primary project. In both the public and economic domains, the vast majority of international institutions engage with the development project in some shape or form.

This subject invites students to think about the nature and importance of development and its relation to international law. The history of development in relation to imperialism, decolonisation, the Cold War and globalisation means that this set of relations is complex and dynamic. Understanding it is crucial to understanding the place of international law, and the work development does in the contemporary world.

Indicative list of principal topics:

• Law and development as a field
• The ‘development’ concept and its precursors
• The relationship between the concepts of ‘law’ and ‘development’
• The institutionalisation of development
• Development, imperialism, decolonisation and the nation state
• Permanent sovereignty over natural resources and the new international economic order
• Debt crises and development(s) at the Bretton Wood institutions
• Trade and development
• Globalisation, governance and the rule of law
• Sustainability, democracy and human rights
• Resistance, alternatives and post-development.

This subject provides a conceptual, historical and theoretical frame for students undertaking Master of Law and Development in which to situate and critically assess learning in other subjects. For students in other courses, this subject will help you understand the importance of the concept of development to our understandings of international law and appreciate development’s central role in the construction and maintenance of contemporary global orderings.

View detailed information in the Handbook

This subject will examine the ways in which geopolitical concepts and arguments relate to various fields of international law, and the way in which they are given expression in legal doctrines, principles and practice. Together we will explore the way in which geopolitical contests, such as those associated with the Cold War, have led to the formation of ‘international frontiers’ in both geographical and disciplinary terms. We will explore examples of these contests, and examine their effects on international legal doctrines (such as the use of force, intervention, sovereignty and statehood), and on the formation of new legal regimes (such as the deep sea bed, and the law of outer space).

The purpose of this subject is to offer a contextual reading of the role of international law in both resisting and giving expression to the geopolitical dimensions of the long history of contestation over material and spiritual values in the world today.

Indicative list of principal topics:

• An introduction to the ‘science’ of geopolitics and its relationship to international law.

• An analysis of the relationship between geopolitical frontiers and national borders, and their constitution in international law

• A study of the emergence and effects of such geopolitical frontiers in the following fields of international law:

  • Statehood and self-determination (especially ‘divided’ states)
  • Borders and frontiers (including land and maritime borders, armistice lines and spheres of influence)
  • The use of force, intervention and regional security
  • The Law of the Sea and the regime of the deep sea bed
  • The Law of Outer Space

• An examination of various ‘case studies’ such as the status of Taiwan and North Korea, the conflict in Ukraine, contestation over the South China Seas, and current proposals for the exploitation of the resources of the deep sea bed and outer space

View detailed information in the Handbook

This subject will place international law in the context of the practice of international relations and, in particular, international diplomacy. The subject will introduce students to leading accounts of international law’s role in global political life while showing, too, how the international legal order intersects with - and provides a normative architecture for – the practice of international diplomacy. The course will be taught by Gerry Simpson, Chair of International Law at the London School of Economics, and Richard Rowe, former senior officer of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and currently an Honorary Professor in the ANU College of Law, Governance and Policy.

Indicative principal topics include:

• International courts and organisations
• The politics of international law
• The “liberal rules-based order”
• The role of Legal Advice and Advisors in the practice of international diplomacy
• The history of international law in diplomatic practice
• Treaty design, negotiation and implementation
• Techniques of diplomacy and law
• Friendship and diplomacy.

View detailed information in the Handbook

The questions that arise from the use of force are amongst the most controversial both in international law and international relations. Different states, civil society and international lawyers have held over time diverse opinions about the legality and the legitimacy of events such as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the bombing of Iraq and Syria (by the US, UK, France, Australia and others) in the war against the ‘Islamic State’ and affiliates, the use of drone strikes globally in the ‘War on Terror’ since 2001, the exercise of the 'responsibility to protect’ by the ‘international community’ in Libya in 2011 and the 2003 invasion of Iraq, as well as debates over the possibility of a 'pre-emptive strike’ against North Korea or Iran. The question of what amounts to ‘force’ has also been contested by States since at least 1945, and the emergence of new technologies of warfare have reinvigorated these debates. Finally, the question of what to do about the unlawful use of force (including criminal and economic sanctions) has been the focus of renewed attention since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and annexation of Crimea.

This subject provides a doctrinal, theoretical, and historical account of the relationship between international law and war that is centered on a wide range of case studies. On the one hand, we will focus on major contemporary debates about the legal regime established since the promulgation of the UN Charter in 1945. We will examine the specific arguments states and international organisations (such as the UN, NATO, the European Union or the African Union) have used in order to justify the resort to force, and the responses of states, international organisations, courts and other groups (especially those at the receiving end of this violence) to these justifications. For example, this subject will consider questions such as the legality of 'humanitarian intervention’, the possibility of lawfully launching 'pre-emptive strikes’ against a perceived threat, whether a state can invoke its right to self-defence against non-state actors, the use of nuclear weapons, targeted killing and the authority of the UN Security Council to authorise violence. On the other hand, this subject invites students to think contextually, historically and critically about these debates. We will discuss both earlier legal regimes pertaining to war (for example, that of the League of Nations) as well as arguments about the radical transformation of the relevant law since the turn of the century and the ‘War on Terror’. We will also ask broader questions about the ways in which legitimate violence is allocated between different actors by international law and how this allocation shapes international and domestic politics.

Indicative list of principal topics:

• Historical approaches to the legal regulation of the use of force (including the relationship between the jus ad bellum and the jus in bello)
• The concept of 'force’ and exclusion from legal regulation of economic or political coercion
• Scope of the general prohibition on the use of military force in Article 2(4) of the UN Charter
• UN Charter framework for collective security and resort to force
• Scope of the right of self-defence, including anticipatory or collective self-defence
• Right to rescue nationals in foreign territory and right of humanitarian intervention
• Case studies on legality of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the NATO bombing in Kosovo, Coalition of the Willing intervention in Iraq and the global ‘War on Terror’.
• The development and prosecution of the crime of aggression

View detailed information in the Handbook

International Legal Internship allows students to gain credit for undertaking advanced legal research and analysis on an approved international internship of at least five weeks of full-time work in an approved international institution or organisation. This subject is focused on providing students with an opportunity to engage with legal and policy issues in contemporary society through work experience and further develop oral and written communication skills. Students are required to secure and fund their internships personally.

Students are encouraged to discuss their internship proposals with the subject coordinators. Students who successfully enrol in International Legal Internship must arrange a meeting with at least one of the subject coordinators both prior to their internship and upon completion, to develop a better understanding of research and the role of international institutions in international law and relations.

Important information about enrolling

This subject is not available for self-enrolment but is an application-based enrichment subject, which means prospective students must apply to enrol.

More information about the application process can be found on the MLM International Legal Internship webpage.

View detailed information in the Handbook

The law of the sea relates to the allocation of jurisdiction and peaceful uses of the seas and oceans, the equitable and efficient utilisation of marine resources, and the study, protection and preservation of the marine environment. Historically concerned with the ‘freedom of the seas’ for sovereign states, the law of the sea must also address contemporary and emerging challenges such as climate change, marine species preservation, pollution, overlapping territorial claims and national security. The overarching legal regime of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) is supplemented by specific agreements as well as market techniques and supply chain oversight. This subject provides an overview and critique of the established and newly forming international regimes – and their interaction – and is informed by an institutional approach that acknowledges the influence of dispute settlement systems, non-state participation and transnational and administrative practices. The lecturers have published widely on fisheries law, trade law, the law of the sea and on the interaction between international legal regimes.

Indicative list of principal topics:

• The Law of the Sea Convention and associated instruments, including the Fish Stocks Agreement
• Divisions of jurisdiction within the Law of the Sea, including key notions of the territorial sea, exclusive economic zones (EEZ), areas beyond national jurisdiction (high seas) and the sea-bed area
• Regime of straits
• The International Maritime Organization and regulation of global shipping.
• Critical marine infrastructure (cables and pipelines).
• The Agreement on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Biodiversity in Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ Agreement).
• Seabed mining in the AREA and related issues.
• Climate Change and the Ocean.
• The Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) and other multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs).
• Marine pollution, including microplastics.
• Relevant dispute settlement bodies, including the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS), arbitral bodies and the WTO.
• Advisory Opinions addressing law of the sea, including whaling.

Other topics may include:

• Marine protected areas, including efforts to create a new legally binding international agreement on Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ)
• Freedoms of the seas in contested areas of jurisdiction (such as Sea Shepherd and Greenpeace’s Arctic Sunrise)
• Overlapping maritime claims such as the ruling on the South China Seas issued by an arbitral tribunal based at the Permanent Court of Arbitration
• The role of indigenous rights, subsistence and artisanal practices
• Selected regional approaches to fisheries management
• The influence of legal approaches to climate change, especially with respect to low-lying island coastal states.

View detailed information in the Handbook

This subject is an introduction to the foundational principles and rules of the public international legal order. It is designed to provide students with an understanding of the key concepts of international law, its history and contemporary relevance, sources of international law and the role of some key international institutions, such as the United Nations (UN). The subject is grounded in both theory and practice in order to consider how international law works in shaping and dealing with a range of global issues, including the creation, recognition and sovereignty of states, self-determination of peoples and the use of force in international relations.

Using contemporary examples and case studies which address recent and current developments, students will critically evaluate the position and relevance of international law in international politics and society.

The teaching integrates both content and skills in advanced legal research and writing. We will purposefully introduce students to the practices and protocols of advanced study in international law, as well as to the specialised knowledge and skills required of studying at postgraduate level in the Melbourne Law Masters.

Indicative list of principal topics:

• The nature, purpose and language of international law;
• Sources of international law;
• International legal personality, statehood and sovereignty;
• Jurisdiction of states and jurisdictional immunities;
• The responsibility of states for violations of international law;
• Peaceful settlement of disputes and the functions of the International Court of Justice; and
• Regulation of the use of force in international relations (jus ad bellum).

Important information about this Subject

This subject is a pre-requisite for many other international law subjects in the Melbourne Law Masters. We recommend full-time students enrol in this subject when they first start their program of study. For part-time students, International Law (LAWS70173) is the alternative five-day intensive offering.

All students enrolled in the following internationally focussed courses are strongly recommended to take either LAWS90295 Principles of International Law or LAWS70173 International Law (if you don't already have prior professional or educational background in public international law):

• Master of Environmental Law
• Master of Human Rights Law;
• Master of Law and Development;
• Master of Public and International Law;
• Graduate Diploma in Environmental Law
• Graduate Diploma in Human Rights Law
• Graduate Diploma in Environmental Law
• Graduate Diploma in International Law.

More information on course planning in the Melbourne Law Masters.

View detailed information in the Handbook

The United Nations (UN) is probably the boldest experiment in international relations in the modern era. It is a body of critical importance in the international political and legal arena, particularly with respect to its primary purposes of maintaining international peace and security; maintaining friendly relations among nations; facilitating international cooperation and providing a centre for harmonising the actions of nations in achieving these common ends.

This subject aims to give students an understanding of the UN's role, structure and operation, from both a legal and a practical standpoint. To this end, the subject will examine the law and operation of the UN with reference to relevant case studies. These case studies will be used as examples to illustrate the successes and failures of the UN since its inception, and as a basis for examining the challenges that the UN may face in the future.

indicative list of principal topics:

• The history and evolution of the UN
• The structure of the UN
• The law and practice of the General Assembly and Security Council
• The role of the UN Secretary-General
• The role of the UN in maintaining international peace and security

View detailed information in the Handbook

The emergence of Asia as an economic powerhouse is driving enormous interest in doing business in the region. This subject provides students with an opportunity to examine commercial law in an Asian context. Although parallels can be drawn between Asian jurisdictions in terms of their economic and legal development, their commercial law systems are too diverse to be treated uniformly. Instead, the principal objective of this course is to provide a focused analysis of selected legal and practical issues from comparative and economic perspectives.

In order to facilitate comparative analysis both across and within the common law and civil law traditions, this subject will focus on commercial law in the four jurisdictions of China, Hong Kong, Singapore and Taiwan. Basic economic principles will be introduced and utilised to evaluate the efficacy of the respective legal rules. Covered topics will include contract, business associations, corporate finance, and taxation. The subject will be of interest to those interested in doing business in Asia.

Indicative list of principal topics:

• contract
• business associations (including corporate governance)
• corporate finance
• taxation

View detailed information in the Handbook

Historically a computer was “programmed” by a human utilising a precise set of instructions. Within this paradigm the computer was able to “process” information “fed” to it and produce a particular output based on such programming and information.

The human input was clear and transparent. As artificial intelligence (AI) has evolved in concert with the internet, cloud computing, big data gathering, data storage and data processing capabilities and the ubiquitous uptake of interactive smartphones and other “smart” devices, the relationship between the computer and direct and immediate human stewardship or control of outputs has become less readily identifiable. In turn this has given rise to significant legal issues.

There are substantial legal implications of AI which require ongoing, flexible and informed responses from lawyers and legal policy makers. This subject seeks to inform practicing lawyers, legal policy makers and non-lawyers in respect of those issues and how they might be dealt with.

Indicative list of principal topics:

• Introduction to AI. What is AI? Where is AI headed?
• The legal issues raised by AI
• The ethical issues raised by AI and particular applications of AI
• Overview of current AI legal reviews underway in the USA, EU and UK and Australia’s response to these reviews
• Intellectual property issues raised by AI
• Criminal liability in respect of AI
• Civil legal liability – examination of who is (or should be) responsible/liable for AI caused loss and harm.
• Mandatory insurance schemes for loss or damage caused by autonomous robots or AI
• The legal regimes governing use of AI in security, law enforcement and military contexts
• Privacy and confidentiality implications of AI

View detailed information in the Handbook

Whilst the High Court has recognised and applied an implied constitutional guarantee of freedom of governmental and political communication, speech on matters of public interest in Australia remains subject to a wide range of legal limitations, many of which would be struck down as unconstitutional in other common law jurisdictions. This subject explores the limitations on free speech that arise as a result of proceedings and processes initiated by arms of the state and prosecutorial authorities: legislative, executive and judicial, and from censorship of sexually-explicit material to restrictions applying to the advocacy of terrorism. Those restrictions profoundly affect the material that may be published by the media. It is the impact of the current restrictions on free speech on both the media and on non-media elements of civil society that are the focus of this subject. Taken individually and collectively, these regimes limit the access of Australians to speech that matters.

This subject provides an examination of Australian law affecting the media’s ability to report the courts, the executive and parliament.

View detailed information in the Handbook

This subject examines legal aspects of entertainment, an industry that has become largely internationalised. Technology now allows even local performers and distributors to reach audiences around the world, raising important issues and questions about which law applies in which jurisdictions. While some of these legal issues can be addressed in advance through agreements, doing so requires lawyers to have a firm grasp of the legal options available across multiple legal systems.

Consider the performer Rosé, born in New Zealand and raised in Australia. She is a member of the globally active K-Pop group Blackpink based in South Korea. As a group member and a solo artist, she operates across a range of legal environments and activities. Her legal team, and the lawyers for those with whom she works, must navigate complex international choice-of-law questions.

This subject pays particular attention to the United States, given its significant influence on global entertainment practices, while also examining questions of law in Australia and other jurisdictions. Case studies and examples are drawn from the fields of music, book publishing, visual and performing arts, and the various digital and physical media through which artistic content is distributed.

A central theme will be the relationship between artistry and industry – how creative expression is supported, shaped, and constrained by commercial imperatives. Entertainment lawyers typically represent either the artists or the business interests behind their work. The two sides’ short-term goals may differ, but they share the ultimate goal of bringing creative works to audiences while generating enough revenue to sustain the process.

Indicative list of principal topics:

• Distinction between the artistic entity (example: a band) and the legal entity (example: a partnership)
• Stakeholders inside and outside the industry, including fans
• Intellectual property and misappropriations: copyright and neighboring rights, moral rights, trademark rights, publicity rights, passing off, trade secret protection, and unfair competition
• Contracting in the entertainment industry such as licensing, joint ventures, publishing, concert touring, and character merchandising
• Technological developments, especially those involving digitalization and online platforms
• Jurisdictional questions and choice-of-law issues
• Privacy and publicity: what’s the difference? Do all countries treat them the same?

View detailed information in the Handbook

Information technology is critical to almost all modern organisations and processes. The development, acquisition and use of such technology raises a myriad of complex legal issues extending beyond conventional contractual issues and includes ownership rights, rights of use and risk management. This subject explores those issues with a particular emphasis on contracting and intellectual property issues associated with the development and sourcing of information technology products and services. Both lecturers are information technology lawyers who have had extensive practical experience acting for both providers and purchasers of such products and services.

Indicative list of principal topics:

• Overview of information technology and the Australian information technology development industry
• Alternate dispute resolution of information technology disputes
• Roles and relationships of the various parties to information technology agreements
• Copyright protection afforded to technology products and services, including online products and services
• Open source licensing arrangements
• Patent protection afforded to information technology products and services
• Employees and contractor rights and obligations in the context of the creation and development of information technology
• Software creation, development and exploitation
• Cloud services: risks and liability
• Database and content management issues
• Privacy issues associated with the development and use of information technology goods and services
• Risk allocation and management of information technology contracts (including insurance and escrow arrangements).

View detailed information in the Handbook

The internet has given rise to new modes of communication. Services such as Netflix, Facebook and Google pose significant challenges for traditional models of communications regulation. At present, traditional media are arguably among the most heavily regulated sectors of the Australian economy, yet new media services go largely unregulated. This subject examines the conflict between traditional regulation of old and new media. Australia’s current regulatory arrangements arose in the 1990s and reflect the structure of the electronic communications industries at that time – focusing on the separate and highly prescriptive regulation of broadcasting and telecommunications. The current regulatory framework is fragmented and complex, and covers not only technical issues but also sector-specific competition, content and ownership rules. Since the 1990s, however, the communications environment in Australia has undergone a period of rapid and profound change. The emergence and ubiquitous adoption of the internet as a mass communications system has provided new opportunities for Australian publishers and audiences by dismantling traditional technological, economic and regulatory barriers to entry. From national security to sport, this revolution in communications has profound policy issues for national regulation in a global communications environment.

Indicative list of principal topics:

• What is communications law? (including different regulatory approaches)
• Regulation of communications services, including radio, television and internet services
• Australian content rules
• Control and ownership of broadcasting and communications enterprises
• Pay TV and the anti-siphoning regime
• Competition in telecommunications (including regulation of anti-competitive practices, NBNCo and the structural separation of Telstra)
• Interconnection law and policy
• Spectrum allocation (including licensing and spectrum auctions)
• Consumer protection issues
• Regulation of internet content
• Regulation of new services and technologies, including convergence of media and Australian content requirements.

View detailed information in the Handbook

The world's first feature-length film was thought to have been produced in Australia in 1906. The Story of the Kelly Gang told the story of Australia's most infamous bushrangers and received distribution in Britain and New Zealand as well as in Australia. From 1906 onwards, Australian films and television programs such as Picnic at Hanging Rock, The Castle, Shine and The Sullivans have helped to define the particular cultural identity of Australians. This subject explores the issues associated with the production, financing and distribution of such films and television programs, with particular reference to feature films and sport and drama television programming (including online programs of a similar episodic structure and duration expected by television audiences, but which are distributed by online streaming). The distribution of films and television programs has been radically re-shaped since the early 1990s with the development of the Internet and the advent of online streaming. Online streaming has raised both opportunities and challenges for producers of films and television programs and has increased the complexities of the commercial and legal issues which must be addressed in the context of the production, financing and distribution of audio-visual material.

The lecturers in the subject have worked as in-house counsel at an Australian television network, and in private practice acting for independent producers,adding to the practical relevance of the subject.

Indicative list of principal topics:

• Introduction to the changing landscape of the film and television industries in Australia and internationally
• Copyright clearance issues
• Moral rights
• Breach of confidence and privacy
• Sport on television
• Film financing, production and distribution
• Australian content regulation and the production of drama programming
• Production and broadcast of advertising on television
• Use of musical works and sound recordings in film and television programming
• Distribution and merchandising of film and television programming
• Employment and contractual arrangements for film and television personalities
• Copyright and other rights in television formats.

View detailed information in the Handbook

Privacy has been valued for centuries but now there is a resurgent interest in its protection as a result of new technologies, changing social norms and a rise of markets focused on the commodity value of information. Overlapping with the resurgent interest in privacy is a related concern about the management of data flows, especially on the part of government agencies and business organisations. The legal frameworks that deal with privacy and data protection have a long history but are coming under pressure to adapt to a more complex modern environment.

In this subject, you will pay particular attention to the scope and nature of privacy protection as well as appropriate limits and exceptions, the ongoing pressures for law reform, and the practical operation of privacy and data protection laws in Australia and comparable jurisdictions.

Indicative list of principal topics:

• What is privacy?
• Conceptual and legal definitional issues
• International and comparative privacy and data protection regimes
• Protection of privacy in general law in Australia and comparable jurisdictions
• The Privacy Act 1988 (Cth): regulation of personal information held by the private and public sectors
• State/territory (especially Victorian) legislative regimes for the regulation of personal information
• Current topics in privacy law such as privacy and the media, privacy and health information, online privacy, telecommunications and surveillance privacy
• Current reform inquiries and proposals and likely reforms.

View detailed information in the Handbook

The complexities of the commercial and technical environment in which construction projects are undertaken make disputes virtually inevitable. Participants in the industry – whether lawyers or industry professionals – therefore need to be aware of, and able to apply, a range of dispute avoidance and management techniques when putting together contractual documentation or administering projects. These options are constantly evolving, with recent examples including the increasing use of disputes boards and court-initiated procedures such as those being implemented by the Technology Engineering and Construction List of the Victorian Supreme Court.

In this class we discuss the active resolution of disputes in construction projects by mediation and other alternative dispute resolution processes, as well as international and domestic arbitration and litigation processes. Our subject also involves guest lecturers who have specialist, cutting-edge experience in dispute avoidance and alternative dispute resolution techniques.

Indicative list of principal topics:

• Construction contract provisions relating to disputes: Objectives, approaches and enforceability
• Conflict: Conflict patterns and management
• Communication and negotiation skills
• Dispute Avoidance Procedures (DAPs), Dispute Review Boards (DRBs), Dispute Adjudication Boards (DABs) and dispute resolution advisers (DRAs)
• Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR): Mediation (including mock mediation), senior executive appraisal/ mini trials, non-binding and binding expert determination, domestic and international arbitration and hybrid and multi-tiered processes
• Selecting the most appropriate form of DAP and/or ADR processes
• Process dynamics, options and strategic issues, including paths to ADR.

Students interested generally in the Construction Law program in the Melbourne Law Masters are encouraged to explore the Construction Law subject selection PDF guide.

View detailed information in the Handbook

This subject provides a detailed overview of construction law, practice, and dispute resolution in five representative Asian jurisdictions: the People’s Republic of China, Taiwan, Hong Kong SAR, Singapore, and South Korea. Through detailed explanation, analysis and case studies, students will gain an advanced understanding of the key features of these topics in each jurisdiction, both in isolation and in a comparative context.

Students will develop their capacity to operate and advise in and across these jurisdictions as well as deriving lessons for application in their home jurisdictions with reference to:

• Foundations of international business operations, infrastructure development, financing, and legal frameworks, with a focus on Asian markets and global dispute resolution trends.
• Hong Kong's legal and contractual landscape, dispute resolution mechanisms and the NEC (New Engineering Contract).
• Singapore's business, legal, and development landscape, public-private collaborations, and sustainable practices.
• Taiwan’s legal framework, risk management, procurement, and dispute resolution mechanisms.
• Korean construction law and practice, industry fundamentals, procurement and contracts, civil law, and public-private partnerships.
• Legal, regulatory, and operational aspects of doing business and carrying out construction projects and resolving disputes in China.
• Detailed case studies on financing, construction, and dispute resolution for the Beijing No. 4 Metro Line, Seoul's Anhwa school project in South Korea, New Engineering Contract (NEC) water and road projects in Hong Kong, Taiwan's High-Speed Rail project connecting Taipei and Kaohsiung, and the Singapore Sports Hub project.

Students interested generally in the Construction Law program in the Melbourne Law Masters are encouraged to explore the Construction Law subject selection PDF guide.

View detailed information in the Handbook

Risk and insurance are at the heart of all construction projects, yet their role and detailed provisions are often misunderstood, leading to significant losses and disputation. The already-sophisticated contracting landscape has, in recent years, been made significantly more complicated by the introduction of proportionate liability reforms. This subject will examine these issues with particular emphasis on how risk can be managed to minimise losses.

The lecturers are expert navigators in relation to these complex issues. They have leading-edge expertise in advising on risk, security for performance and insurance in the construction context.

Indicative list of principal topics:

• Identifying risk in a construction project and how various industry participants (including principals, contractors, designers, professional advisers, insurers, security providers, and statutory and government authorities) may bear responsibility
• Philosophies and commercial drivers affecting risk allocation in construction contracts and consultancy agreements, and how these are reflected in standard forms
• Security for performance mechanisms, including cash retentions, unconditional undertakings, parent guarantees, insurance bonds, adjudication bonds and other instruments
• Insurance products available to the construction industry (including public liability, works insurance and professional indemnity insurance) and the law relating to them, including regulation by legislation, common law principles and treatment under standard-form construction contracts and consultancy agreements
• Proportionate liability regimes (including Part IVAA of the Wrongs Act 1958 (Vic)) and their impact on contract risk allocation.

Students interested generally in the Construction Law program in the Melbourne Law Masters are encouraged to explore the Construction Law subject selection PDF guide.

View detailed information in the Handbook

Cross-border construction contracting, and the avoidance and conduct of international construction disputes, has a distinctive character and content.

Lawyers and industry professionals need to be familiar with the differences between legal systems and the impact of statutory law, the key issues in the international financing and procurement of projects, the range of standard form international contracts available for various delivery methodologies, along with the intricacies associated with those processes in an international context.

As well, this subject provides detailed treatment of both dispute avoidance techniques used in international projects and an introduction to the principles and practice of international arbitration in the construction context.

Indicative list of principal topics:

• Discussion of the key differences between common law and civil law, and how they impact on the practice of construction law in different jurisdictions
• The role of statute law applicable to the construction site, such as security of payment and lien legislation
• Key issues in the financing and delivery of international construction projects, including alternative financing such as PPP
• Analysis of international construction contracts including an examination of contracting models and standard-form contracts for international construction projects (including the International Federation of Consulting Engineers (FIDIC) suite and collaborative contract models)
• Key elements of contractual risk allocation including project security (bonds, letters of credit, and guarantees), insurance, regulatory risks, political risks, etc.
• An examination of international bodies dealing with the determination or resolution of international construction disputes
• An introduction to the jurisdictional, applicable law and procedural framework for the prosecution, determination and enforcement of construction disputes through international arbitration
• Identification and consideration of contractual and extra-contractual alternative dispute resolution (ADR) and dispute avoidance procedures (DAPs) in the context of international construction.

If this area of study interests you, LAWS70139 International Construction Law, LAWS70450 Global Perspectives on Construction Law and LAWS70314 Principles of Construction Law have both been designed to cater to students from a variety of backgrounds.

Students interested generally in the Construction Law program in the Melbourne Law Masters are encouraged to explore the Construction Law subject selection PDF guide.

View detailed information in the Handbook

Dispute resolution and problem-solving lie at the core of modern professional life for lawyers, business people and anyone who works with more than one other person. This subject provides an overview of the range of dispute resolution techniques used internationally. This subject differentiates the most prominent dispute resolution methods, including traditional litigation, arbitration (in its many forms, including international commercial arbitration negotiation) and mediation (also in its many forms, including partnering, mini-trials and dispute resolution coordinators). It also includes skills training in negotiation and mediation, designed to increase effectiveness in both resolving disputes and enhancing problem-solving abilities.

Indicative list of principal topics:

• The nature and varieties of disputes, how they arise and how they are avoided
• The options for resolving disputes: litigation, arbitration, negotiation, mediation and conciliation
• Factors considered by people when they choose a dispute resolution method, including social, cultural and economic factors
• Relevant law reform initiatives, with an emphasis on Australia, other common law countries and selected Asian countries
• Cross-cultural issues in the dispute resolution process
• The roles of judges, lawyers and the courts in the alternative dispute resolution process
• An analysis and comparison of the dispute resolution processes in environmental and native land title disputes, with an emphasis on Australia, Canada and the United States
• Basic skills for successful negotiation and mediation, including theory and practical exercises.

View detailed information in the Handbook

Negotiation is an essential skill-set for lawyers and the legal profession. Due to negotiations by lawyers, many civil and criminal law cases are settled before the parties even enter the courtroom. Lawyers negotiate on behalf of their client with other lawyers as well as third party non-lawyers. Lawyers must also negotiate internally with their own client as well as other parties to reach consensus. Negotiations also occur in various forms, from traditional settings such as conference rooms and courtrooms, to non-traditional settings such as e-mail and social media communication. Thus, the ability for lawyers to develop and utilise a negotiator's toolbox to negotiate within and among a broad array of environments are essential elements of the legal profession.

Indicative list of principal topics:

• Sources and dynamics of conflict in domestic and international business contexts
• Strategic approaches to negotiation and deal-making
• Negotiation planning, objectives and measures of success
• Distributive, integrative and mixed-motive negotiation
• Negotiation theory and its application in professional practice
• Bias, influence and decision-making in negotiations
• Value creation, trade-offs and negotiated outcomes
• Negotiation tools, techniques and professional confidence
• The role of contractual terms in commercial negotiations
• Verbal, non-verbal and cross-cultural communication
• Perspective-taking, empathy and relationship management
• Ethical, cultural, economic, psychological and emotional dimensions of conflict and dispute resolution

View detailed information in the Handbook

Expert evidence continues to play a major role in civil litigation and criminal prosecution, as well as in administrative regulation. Moreover, the field of expertise in law has become the site of numerous contemporary controversies over judicial standards for admissibility of expertise, how to evaluate the reliability of expert testimony and the ethics of experts and attorneys who present expert testimony. This subject is primarily a detailed examination of the law and policy of the regulation of expert evidence in Australia, as well as comparative reform movements of likely significance to Australia in the future, notably developments in the United States. The materials for the subject, most of which are from court files of actual cases, will emphasise the practical uses of expert evidence inside and outside the courtroom.

Indicative list of principal topics:

• The legal framework for regulating expert evidence
• Debate and controversies about expertise
• The admissibility of expert testimony
• Restrictions on the conduct of experts
• Use of expert evidence inside and outside courtrooms.

The above topics will be illuminated through the study of specific instances of expert evidence, conduct and regulation that have prompted change and reform or controversy in Australia or other countries, especially the United States.

View detailed information in the Handbook

Mediation has become the likely forum for the resolution of most disputes – whether convened voluntarily, by contract, statute or court order – but its inherent confidentially makes it hard for outsiders to understand fully.

This subject will cover the majority of the material required for Accreditation under the Australian Mediator and Dispute Resolution Accreditation Standards (AMDRAS), but also recognise that mediation needs to be understood by all involved, not just future mediators. In light of this, it will examine the roles of solicitors and barristers, other advisers and experts, and the parties themselves. It will do this through teaching by Andrew Moffat, who regularly mediates commercial disputes in Melbourne and Sydney, supplemented by guest lecturers who fill these roles in mediations.

It also recognises that mediation is – and must maintain – a uniquely flexible process capable of very different approaches based on the context of the dispute. Guest lecturers who are expert practitioners in other dispute contexts will share their insights.

Students will develop a sophisticated understanding of current mediation theory and practice, and learn to put this learning into practice as mediators and mediation participants, through extensive involvement in simulations. Finally, students will learn about the mediation industry and the business and career elements of developing a mediation practice.

Successful completion of this subject, and a complete attendance record to all sessions, is expected to be credited for two-thirds of Australian Mediator and Dispute Resolution Accreditation Standards training, under the auspices of the Resolution Institute, which will offer students the opportunity to study the remaining third required for AMDRAS accreditation.

Indicative list of principal topics:

• Mediation within the broader context of dispute resolution
• Moving from positions to interests
• Standard AMDRAS mediation model
• Key concepts – voluntariness and empowerment
• Triggers for mediation – optimising timing where possible
• Mediator skills and when and how to intervene
• Changing dynamics in joint sessions
• Mandatory mediation as public policy
• Typical participants and their roles
• Alternatives and options in private sessions
• AMDRAS structure and Standards
• Setting the scene – the opening statement
• Mediation challenges – complexity and ethical issues
• Optimising mediation in cross-cultural disputes
• Mediation as a career.

Note, all enrolled students will be expected to demonstrate a high level of English language proficiency in order to actively and effectively engage in interactive class discussions and activities.

View detailed information in the Handbook

This highly interactive subject will give students practice-relevant skills for negotiation and dispute resolution. Negotiating effectively involves being able to change the conversation, introducing collaborative approaches alongside competitive ones. The best negotiators are also skilled at structuring processes and listening beneath what is said. This program will introduce a proven framework for creating value and resolving disputes, informed by recent research and extensive practice. Using experiential approaches, case studies and simulations, participants will deepen their abilities to represent clients and negotiate across a range of practice contexts. Participants will have multiple opportunities to refine their negotiation and dispute management skills, and will learn a series of practical tools for dealing with difficult negotiation behaviours and hard bargaining tactics in diverse settings. This subject will be useful for those working on a wide range of complex issues in a range of contexts including commercial, environmental, public policy, construction and human rights.

Drawing on current interdisciplinary literature and case examples from practice, students will:

• Learn a proven, research-informed framework for dispute analysis and negotiation to address a range of disputes
• Understand the dynamics of intractable or complex disputes and a range of tools to address them
• Heighten their awareness of personal strengths and weaknesses as a negotiator and identify a personal path of development
• Gain problem-solving techniques to enhance possible solutions in complex negotiations
• Acquire skills for choosing the right process to craft durable outcomes
• Heighten their abilities to work across diverse contexts
• Practice and refine negotiation and dispute management skills toward more successful outcomes.

Successful completion of the subject will expand participants’ abilities for complex issue analysis, engagement and follow-up as negotiators, representatives and facilitators in negotiation and dispute resolution processes. Students will learn valuable skills of integrative thinking and creativity through experiential exercises and their final papers.

View detailed information in the Handbook

Climate change is a pressing environmental, economic and social problem. Global warming is predicted to have wide-ranging impacts, and it presents enormous challenges for conventional models of law and socio-economic governance due to its pervasive character, long-term effects and the need for dynamic change in many of the fundamental areas of life. This subject examines the challenges for law in driving that change, from the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and its associated Paris Agreement, to international trade, climate finance and litigation, to federal and state legislative responses, through to local effects including relating to Indigenous peoples. The lecturer is active in research and advice in climate change law and governance in the international and domestic law spheres.

Indicative list of principal topics:

• The scientific basis for global warming and physical impacts of climate change
• The international legal framework, including the UNFCCC, Kyoto Protocol, Paris Agreement and associated international instruments
• Social and cultural impacts and legal responses, such as human rights protection
• Climate finance and schemes for reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD).
• The role of the World Trade Organization (WTO) in climate change governance, particularly with respect to renewable energy technologies and the disciplining of fossil fuel subsidies
• The interaction of climate change regimes with other international law frameworks; eg World Heritage, refugee law, human rights and security
• The federal legislative framework for climate change mitigation and adaptation, including direct action plans, market mechanisms and carbon trading
• State-based legislative and regulatory responses to climate change
• Bio-sequestration and carbon capture and storage
• The nature of climate change litigation

View detailed information in the Handbook

Environmental law deals with pressing legal and social issues within Australia and internationally that range from biodiversity protection to waste reduction. This subject provides an overview of fundamental environmental law concepts and principles, such as the precautionary principle. It charts the evolution of Australian environmental law in response to global environmental challenges, such as climate change, as well as national regulatory reforms. The subject equips students with a thorough grounding in environmental impact assessment law by reference to the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (Cth). It examines the regulatory tools and approaches relevant to pollution control and ecological protection– including market mechanisms and offset models. This subject introduces international environmental law; dealing with issues such as trans-boundary harm and World Heritage protection, that have shaped Australian environmental law.

Indicative list of principal topics:

• The scope of environmental law – nationally and internationally – including transboundary regulation.
• The multidisciplinary character of environmental law and regulation that needs to respond to complex, multilevel environmental problems.
• The diversity of environmental law approaches from the common law through direct regulation to market measures and community engagement.

These themes are illustrated by case studies in the following areas:

• Environmental law: Principles and concepts
• Environmental actors, including public interest litigation with a focus on biodiversity protection
• The procedures and substantive law governing impact assessment and development approvals.
• Legal and regulatory tools used in environmental law, including duty of care concepts in pollution laws.
• The interaction of law and science, with a focus on the precautionary principle
• Implementation, compliance and enforcement in Environmental Law
• International environmental law, including biodiversity protection, world heritage cases and climate change governance.

View detailed information in the Handbook

In national legal systems, much of environmental law consists of legislative schemes. To practice environmental law requires a mastery of public law. This subject introduces students to the public law skills needed to work in the specialised field of environmental law. The subject focuses on environmental laws in a range of common law jurisdictions and the skills that the course fosters can be deployed in any legal system. Each topic is taught through in-depth focus on legal materials, particularly case law.

Indicative list of principal topics:

• A basic framework of environmental law
• The distinctive nature of different types of environmental problems and how those features require the development of a particular type of legal expertise.
• The role that law (legislation and common law) plays in framing and defining environmental problems and the legal significance of this.
• The classic types of legal obligations and duties in environmental law and how they are enforced.
• The ways in which environmental law gives rise to a range of public law questions concerned with constitutional and administrative governance.
• The types of legal and other disputes that environmental law gives rise to and the implications for courts and tribunals
• How accountability in environmental law operates.
• Each topic is taught through a focus on a particular topic in environmental law including climate change, water quality, waste, environmental assessment, natural resource management, air quality, and nature conservation.

View detailed information in the Handbook

International environmental law is the field of public international law concerned principally with the protection of the natural environment. It is a vitally important branch of international law, seeking as it does to safeguard the environment on which humanity depends for its very existence. International environmental law seeks to integrate the activities of diverse actors — states, international organisations, businesses, communities and non-government organisations (NGOs) — and uses a wide range of legal tools (including economic instruments and participatory mechanisms) to address pressing environmental concerns. This subject explores the critical governance and regulatory dimensions of international environmental law, as well as introducing you to cases and treaties that have been pivotal to the development of this area of international law. The lecturers in the subject are international environmental law experts, with both academic and practical experience in the field, which will be drawn into the delivery of a stimulating and relevant subject.

Indicative list of principal topics:

• The need for international environmental law and its historical development
• Fundamental principles and concepts necessary for an understanding of international environmental law, eg sustainable development, precautionary principle and 'polluter pays' principle
• The principal institutions and actors involved in the creation, implementation and enforcement of international environmental law
• The principal cases and treaties that have been influential in the development of international environmental law
• Current issues of concern in international environmental law, including atmospheric pollution and climate change, the protection of the oceans, species protection and biodiversity as well as environmental issues relevant to finance, human rights and international trade.

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This subject examines the law applicable to planning and development projects within Victoria. A detailed analysis of the Planning and Environment Act 1987 (Vic) and its application will be supplemented by an examination of the various political, environmental, social and economic aspects that bear upon decision-making under the Victorian planning system. The subject will also address the interaction of the Victorian planning system with a number of other statutory processes relevant to the development of land within Victoria, including those contained within the Environment Protection Act 1970 (Vic) and the Subdivision Act 1988 (Vic).

Indicative list of principal topics:

• The conceptual framework for planning law in Victoria
• Evaluation of the various components of the Victorian planning regime, focusing on the operation of the Planning and Environment Act 1987 (Vic) and the Victoria Planning Provisions
• The role of key actors under the Victorian planning regime (such as the Victorian Minister for Planning and municipal councils) and the key processes established under the regime
• The review of decisions made under the regime (both in the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal and the Supreme Court of Victoria) and the powers available to relevant planning authorities under the Planning and Environment Act 1987 (Vic)
• Particular problems that arise in the Victorian planning system such as the fair and equitable distribution of undesirable land uses, the limitation of urban sprawl within metropolitan Melbourne, the appropriate level of public participation in decision-making processes, and the need to deliver sound planning outcomes in a timely and efficient manner
• The key processes under the Planning and Environmental Act 1987 (Vic).

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Water law and natural resources management are fundamental to human society, environmental protection and economic productivity. Legal rules around water are found in all societies. Water is both a human right but also a source of conflict – that law seeks to regulate. There is increasing pressure on water globally, and extreme events such as drought, heighten tensions around water allocation in Australia and many other countries.

The subject considers the international laws governing freshwater, including trans-jurisdictional water governance for major shared river systems. It examines contemporary trends in water law and governance such climate change impacts on water availability. It provides an overview of common law rules around water allocation and water quality. There is a major focus on indigenous water rights and rights for rivers.

The subject provides an in-depth understanding of the federal water legislation governing the Murray-Darling Basin and the Victorian water legislation- including water trading. It introduces urban water laws, with a focus on water pollution controls. It examines the innovative reforms around environmental water and the ecological protection of rivers and groundwater. It provides a case study of the impacts on groundwater due to mining and fracking.

Indicative list of principal topics:

• International and comparative law and policy governing water, including relevant treaties and conventions, and case law
• Water rights: including human rights and Indigenous peoples’ rights
• Common law rules for surface and groundwater
• The Australian national water law reform model
• The Water Act 2007 (Cth), including water trading and water planning
• Environmental water law and regulation – including the Environmental Water Holders
• Victorian water laws, including water authorities and governance models
• Water quality: addressing point source and diffuse water pollution
• Integrated catchment legislation
• Urban water laws, including water-sensitive urban design.

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The ageing of world populations and the increased longevity of individuals has significant political, cultural and economic consequences. Ageism, the marginalisation of and discrimination against ‘older persons’, in particularly subgroups of older persons, is widespread, and involve systematic human rights violations on the ground of” older age’. This subject will review the historical development and current state of international human rights law as it applies to human rights and older age.

Indicative list of principal topics:

• Ageing historically and in the modern world – demographic trends and their significance
• Theories of ageing, the social construction and cultural significance of older age and nature, extent and importance of ageism
• Ageing and human rights: human rights of older persons or human rights in older age; intersectionality and life course approaches
• Age and international human rights law; past coverage and current developments
• Older age and domestic law and policy (Australian and comparative perspectives), including human rights dimensions of aged care
• Intergenerational equity and human rights law

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The private sector represents one of the most important and daunting challenges facing human rights law and practice. As the reach and influence of companies has grown – sometimes dwarfing the states in which they operate – their impact on human rights has become impossible to ignore. Shareholder activists, NGOs, social movements, the media and governments are demanding greater transparency and reporting on human rights from a wide range of companies, from Facebook to Kmart to Lafarge. The United Nations, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and the multilateral banks have adopted human rights standards for companies, and a growing body of soft and hard law (domestic and international) is beginning to define the precise scope of corporate human rights obligations. This subject will explore the fast-growing field of business and human rights, highlighting the most critical legal and practical issues surrounding efforts to advance corporate responsibility and accountability.

Indicative list of principal topics:

• The history of the business and human rights movement
• The political and ideological challenge to applying human rights to business
• The legal framework and institutions for corporate human rights accountability
• The UN “Protect, Respect, Remedy” Framework and UN Guiding Principles
• Multi-stakeholder initiatives and soft law human rights standards
• Key legal challenges: effective remedies, 'non-state actors', 'sphere of influence' and 'complicity'
• Litigating corporate human rights
• Non-judicial advocacy strategies
• Business and human rights case studies
• Business and human rights in the digital economy
• Climate change, business and human rights
• The business management perspective on human rights and implementation challenges.

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This subject focuses on the re-imagination of human rights from a gender and women’s rights perspective. The traditional human rights canon has been challenged in important ways by its deficiencies in the protection of the rights of women and sexual and gender minorities.

The primary focus on violations by state actors was shown to obscure and make invisible violations against women in the private sphere of family and home, in particular gender-based violence. The partial and contingent protection of sexual and reproductive rights under international human rights law has revealed persistent gendered limitations. Meanwhile, the adherence to date of international human rights law to the male/female binary has proven exclusionary to the promotion and protection of the rights of sexual and gender minorities.

This subject considers these critiques and examines their explanatory force. It considers ways in which the international human rights system has responded to critiques and demands of feminist, gender and queer scholars and activists. The subject will focus, first, on the international system for the protection of women’s rights, in terms both of ‘mainstream’ guarantees of non-discrimination and the specialised system for the protection of women’s rights, most notably CEDAW. Second, the subject will focus on certain emblematic violations of women’s and gender rights (gender-based violence, reproductive rights and the rights of sexual and gender minorities) and critically examine developments in the recognition and redress of such violations under international human rights law. Third, the subject will consider the relationship between the formal mechanisms of the human rights system and the mobilisation of human rights ideas and values by social movements and non-governmental organisation. It will consider the role and value of international human rights norms in underpinning diverse social movements working in alliance for the improved protection of women’s and gender rights.

Indicative list of principal topics:

• An overview of the protection of women’s rights and rights of sexual orientation and gender identity under the so-called ‘mainstream’ system for the protection of human rights
• A discussion of feminist, queer and postcolonial critiques of the international human rights system
• Analysis of specialised treaties and instruments responding to these critiques, most notably CEDAW (the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women)
• Critical reflection on the particular role of the CEDAW Committee in monitoring and interpreting women’s and gender rights under international human rights law
• Analysis of developments for the enhanced protection of the rights of women to live free from violence, including the debate about the need for a new dedicated human rights treaty for the prevention of violence against women
• An examination of developments across the mainstream and specialised human rights systems for the protection of reproductive and sexual rights
• An understanding of the limited progress made to date under international human rights law for the protection and promotion of rights of sexual and gender minorities
• A review of sustained critiques of the human rights regime by scholars such as Ratna Kapur, Dianne Otto, Christine Chinkin and Hilary Charlesworth
• Examination of human rights in practice, focusing on the way these ideas are mobilised by women’s movements, queer activists and human rights advocates to deal with local issues such as gender violence, reproductive rights and discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity.

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Developments such as the decision to appoint a UN special rapporteur on human rights and climate change are significant milestones in the long-time efforts by international institutions and advocates to recognise and address the impacts of greenhouse gas emissions on the enjoyment of human rights. UN institutions and international treaty bodies responsible for human rights and environmental matters have over many years taken steps to deal with the serious impacts that climate change has on the rights to life, culture, health, food and an adequate standard of living for individuals and communities across the world. Advisory opinions of the International Court of Justice and the Inter-American Court of Human Rights have also provided insights on these matters. Meanwhile, advocates have initiated proceedings before courts and other complaints bodies claiming that human rights have been violated as a result of climate change. In the process, existing human rights have been repurposed towards environmental ends, and rights to a healthy environment and a safe climate have emerged for international recognition.

This course will introduce and explore the main concepts, laws, institutions and policies at the intersection of international human rights law and international law on climate change. Through an examination of treaties and case law, it will consider how international law and policy is being developed to protect human rights affected by climate change.

Indicative list of principal topics:

• The human rights of particular groups – including Indigenous Peoples, children and displaced people – affected by climate change.
• The different responsibilities of nations and businesses to address the human rights impacts of climate change.
• Key developments in UN bodies, treaty institutions and courts dealing respectively with human rights and environmental protection, including existing and emerging human rights such as the right to a healthy environment.
• Critical perspectives on the use of human rights law and procedures to tackle harms arising from greenhouse gas emissions.
• The international movement on rights of nature as part of the context in which international human rights law is evolving to address climate change.

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Since 11 September 2001, there has been a global trend towards enacting new laws and adopting new measures against terrorism, reflected in developments on the national, regional and international levels. Many such counter-terrorism laws and measures have raised questions about the nature of human rights law, and the extent of its adaptability in face of security imperatives. Others have revealed clear human rights violations and exposed the fragility of respect for the rule of law. Responses by the courts and international mechanisms have had a role to play in redressing this reality in various ways, but they too have met challenges. This subject addresses the international law framework within which responses to terrorism, and to counter-terrorism, unfold. It considers human rights law in the context of other relevant areas of international law and practice, such as humanitarian law and the law on peace and security. It examines legal questions not in abstract but by reference to examples from practice, and in light of the many real-life challenges to giving effect to the law in the security context today. It provides a stock-taking review and questions the human rights implications of global counter-terrorism practice.

Indicative list of principal topics:

• What is ‘terrorism’ and how does it fit within the framework of international law?
• Do terrorists violate human rights, and can they be held accountable?
• Which human rights are affected by counter-terrorism measures by states and how they are affected in practice?
• Is the prohibition against torture absolute, and what have been the challenges in practice since 9/11?
• How has the criminal law adjusted, and expanded, in recent years and what are the implications?
• Have restrictions on freedom of expression, association and assembly been legitimate?
• How has terrorist listing and sanctions against individuals and entities developed and what human rights issues arise?
• What implications are there for refugee and immigration law in the era of terrorism?
• What is the phenomenon of ‘foreign terrorist fighters’ and legal responses to it?
• How has the right to privacy been eroded in the name of countering terrorism, and when is surveillance lawful?
• What are strategic approaches to preventing and combating terrorism, and what are the long –term implications of trends in counter-terrorism practice to date?

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The field of international human rights law is today composed of a multitude of legal instruments, implementation bodies, special procedures, human rights NGOs and transitional justice mechanisms. This subject provides the opportunity to examine this field in many of its dimensions, equipping students to navigate the system and critically assess its fundamental features. It will be of interest to all students who want to develop a detailed understanding of how the international human rights law system operates, including those with limited or no background in the area. The two lecturers have significant experience across a diverse range of topics and issues within international human rights law, which they draw upon to create an engaging and thought-provoking subject.

Indicative list of principal topics:

• Human rights and the challenges posed by state sovereignty and national security
• The contested universality of human rights
• The international institutional framework for the protection of human rights, with a special focus on the Human Rights Council and treaty monitoring system
• The interpretation and application of selected rights from the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR)
• Domestic measures for the implementation of human rights, such as judicial implementation of economic, social and cultural rights
• The norm of non-discrimination as it relates to race, gender, sexual orientation and gender identity
• The contribution of truth and reconciliation commissions to the protection of human rights
• Human rights law relating to refugees and asylum-seekers
• The challenges posed by economic globalisation.

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Issues concerning children, whether they arise at the international, regional or local level, are increasingly being examined from a human rights perspective. Much of the momentum for this movement has been generated by the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), which was adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1989, and has been ratified by every state in the world except the United States and South Sudan. This subject is designed to provide students with an understanding of the CRC and the idea of a human rights-based approach to matters involving children. It will be of interest to anyone who works in areas that impact on children, either directly or indirectly, at the international, regional or local level. The lecturer has extensive networks with civil society, international bodies and government agencies that he draws on to provide an appropriate blend of academic and practical content.

The subject consists of two parts. Part one involves a general discussion of:

• The notion of children’s rights
• The international framework for the protection of children’s rights, with particular emphasis on the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child
• The factors that impact on the implementation of the Convention, both in Australia and overseas.

Part two involves an examination of specific issues relevant to children and how the Convention and a rights-based analysis can be used to respond to these issues. The issues will be drawn from areas such as:

• Sexual exploitation, including trafficking, prostitution and pornography
• Child labour
• Juvenile justice
• Child refugees
• Violence against children
• Children in armed conflict
• HIV/AIDS and children
• Child poverty and homelessness.

View detailed information in the Handbook

This subject explores and examines the international legal regime for the protection of refugees. The essential premise of the subject is that refugee law should be understood as a mode of human rights protection, the viability of which requires striking a balance between the needs of the victims of human rights abuse and the legitimate aspirations of the countries to which they flee. The primary objective of the subject is to enable students to develop a comprehensive understanding of the international legal regime for international protection – the basis for being granted protection in 147 countries, including Australia. The subject will situate Australian refugee law and policy within the context of Australia’s international obligations.

Indicative list of principal topics:

• History of the international system of refugee protection
• Legal and institutional framework of international legal protection
• The implementation of the Refugee Convention in Australian law
• Refugee status determination: domestic and international dimensions
• Responsibility sharing and shifting
• Principles of treaty interpretation applied to refugee law
• The definition of ‘refugee’ in international law
• Exclusion from refugee protection.

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This subject takes a deep dive into statelessness, a serious but little understood human rights issue affecting millions of people around the world, including in the Asia Pacific region. Key related concepts of citizenship, statelessness and legal identity will be discussed, as will the debate around the limits of State sovereignty when it comes to the right to nationality. The causes and consequences of statelessness will be unpacked, with a focus on the human impact of statelessness. We critically examine the international legal framework established to address statelessness, and we scrutinise past, present and possible future manifestations of statelessness with a view to understanding how these may be prevented or resolved.

Indicative list of principal topics:

• Key concepts and definitions: citizenship, statelessness, and legal identity,
• The right to belong? Ethical and Political Dimensions,
• Causes, consequences and the human impact of statelessness,
• The international legal framework governing statelessness,
• The protection of stateless persons in a migratory context,
• Solutions to statelessness: citizenship as the panacea?,
• Contemporary and future problems of statelessness: including ‘Citizenship stripping’ and climate change and nationality,
• International Development: Identity Management, Legal Identity and Human Rights.

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Commercial Aspects of International Law highlights the growing importance of public international law for transnational commercial activity. It will examine how public international law may apply and have practical use in a wide variety of international business matters.

The subject will introduce students to the basics of relevant public international law principles (e.g. sources of international law, individuals as subjects of international law, state responsibility for wrongful acts and sovereign immunity). Thereafter, the majority of our subject will be devoted to topic areas in which public international law impacts commercial rights and obligations (e.g. the role of international law in contracts, double tax treaties, environment and climate change regulation, free trade agreements, investment protection treaties, UN sanctions, corporate social responsibility and business and human rights). Our classes will take the perspective of the rights and obligations of commercial enterprises under public international law.

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International trade is being transformed by the globalisation of the internet and the ability to move data across borders. Small businesses and firms in developing countries are using internet platforms such as eBay and Alibaba to engage in international trade. Software, music and books that used to be traded physically are now being transmitted digitally across borders; lawyers, consultants and other professional services are using the internet to reach new markets. Data analytics and cloud computing have become essential tools for firms in domestic and international markets.

This subject will examine the impact of the internet and global data flows on international trade. Students will learn about the varied and innovative ways that the internet and data enable international economic activity. Students will look at how government regulation in areas such as privacy and national security affects digital trade and will examine the balance between achieving these goals and maximising opportunities for trade, growth and jobs. Students will learn about the extent to which international trade rules of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and free trade agreements such as the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement support an open internet and global data flows; will identify gaps in law and practice; and will analyse where new global norms and rules are needed. Special topics covered may include: the opportunities of digital trade for developing countries and small and medium enterprises (SMEs); challenges posed by the 'Internet of Things' and privacy regulation; and digital trade and national security.

Indicative list of principal topics:

• Overview of the globalisation of the internet including global trends in internet access and use
• The economics of the internet - students will learn how internet access and global data flows are improving productivity, enabling innovation and expanding opportunities for global engagement
• What is the impact of the internet and data flows on international trade? This will include the role of digital platforms and the increasing importance of digital services trade
• What are the barriers to digital trade, who is erecting them and why? Students will learn about the regulatory challenges to digital trade in areas of consumer protection, financial and privacy laws and the different approaches being taken in the European Union, the United States and Australia, and consider how to achieve domestic regulatory goals while maximising digital trade
• Applying international trade law to digital trade issues and identifying the legal gaps - students will analyse where existing international trade rules apply to digital trade issues. This will include analysis of WTO agreements and cases as well as new trade rules in free trade agreements. Gaps in trade law will be identified and students will consider whether new trade rules and norms are needed and where they can be negotiated.

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The International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank are arguably two poorly understood international organisations. Both are key components of the international monetary and financial architecture. They also play a vital role in national economies (as seen for example in the IMF's involvement in the Euro-zone crisis or in addressing the economic dislocations caused by global events and its analytical work on the prevention and resolution of financial and sovereign debt crises) and international development. This subject will focus on the IMF and World Bank while also providing students with a sophisticated understanding of the broader international financial system and its problems. The subject provides a valuable insider's perspective on the 'Bretton Woods' institutions.

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This subject is a basic 'how-to' on international business transactions and is essential for those wishing to practise international trade law. The subject intentionally covers a vast array of related topics, with the focus being on the legal issues faced by practising lawyers in the field. Particular emphasis is placed on issues such as trade terms, international sales of goods, documentary credits, carriage of goods, customs and border regulations. This subject also considers several issues relating to international trade, such as intellectual property rights, licensing, franchising and governmental measures regulating investment. Such coverage ensures students are exposed to the most important and frequent issues facing the practising trade lawyer.

Indicative list of principal topics:

• Basic trade contracts and common trade terms
• Choice of law and choice of jurisdiction in international trade contracts
• The Vienna Convention on International Sale of Goods
• Payment systems, including documentary credits and collections
• Customs law, including classification and valuation of the goods
• Import and export restraints
• Regulatory issues and red tape
• Franchising
• Intellectual property rights, including parallel importation of goods
• Foreign direct investment.

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International commercial arbitration is the most important method globally for resolving cross-border commercial disputes. The focus of this subject is on the basic principles of international commercial arbitration law and is taught from the perspective of both the practitioner advising clients and the scholar interested in advanced research. There will be a particular focus on the desirability of arbitration compared with other dispute resolution methods, the relationships between the courts and arbitrators, drafting techniques and developments in Australia and other countries.

Indicative list of principal topics:

• The nature of international arbitration
• Applicable law in international arbitration
• The Australian procedural regime and an introduction to the UNCITRAL Model Law
• Enforcing international arbitration agreements
• Appointment and qualifications of arbitrators
• Misconduct of arbitrators
• Privacy and confidentiality
• Enforcement and challenge of awards.

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Newspaper headlines frequently concern global economic issues, from trade disputes between countries and investment claims by foreign investors against sovereign states, to countries facing balance-of-payments crises and seeking assistance from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

This subject examines the law governing global economic issues. It is designed both as a comprehensive introduction in its own right to this important field, as well as a foundation for further exploration through specialist subjects in the curriculum.

We begin with a focus on international trade law, particularly the rules and dispute settlement procedures of the World Trade Organization (WTO). It then discusses contemporary developments in international trade law and policy, including the negotiations for regional or bilateral preferential trade agreements. We then consider international investment law, examining key substantive obligations relating to investor protection and investor-state dispute settlement mechanisms (particularly through the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID)). Finally, the subject provides an introduction to the lending policies and practices of international financial institutions, particularly the IMF and the World Bank.

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International investment law regulates the entry and operation of foreign investment and is one of the fastest-growing fields of public international law. This subject begins by tracing the historical, political and economic causes for the protection of foreign investment across custom, bilateral and regional investment treaties. It then focuses on the unique system of dispute resolution in this field, which gives private (foreign) actors the right to pursue claims for damages against states. This subject also evaluates the impact of investment law across a range of core values, including public health, environmental regulation and the protection of human rights.

indicative list of principal topics:

• Nature, evolution and context of international investment law
• Overview of bilateral investment treaties (BITs), the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), the Energy Charter Treaty and parts of the World Trade Organization (WTO)
• Scope of protection: definition of ‘investor’ and ‘investment‘
• Relative obligations of non-discrimination: most-favored-nation (MFN) and national treatment
• Obligation to accord foreign investors ‘fair and equitable treatment‘
• Expropriation and the quantification of compensation
• Arbitration under the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) Convention

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The objective of this course is to provide an understanding of contemporary development issues and the relationships between development policies and international trade law in the context of a globalised world economy.

The course begins with a review of some of the most prominent theories of economic development, describes approaches and definitions of economic development, tools and strategies for making development goals achievable, and explores views about the nature of economic, social and human prosperity. Students will undertake a comprehensive examination of development policies from the protectionism of the 1960s to the Post ‘Washington consensus’ paradigm, the challenges of mainstreaming development in the WTO (‘WTO’), and the current crisis facing the Multilateral Trading System; the emergence of mega regional trading blocks, and the current debate on future International Trade Agreements will be a focus of the course. Contemporary trade and development policy issues such the evolution of global value chains (‘GVCs’) and their consequences for free trade agreements, beyond the border regulations, state-owned enterprises (‘STEs’), and inequalities in opportunities and income will be examined from a perspective of international trade law and development policy, using case studies as appropriate.

The course then present the rationales for free trade & protection, the distributional consequences of trade, the impact of trade on employment and growth and the challenges presented by deeper international economic integration. The next sections of the course consider the World Trade Organization (WTO) and explore negotiation mechanisms and principles, the rules relating to market access, fair trade, safeguards and the system for dispute settlement and retaliation. The final section considers major issues facing the multilateral trading system and the role of developing countries in building a new international economic architecture.

Indicative list of principal topics:

• Goals, scope and measurement of economic development;
• International Law and Development;
• Developing countries in the world economy;
• The Multilateral trading system and the developing counties;
• International Trade law and their Effects on economic development;
• The participation of developing countries in the Mega Regional Trade Agreements;
• The Emerging Mega Regional Trade Agreements and the Future of the WTO
• Selected case studies on trade and development from the WTO Dispute settlement Mechanism.

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The rules governing international trade and investment are of great importance to almost every country in the world. Many legal relationships are necessary for goods to be traded from one country to another and for parties in one country to invest in another, and they are all predictably flavoured by the issues that arise when different legal systems interact. This subject gives an overview of the private international law issues that arise when goods are traded from one country to another, and considers the public international law issues that arise when governments try to influence the subject of international trade as well as the international and regional framework that exists for this purpose. The goal of the subject is to examine the international legal frameworks governing trade.

Indicative list of principal topics:

• Commercial trading relationships

  • International sale contracts and the law governing them
  • Framework agreements
  • Payment mechanisms
  • The impact of 2020s technology (trade in data, blockchain verification, etc)

• Long-term trading relationships

  • Antitrust/pro-competitive concerns about exclusive distribution arrangements
  • Parallel importing in relation to products protected by intellectual property rights
  • Compulsory licensing

• GATT/WTO

  • The framework as designed, including dispute settlement
  • The framework in the 2020s, including (particularly) dispute settlement
  • The impact of regional trade agreements and bilateral free trade agreements on the multilateral ‘rules-based’ trading system

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This subject examines the law and economics of globalisation. Economic globalisation is at the centre of ongoing debates in areas as diverse as sustainability and climate change, national security, fair and balanced economic growth, and the very restructuring of international relations that seems to be underway. This subject offers a sophisticated understanding not only of contemporary globalisation, but also the reactionary trends that continue to emerge in varied forms: so-called ‘trade wars’ between major economies, unilateral climate measures, restrictions on trade in critical technology like semiconductors or 5G, concerns around forced labour or weak environmental standards, concerns around data protection and cybersecurity in the new digital economy, repatriating foreign supply-chains to the domestic economy, concerns around currency undervaluation by export-driven States, and issues around the so-called ‘State-led’ capitalist model in economies like China. We offer a detailed analysis of these phenomena and how States are using existing and new legal instruments to manage the risks and impacts of globalisation as it evolves and adapts in this new environment. The course caters both to practitioners looking to build expertise in the highly commercially-relevant areas of trade remedies and export controls, as well as to those looking to deepen their understanding of the modern dynamics of globalisation and its intersection with law.

The subject begins with an overview of economic impacts of trade liberalisation and lays out why there are winners and losers. It proceeds with a discussion of current trends in globalisation and relates them to the evolving geopolitical context. It then examines the legal instruments available to States to manage economic pressures resulting from increased globalisation and to counter (potentially) trade-distorting practices of their trade partners. These include the existing legal instruments at the international level under the WTO treaties, such as anti-dumping/anti-subsidy measures and safeguards, as well as more recent innovations at the domestic level relating to matters like currency undervaluation, cybersecurity and “data sovereignty”, transnational subsidies, foreign investment screening, differences in environmental/labour standards, and distortions arising from economies and sectors with substantial government involvement.

The compatibility of such innovations with WTO and other international rules is untested and, accordingly, this course does not express views on the “right” answers. Rather, it seeks to equip students with the knowledge to form their own views and to facilitate their own understanding of possible intersections between these domestic innovations and international rules.

Indicative list of principal topics:

• The economic rationale behind international trade agreements, the economic benefits of globalisation, the distributional impacts of trade liberalisation, and the role of regulatory frameworks that facilitate adjustment to international competition;

• Current issues in global economic relations and trade policy, and the reasons States resort to legal instruments to manage risks or negative impacts of globalisation, such as concerns around unfair trade practices; an evolving geopolitical context; supply-chain resilience; and "global commons"- and related issues such as climate change.

• The primary legal instruments that States use to address negative economic impacts of trade liberalisation, particularly the ‘trade remedy’ tools under the WTO treaties (anti-dumping, anti-subsidy, and safeguard measures), as well as recent domestic innovations with these tools in areas like transnational subsidies and currency manipulation;

• New and emerging legal tools at the domestic level in jurisdictions like the EU, US, Australia and India to manage perceived geopolitical risks and impacts of globalisation, such as:

  • national security concerns around supply chains and critical products
  • cybersecurity and data protection in the new digital economy;
  • foreign investment screening;
  • lower environmental/labour standards; and
  • concerns around forced labour.

View detailed information in the Handbook

In recent decades, China has become an active participant in, and even a leader of, the international economic law system. It joined the World Trade Organization and has negotiated numerous trade agreements and investment treaties. In both trade and investment, China has been a party to many disputes, and plays an important role in broader issues of global economic governance. In the domestic arena, it has become a leading practitioner of "trade remedies"; its agricultural and industrial sectors, and related policies, have become similar to those of Western countries; and its intellectual property and antitrust regimes have become more sophisticated.

This subject focuses on the nature and evolution of China's involvement in the international economic law system. It covers the following subjects: trade in goods, trade in services, intellectual property, trade remedies, government procurement, foreign investment into and by China, investment protection, treaty negotiations, disputes, and institutional issues.

Indicative list of principal topics:

• History of China's international economic relations
• China's WTO Accession
• Tariff and non-tariff barriers
• Intellectual property
• Trade in services
• Trade remedies: Anti-dumping, subsidies and countervailing duties, and safeguards
• Government procurement
• Foreign investment in China
• Trade and investment negotiations
• Trade and investment disputes
• China's role in WTO governance
• Participation in other international economic institutions
• China's domestic trade institutions

View detailed information in the Handbook

The World Trade Organization (WTO) is at the centre of ongoing debates concerning sovereignty and development. Its dispute settlement system has been active in resolving a wide range of international disputes, with jurisdiction over some of the largest and most significant matters arising today. This subject offers a sophisticated understanding of the WTO and its dispute settlement system, including a detailed analysis of the fundamental principles and jurisprudence of WTO law.

Indicative list of principal topics:

• History and objectives of the WTO

• WTO dispute settlement

• Core obligations under the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994 (GATT 1994):

  • Tariff bindings
  • Non-discrimination (most-favoured nation (MFN) and national treatment)
  • Prohibition on quantitative restrictions

• Exceptions to WTO obligations, eg environment, health, public morals, culture, preferential trade agreements, national security, and special and differential treatment for developing countries

• Other WTO agreements, eg:

  • General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS)
  • Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT)
  • Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPs)
  • Trade remedies (countervailing measures, anti-dumping measures and safeguards) and subsidies

• Current developments in the WTO

View detailed information in the Handbook

Globalisation is driving corporate tax systems closer together and often into conflict. For many tax practitioners, it is now not enough to know their own corporate tax system—they must grapple with and question the operation of other corporate tax systems. This subject seeks to develop an ability to understand and analyse any corporate tax system and assess its impact on corporate decision-making. With a dedicated textbook (written by the presenter), this subject compares a number of influential and archetypal corporate tax systems (both common law and civil law) and assesses their behaviour in the context of practical problems. For tax professionals, this subject develops an ability to ask direct and informed questions about a foreign corporate tax system and discuss that system at a high level with foreign tax professionals.

This subject will compare and analyse corporate income tax law in selected countries (Australia, China, Germany and the US, with some reference to the UK) and consider how these laws interface with corporate law. Participants will be encouraged to discuss other jurisdictions with which they are familiar and students are permitted to cover other countries in their research paper. The approaches adopted are analysed by reference to various policy options available. There is a particular focus on problems caused by the artificiality of corporations.

Indicative list of principal topics:

• Identification of entities (including hybrids) subject to corporation tax
• Corporate groups and personal service companies
• Debt versus equity and relief from economic double taxation of dividends
• Cross-border corporate income and dividends
• Gains/losses on the disposal of shares, takeovers and sale of loss companies
• Corporate formation, share buy-backs and liquidation
• Bonus issues, convertible notes, mergers and demergers.

View detailed information in the Handbook

This subject will provide a detailed comparative analysis of the principal topics in international income taxation. Following an introduction to the foundations of international tax systems, the core principles of international income tax will be examined, with the different approaches taken by nations (developed, emerging, and developing countries) outlined and critiqued. This discussion will include the multilateralised bilateralism established by the tax treaty models of the OECD and UN, which form the basis for the more than 3.500 existing tax treaties. Based on a deeper understanding of those building blocks, the different perspectives of various nations with regard to the fair allocation of taxing rights, especially in the globalised and digitalised economy, will be explored. We will include a focus on the recent and ongoing (multilateral) attempts to stabilize the international tax system, such as the OECD Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) project, the OECD Two Pillar Solution, ongoing transparency efforts, and work on the UN Framework Convention. It will also address the relationship between international trade and investment law and tax law, particularly amid rising trade tensions.

Our subject equips students to analyse international tax issues using a comparative approach and to acquire a deep understanding of the underlying structural, institutional, and policy influences that have shaped and will shape international income tax systems. This knowledge is directly applicable to analysing international tax problems in any country.

Indicative list of principal topics:

• Broad trends in international tax policy and structure across countries;
• Jurisdiction to tax (residence and source) and the impact of tax treaties;
• Taxation of foreign income of residents, including elimination of double taxation;
• Taxation of non-residents, including the scope of source taxation and "fair" allocation of taxing rights;
• International anti-avoidance rules, including controlled foreign company rules, thin capitalisation rules/interest barrier rules, indirect transfer rules, and transfer pricing;
• OECD and UN initiatives in international taxation, including BEPS, Two Pillars, UN Framework Convention, Global Forum);
• The relationship between international trade and investment law and tax law.

View detailed information in the Handbook

This core tax subject examines the fundamentals of taxation, with a focus on Australia’s most important tax: the personal income tax. It engages with the tax law that is most relevant to legal and tax practice for individuals and businesses.

This subject equips students to interpret statutory tax rules and apply judicial approaches, and to understand the policy and implications of tax reform in this fast-changing and challenging area of law. This subject is required for international tax students and is recommended for all masters students who have had little previous study or experience in tax law and wish to gain a solid grounding in the area.

Indicative list of principal topics:

• Overview of federal and state taxes in Australia, how tax laws are made, sources of tax law, tax policy and design principles and reform
• The structure of the income tax, concept of income and tax rates
• Income tax law, including calculation of taxable income; definition of income from services, property and business, capital gains, deductions and treatment of business and investment assets
• Overview of income tax of business and investment entities
• Tax avoidance and evasion, and the general anti-avoidance rule.

Important information about this Subject

All international students are required to undertake Foundations of Tax Law. This subject provides a necessary grounding in Australian common law and statutory law of taxation, enabling a comparison with students’ home country tax systems. It provides the foundation for successful study in the other tax subjects studied in the course.

This applies to students enrolled in the following courses:

• Master of International Tax
• Master of Tax
• Graduate Diploma in International Tax
• Graduate Diploma in Tax
• Specialist Certificate in Tax

More information on course planning in the Melbourne Law Masters.

View detailed information in the Handbook

This subject extends the study of international tax from fundamental principles to a range of advanced topics affecting inbound and outbound investment by companies, other entities, and individuals. The subject examines tax design and policy as well as the technical operation of Australian tax law. Recurrent themes include international tax avoidance, counter-measures developed through the OECD/G20 Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) Project, Australia’s legislative and treaty responses to BEPS, and the counterpoint of avoiding or relieving international double taxation. The subject includes a critical examination of the policies underlying Australia’s rules and whether their technical implementation achieves their policy objectives. It also considers the ongoing reform of international tax rules, particularly through the BEPS Project. BEPS reforms are redefining the rules for countering international tax avoidance. This subject enables scholars and practitioners working in international tax to be aware of how international tax rules are being developed and reformed both globally and in Australia.

Indicative list of principal topics:

• Australia’s CFC rules, studied in depth
• Transferor trust rules
• The multinational anti-avoidance law (MAAL)
• The diverted profits tax (DPT)
• Thin capitalisation rules
• Hybrid mismatch rules
• Tax treatment of unfamiliar or hybrid entities
• Treaty-related anti-avoidance rules
• Exchange of information and other administrative assistance between tax administrations

View detailed information in the Handbook

This core international tax subject is of central importance given Australia’s ever-growing role in the modern, global economy. and contemporary reforms intended to address the effects of digitisation and base erosion and profit sharing This subject covers the fundamental international income tax rules that apply where income or capital gains are derived in circumstances that have a connection with Australia. It considers Australia’s tax jurisdiction of residence and source, and relief from double taxation under domestic law. It also examines measures to prevent tax avoidance, such as controlled foreign company rules.

This subject is designed to explore in detail the fundamental principles of Australia’s international taxation regime. The subject will examine both the issues of tax design and policy, and the relevant provisions in the legislation, cases and rulings.

Indicative list of principal topics:

• Principles of international taxation
• Rules for determining residence and source
• Rules for the taxation and avoidance of double tax of residents’ foreign income including foreign income tax offsets and exemption of foreign income
• Rules for the taxation of non-residents’ Australian source income (business income, interest, dividends and royalties)
• Introduction to accruals taxation of controlled foreign corporations.
• Overview of rules for the prevention of base erosion and profit shifting including the multinational anti-avoidance law, diverted profits tax and thin capitalisation rules.

Note: Advanced treatment of tax treaties, controlled foreign corporations and trusts, thin capitalisation, transfer pricing, base erosion and profit shifting will be provided in the following suite of advanced and specialist international tax subjects.

• International Tax: Anti-Avoidance
• Transfer Pricing
• Tax Treaties
• Current Issues in International Tax

View detailed information in the Handbook

This specialist subject taught by leading members of the Victorian Bar specialising in tax, teaches all of the legal principles associated with tax litigation. It addresses the system of tax appeals, administrative and judicial review of decisions made by the Commissioner, evidence-gathering and the preparation of objections, tax appeal statements, affidavits, expert reports and legal submissions in a tax case. It explains how tax cases are tried and how they are dealt with at appellate level. It also covers the rulings system, the imposition and review of penalties and the Commissioner‘s rights of recovery. The focus of the subject is on the practical, and not theoretical, application of these principles.

Indicative principal topics include:

• Introduction and the appeals process under Part IVC of the Taxation Administration Act 1953 (Cth)
• Challenging an assessment, objections, objections decisions and appeal
• The audit process and the Commissioner‘s information-gathering powers
• Interlocutory steps for getting a case ready for trial, including the Federal Court Taxation Practice Note No.1
• Written advocacy—the different needs at various stages of the appeals process
• The hearing
• Use of expert witnesses
• Appeals to Federal, Full Federal and High Courts
• The rulings process
• Judicial review of decisions made by the Commissioner
• Recovery of tax.

View detailed information in the Handbook

All governments need robust tax systems capable of funding them. Modern tax systems have also taken on other public policy roles, in income distribution and economic activity, and become integral to governments’ social and economic policies. Tax policy design thus entails a challenging mix of economic, social, legal, accounting and administrative policies - which has become more complex in a world of increasingly mobile capital and labour.

This subject looks at Australia’s tax system and experience with reform over recent decades, comparing it with other countries. The subject will analyse the available tax bases, the interactions between the tax and transfer systems and issues of tax law design and administration.

Indicative list of principal topics:

• Introduction to economics, fiscal policy and the processes of government
• Principles, objectives and main concepts in tax policy formulation
• Analysis of the main tax bases in Australia
• Major issues in tax reform in Australia, including in relation to revenue adequacy, economic efficiency, social equity and administrative simplicity
• Interactions between the tax and transfer systems
• The potential of the tax system to pursue environmental objectives

View detailed information in the Handbook

Globally, countries have negotiated more than 3,000 bilateral tax treaties and the number of treaties continues to grow. Tax Treaties provides an in-depth examination of international tax treaties, regarding both inbound and outbound investment. This subject uses the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Model Treaty and Commentary and examines important tax treaties of Australia and its major trading partners.

Professor Richard Vann has advised the OECD and country governments on these issues. This lively, engaging and relevant subject equips students to deal with the most topical and advanced issues of international tax in the application and interpretation of tax treaties, including the meaning of permanent establishment and taxation of business profits, residence and source, the treatment of investment income, exchange of information and avoidance of double taxation.

Indicative list of principal topics:

• The role of tax treaties in preventing double taxation and tax avoidance
• Interpretation of tax treaties
• Relationship between tax treaties and domestic law
• Impact of tax treaties on investing in Australia
• Impact of tax treaties on investing overseas
• Entities and tax treaties
• The mutual agreement procedure
• Tax treaties and tax avoidance.

View detailed information in the Handbook

International transfer pricing is the price charged for the cross-border transfer of assets or services between associated enterprises in a multinational enterprise group. Transfer pricing is consistently identified in international surveys of multinational enterprises as the most important tax issue they face. Multinational enterprises have to deal with demands from the various jurisdictions in which they operate as national tax agencies implement measures to protect their revenue from cross-border trade between associated entities.

This subject studies the Australian transfer pricing rules and their application. The Australian transfer pricing rules are based on the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Transfer Pricing Guidelines. This subject is designed for tax advisers, in-house tax managers and government officials, as well as those practising in transfer pricing. A background in transfer pricing is not required.

Indicative list of principal topics:

• OECD guidelines on transfer pricing
• Australia’s tax legislation and tax rulings on transfer pricing
• Australia’s tax treaties and transfer pricing
• Case law
• Transfer pricing methodologies—selection and application for the following transactions in respect of tangible goods, intangible assets, services and financial transactions
• Transfer pricing documentation requirements
• Performing a comparable search (benchmarking)
• Completing the transfer pricing section of the tax return
• Risk reviews and audit approach.

View detailed information in the Handbook

This subject offers an in-depth examination of China’s competition law regime, with a particular focus on the Anti-Monopoly Law, its implementing regulations, and landmark enforcement decisions. Since its enactment in 2007—and subsequent amendment in 2022—China’s competition law has undergone rapid development, positioning the country alongside the United States and the European Union as a major global competition jurisdiction.

Students will explore key areas of substantive and procedural competition law, including monopoly agreements, abuse of market dominance, merger control, administrative monopoly, and anti-monopoly procedures. This subject will also consider the application and the enforcement of competition law in evolving domains, such as intellectual properties and the platform economy.

Case studies will include milestone decisions from China such as those involving Qualcomm, Tetra Pak and Alibaba; and from the EU including Microsoft and Google, as well as Google and Apple from the US. These will be used to illustrate the practical operation of the law and its economic and political implications. We will also take a comparative analysis throughout the subject, enabling students to contrast the Chinese approach with that of other major jurisdictions, particularly the European Union and the United States.

This subject is designed to equip students with the critical tools necessary to navigate the regulatory landscape of China’s competition law—an increasingly indispensable competency for legal professionals engaged in global commerce and regulatory practice. Most important, it also aims to deliver student a comparative perspective on the major developments across the world.

Indicative list of principal topics:

• General introduction to competition law
• Monopoly agreements
• Abusing dominant positions
• Merger control
• Administrative monopoly and fair competition review
• Competition law enforcement
• Competition law and intellectual properties
• Competition law and platform economy

View detailed information in the Handbook

Discrimination and sexual harassment in the workplace represent an overwhelming majority of total complaints made to anti-discrimination authorities. Equality and discrimination at work remain pressing concerns for employees, managers and, more broadly, for society. Achieving equality is elusive and, indeed, the very meaning of equality is highly contested.

This subject explores the legal meanings of equality, with a focus on the frameworks through which Australian parliaments have sought to address inequality, discrimination and harassment. It examines federal and state laws that deal with discrimination, including the four federal laws, the Equal Opportunity Act 2010 (Vic) and the adverse action provisions in the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth). Consideration is given to discrimination based on race, sex, disability, age and pregnancy and family responsibilities. The lecturers in this subject combine many years of academic scholarship in this area, engagement in law reform debates and practical client-focused legal advice

This subject provides an examination of the development and current scope of Australian equality and discrimination law, as relevant in employment and work relationships. It will focus on federal and Victorian jurisdictions.

Indicative list of principal topics:

• A study of the framework and key features of federal and state legislative provisions dealing with equality and discrimination in the employment context, including the Equal Opportunity Act 2010 (Vic), the Racial Discrimination Act 1975 (Cth), the Sex Discrimination Act 1984 (Cth), the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 (Cth) and the Age Discrimination Act 2004 (Cth)
• An examination of the general protection provisions in the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth), including redress for certain types of adverse action
• Debates regarding the meaning of equality, discrimination and other contested concepts such as choice, especially as choice relates to carer responsibilities
• The Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities Act 2006 (Vic), and its potential impact in the interpretation of the Victorian Equal Opportunity Act
• Conciliation, dispute resolution and remedies
• Alternative regulatory regimes, including the National Employment Standards, equal remuneration provisions under the Fair Work Act, contract law and occupational health and safety issues such as bullying
• Current processes of legislative revision at federal and state level
• The potential for future developments in the field.

View detailed information in the Handbook

This is a foundational subject in the Melbourne Law Masters (MLM) which is compulsory for graduates of disciplines other than law and for law graduates from countries with a non-common law system. It provides students with an opportunity to acquire the foundational legal skills necessary for studying and working in a common law system, such as that in Australia.

The common law forms one of the two principal systems of Western law that, through colonisation, have spread throughout the world. Common law systems have a distinctive approach to understanding the sources of law, the role of law-making institutions, and processes for resolving disputes. These characteristics of the common law system have had a profound effect on the development not only of the societies in the countries in which it applied, but also on international law and practice.

The aim of this subject is to acquire basic foundational legal skills that will assist you with other subjects in the MLM program. The subject teaches students how to read, use and interpret reported cases and legislation. The subject explains the sources of law, what influences them, and how they influence the development of the common law. These aims are given in context of some contemporary debates on common law reasoning by assessing the role of the High Court of Australia. The subject focuses on developing skills in analysis and legal writing, the tools of the common lawyer.

Indicative list of principal topics:

• How to read and analyse a case
• The concept and use of precedent
• Evolution of a common law principle
• Common law issues: judicial activism, separation of powers
• The role of the High Court and an overview of the Constitution
• The relationship between the Constitution, case law and statute law
• Influences of other sources of law on the common law
• How to read and analyse statutes
• Approaches to statutory interpretation
• Legal writing skills and expectations in the MLM program.

Important information about this Subject

This subject is an important foundational skills-based subject for many common-law focussed subjects in the Melbourne Law Masters. We recommend Masters students needing an introduction to the common law enrol in this subject when they first start their program of study. For most graduate diploma students, Australian Legal Process and Legal Institutions (ALPLI) is the alternative intensive offering.

All students enrolled in the following common-law focussed Masters courses are strongly recommended to take LAWS70217 Fundamentals of the Common Law (if you don't already have prior professional or educational background in the common law):

• Master of Banking and Finance
• Master of Commercial Law
• Master of Construction Law
• Master of Employment and Labour Relations Law
• Master of Energy and Resources Law
• Master of Health and Medical Law
• Master of Intellectual Property Law
• Master of Private Law
• Master of Laws (if you wish to focus on one of these common-law areas above)

More information on course planning in the Melbourne Law Masters.

View detailed information in the Handbook

This subject introduces the techniques and institutions used to manage and resolve international disputes, focusing on both diplomatic (negotiation, mediation, inquiry, and conciliation) and legal (arbitration and judicial settlement) methods. Students will explore historical and topical examples to analyse when, how, and with what effect states, corporations, and individuals have resorted to different forms of international adjudication or arbitration to settle disputes, and consider the extent to which powerful states such as China, France, Russia, the UK, and the US have embraced international dispute settlement. The subject analyses key issues that have arisen in cases across various substantive areas of international law, including decolonisation, investment, trade, climate change, human rights, nuclear testing, the law of the sea, the use of force, and territorial sovereignty. Students will become familiar with different dispute settlement bodies and mechanisms, including the International Court of Justice, investor-state dispute settlement mechanisms, the dispute settlement systems established by the World Trade Organization and the UN Law of the Sea Convention, and international human rights courts and tribunals. The subject concludes by examining and identifying emergent trends in, and challenges to, international dispute settlement.

Indicative list of principal topics

• The broad historical and political context of international dispute settlement
• The international obligation to settle disputes by peaceful means
• The role of diplomatic procedures, such as negotiation, mediation, and conciliation
• The International Court of Justice, including issues involving state consent to jurisdiction, reservations to the optional clause, the evaluation of scientific evidence, and the Court's advisory jurisdiction
• Investor-state dispute settlement, including issues relating to jurisdiction, the use of precedent, and the recognition and enforcement of awards
• WTO dispute resolution procedures and the challenges facing the Appellate Body
• Dispute settlement under the UN Law of the Sea Convention
• International human rights courts and tribunals
• Backlash against and reform of international dispute settlement mechanisms

View detailed information in the Handbook

Over the past two decades, the protection of intellectual property rights (IPRs) globally has become a major issue both for right holders and users, and one that has had profound implications in a number of important areas of public discourse, such as international trade, public health, education and research, national development and the promotion of biodiversity. This subject seeks to engage with all these issues, and begins with a discussion of the sources of international intellectual property (IP) law, including the principal IP treaties and the general architecture of the international IP system. It then considers a number of case studies where particular IP issues arise and where international solutions are presently being negotiated. It will also examine the growing tension between the territoriality of IPRs and the global scope of IP exploitation, considering how this clash plays out in the key area of private international law.

This subject consists of a survey of the economic, legal and political elements and forces that shape the international IP system.

Indicative list of principal topics:

• Introduction to the international IP system, including the main producers and owners of IP, the institutional architecture and the treaty system, including those administered by the World Intellectual Property Organization and the World Trade Organization (notably the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights), and the emergence of bilateral and regional trade and investment protection treaties that have an impact on the protection of IP rights
• Instruments and strategies for obtaining protection internationally—the Patent Cooperation Treaty, Madrid System, Hague System and regional systems
• Human rights, IP and the development agenda
• IPRs and public health
• IPRs and food security
• Biotechnology, access to genetic resources and traditional knowledge
• Access to knowledge
• The protection of names, marks and other identifiers and content, with particular reference to the internet
• Dispute settlement and private international law issues.

View detailed information in the Handbook

This subject critically explores the intersection of international law and Artificial Intelligence (AI). We conceptualise AI as an ‘Algorithmic Leviathan’ – a powerful force reshaping global power, economies, and societies. Rather than a regulatory void, the course examines how existing international legal frameworks (in trade, human rights, humanitarian law, etc.) grapple with AI’s multifaceted impacts – from its resource-intensive creation and data extraction to its deployment in autonomous systems and decision-making. You will critically analyse attempts to govern AI, considering the interplay between states, corporations, and the risks of ‘regulatory capture’. The subject also explores AI’s potential to serve international law’s goals, such as enhancing access to justice, while remaining vigilant about biases and ethical challenges. Through lectures, discussions, and hands-on AI tool exercises (no coding background needed), you will develop a sophisticated understanding of how international law is responding to, and being reshaped by, AI’s advance.

Indicative list of principal topics:

• Introduction: AI as a Force to be Governed? (Concepts, History, Critical Framing)
• International Law’s Encounter with AI: (Sources, Subjects, Responsibility, Jurisdiction)
• AI's Material Costs: (Resource Extraction, Environment, Labour, Trade Law - for example, China - Rare Earths)
• AI's Data Demands: The Data Mine (Information Extraction, Privacy, Data Flows, Human Rights Law)
• Governing AI: Regulation, Competition, and Capture (Global Governance Models, EU AI Act, Treaty Efforts)
• AI on the Battlefield: Autonomous Weapons, Targeting, and International Humanitarian Law
• Rules as Data: AI, Treaty Interpretation, and Legal Knowledge Management
• AI and Information Warfare: State Responsibility and Human Rights Implications
• Algorithmic Justice? AI in International Adjudication, Decision-Making, and Bias Mitigation
• AI Futures: Collective Rights, Deliberative Democracy, and the Evolving Role of the International Lawyer

View detailed information in the Handbook

This subject involves the study and analysis of the structure, purpose and key provisions of market standard cross border lending documentation, including large syndicated credit agreements (governed by New York or English law). Students will focus on anticipating potential concerns and tensions in the negotiation process and will have the chance to review and study the key agreements and documents such as the credit agreement, guaranties, other ancillary documents, schedules, and document deliveries that they will encounter in practice. Students will also study the structure and standard documents used in the cross-border repo market and the securities lending market, two important international capital markets.

Over the past three decades, Professor Christian Johnson has taught and lectured on cross-border lending and capital markets in Australia, Europe, Asia, the Middle East, Africa, and North and South America. Currently, he is the Commonwealth Professor of Law and Business Advising at Widener University Commonwealth School of Law. Professor Johnson has presented and lectured at sovereign wealth funds, central banks, multilateral development banks, the University of Oxford, the London School of Economics, the National University of Singapore, and other prominent institutions. Professor Johnson graduated with his law degree from Columbia University, practiced for global law firms in New York and Chicago, and worked as a certified public accountant for Price Waterhouse prior to law school.

Indicative list of principal topics:

• The various structures and purposes of different cross-border lending transactions
• The key provisions and clauses found in cross-border lending documentation
• The key interbank credit markets
• The key differences between New York, English law and Australia in lending transactions
• The key clauses found in Australian/New York/English guarantees
• The key legal, credit and business issues in repo and securities lending transactions.

View detailed information in the Handbook

The Challenge of a Decade, if not our Generation. Can sustainable finance be the answer to climate change, poverty and inequality? The purpose of this subject is to immerse students in sustainable finance in international practice, from sustainable lending, green bonds, renewable energy, innovative structured products and impact investing. Across these markets, key legal concepts, structural features and documentation are covered in detail. By engaging in-depth, through term sheet negotiations, and pitches the students jointly develop the skills to assess, prioritise, challenge and negotiate these transactions.

The subject coordinator draws on his own experience in global sustainable finance, and invites experts from international law firms and organisations, to help you become ‘more than a lawyer’.

Indicative list of principal topics:

• The Sustainable Development Goals, the evolving regulatory framework of sustainable finance, and implementation by banks, development institutions, funds and corporates in international practice
• Understanding the structural features of sustainable lending, including sustainability-linked loans (SLLs) as well as inclusive finance, along with the relevant principles and contentious issues in negotiation
• Thoroughly analysing and comparing the green, blue, orange, social and sustainable bond structures and terms, including social impact bonds, bond linked to sustainable performance, as well as their challenges in practice
• Negotiating and mastering the negotiation of key terms of renewable energy project finance
• The implementation of impact investing in fund management and private equity, in day to day practice
• How structured finance can further sustainable goals, for instance through refugee finance, vaccine bonds, drought risk transfer and microfinance securitisation
• The litigation challenges in sustainable finance for both investors, issuers and ‘green’ rating agencies, for instance the risk of mis-selling ‘green’ products, and how to address this and other risks in documentation as well as through strategic means.

View detailed information in the Handbook

This interdisciplinary subject will examine the relationships between international trade and competition policies from both legal and economic perspectives. The subject will focus on anti-competitive practices of an international scope and how they may be addressed by trade and competition rules. It will canvass the tensions and complementarities between these two areas of policy, as well as incorporate general public policy, commercial diplomacy and institutional considerations. In addition, anti-dumping/safeguards law and practices and how they relate to competition law will be taken up and their link with market access opportunities explained.

The course will cover the interface between international trade and competition policy and include a discussion of the various initiatives to address international competition law problems, and options to regulate competition law in the World Trade Organization and through other means. Contemporary issues driving new initiatives to reform the World Trade Organisation, the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership, Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership will be discussed.

Indicative list of principal topics:

• Introduction to trade and competition policies: key definitions, concepts, contexts and interdependencies
• Framework for trade liberalisation: a review of trade theories, trade policy, rent seeking, lobbies, corruption and incentives
• Principles of the trading system: most-favoured-nation, non-discrimination, national treatment, prohibition of quantitative restrictions, prohibition of dumping and subsidies, anti-dumping actions and countervailing measures, General System of Preferences (GSP) for developing countries, regional trade arrangements
• Principles of competition policy: theoretical models vs competition restrictions in real world, including dominance, strategic behaviour, anti-competitive mergers, horizontal and vertical agreements and government restrictions
• The interface between the competition and trade policies: comparison of analytical approaches used by competition law and trade policy, including in relation to market definition, harm assessment, remedies, sanctions, countervailing and retaliation measures, dispute resolution, arbitration and judicial review.

In addition to lectures, group discussions and student presentations, case studies drawn from the WTO Dispute Settlement Body will be used to show “real world” examples of the challenges policy makers face in resolving cross border trade and competition issues.

View detailed information in the Handbook

The importance of health to the functioning of societies has never been more apparent than it is today. Nor has the global nature of health. Today’s major risks to health are global in nature, including the rapid spread of pathogens across borders in our highly interconnected world, and the commercial practices of multinational corporations that market harmful products. These health risks cannot be combated without international cooperation, including in preventing / limiting the spread of pathogens and regulating harmful commercial practices.

Law – at all levels, from international to national and sub-national – has a fundamental role to play in global health. It can be among the most powerful tools for protecting and promoting health, but it can also fall well short of achieving its potential, or even actively contribute to harm, if poorly designed or implemented, or where it pursues other policy objectives in ways that conflict with those of health.

This subject is called ‘Law and global health’ rather than ‘Global health law’. This reflects the reality that, while there are a range of international instruments (including both legally binding and non-legally binding) that are specifically designed to protect and promote global health, global health can be equally influenced by international instruments across diverse areas such as human rights, climate change and environment, biodiversity, animal health, intellectual property, international trade, and international investment.

While the subject will focus primarily on the instruments and organisations that are explicitly dedicated to health, it will examine the critical connections with other relevant areas of law, policy and practice.

The subject will cover both communicable diseases (including pandemics such as COVID-19, and other international health emergencies) and non-communicable diseases (such as heart disease, stroke, cancer, diabetes and chronic lung disease).

Indicative list of principal topics:

• An introduction to global health priorities, including infectious diseases, noncommunicable diseases, and climate change
• Global health narratives, concepts and approaches
• An introduction to the World Health Organization
• Global governance of infectious diseases, including the International Health Regulations (2005) and the new pandemic treaty
• Global governance of noncommunicable diseases, particularly the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, as well as international approaches to addressing alcohol use, unhealthy diets and the health effects of air pollution
• An overview of trade, investment, intellectual property and health

View detailed information in the Handbook

Over the past few years there have been profound changes in the regulation and registration of the health professions. Fifteen professions are now included in a national scheme and others may join them. All of the registered professions are covered by the same legislation for accreditation, registration and the monitoring of practice, to ensure that standards are maintained to protect the public. More than 700,000 health practitioners are registered under the national scheme and, when it was adopted in July 2010, 66 acts of parliament were repealed and about 85 health professional boards were abolished. This subject will provide a detailed examination of the scheme, which has centralised the disciplinary process, with the state and territory registration bodies acting under delegated authority from the federal board. The subject will also provide an understanding of how health practitioners, their employers and educators can report ‘notifiable conduct’ of practitioners to the national regulator, and how healthcare consumers (patients) can lodge a ‘notification’ about the practice of a health practitioner. The course will scrutinise the concept of revalidation, and the health, fitness/character, performance and conduct pathways, analysing the factors that lead to different forms of disciplinary findings and determinations for different forms of problematic conduct, including sexual misconduct and serious error. It will examine what differentiates permissible from impermissible advertising, will evaluate how unregistered practitioners are now regulated and will explore how registered, unregistered and deregistered practitioners’ conduct is regulated by consumer protection legislation.

Indicative list of principal topics:

• Legal requirements for accreditation, registration and monitoring of practice of health practitioners in Australia
• The process and grounds for disciplinary action
• An examination of specific disciplinary proceedings against health practitioners, looking at issues of conduct, health, performance and fitness
• A comparison of disciplinary proceedings and other legal action against health practitioners
• Analysis of the regulatory mechanisms applicable to unregistered practitioners
• An evaluation of the new registration scheme and its operation to date
• A review of consumer protection actions that can be taken against health practitioners, both those who are registered and those who are not.

View detailed information in the Handbook

This is a foundational subject in the Melbourne Law Masters (MLM) which is compulsory for graduates of disciplines other than law and for law graduates from countries with a non-common law system. It provides students with an opportunity to acquire the foundational legal skills necessary for studying and working in a common law system, such as that in Australia.

The common law forms one of the two principal systems of Western law that, through colonisation, have spread throughout the world. Common law systems have a distinctive approach to understanding the sources of law, the role of law-making institutions, and processes for resolving disputes. These characteristics of the common law system have had a profound effect on the development not only of the societies in the countries in which it applied, but also on international law and practice.

The aim of this subject is to acquire basic foundational legal skills that will assist you with other subjects in the MLM program. The subject teaches students how to read, use and interpret reported cases and legislation. The subject explains the sources of law, what influences them, and how they influence the development of the common law. These aims are given in context of some contemporary debates on common law reasoning by assessing the role of the High Court of Australia. The subject focuses on developing skills in analysis and legal writing, the tools of the common lawyer.

Indicative list of principal topics:

• How to read and analyse a case
• The concept and use of precedent
• Evolution of a common law principle
• Common law issues: judicial activism, separation of powers
• The role of the High Court and an overview of the Constitution
• The relationship between the Constitution, case law and statute law
• Influences of other sources of law on the common law
• How to read and analyse statutes
• Approaches to statutory interpretation
• Legal writing skills and expectations in the MLM program.

Important information about this Subject

This subject is an important foundational skills-based subject for many common-law focussed subjects in the Melbourne Law Masters. We recommend Masters students needing an introduction to the common law enrol in this subject when they first start their program of study. For most graduate diploma students, Australian Legal Process and Legal Institutions (ALPLI) is the alternative intensive offering.

All students enrolled in the following common-law focussed Masters courses are strongly recommended to take LAWS70217 Fundamentals of the Common Law (if you don't already have prior professional or educational background in the common law):

• Master of Banking and Finance
• Master of Commercial Law
• Master of Construction Law
• Master of Employment and Labour Relations Law
• Master of Energy and Resources Law
• Master of Health and Medical Law
• Master of Intellectual Property Law
• Master of Private Law
• Master of Laws (if you wish to focus on one of these common-law areas above)

More information on course planning in the Melbourne Law Masters.

View detailed information in the Handbook