The aim of the unit is to develop a critical perspective upon the accountability of government decision-makers. The unit examines theoretical frameworks for analysis of a range of issues concerning accountability, with reference to relevant principles of administrative law. Part 1 of the unit examines the concept of administrative discretion, alternative theories of the rule of law, human rights, ethics and managerialism. Part 2 of the unit is concerned with the accountability of the executive branch of government. It includes analysis of separation of powers and the doctrine of ministerial responsibility, merits review tribunals, investigative tribunals and tribunal procedure. Part 3 of the unit examines theories of participatory democracy, with reference to relevant legal principles drawn from procedural fairness, rules of standing and consultation requirements in rule making. Part 4 examines theories of open government, with reference to statutory duties to give reasons for decisions and freedom of information legislation. Part 5 examines the proper scope of administrative law by discussion of the issue of its extension to government business enterprises which are corporatised, privatised or contracted out.

This unit of study is designed especially for candidates in the MLLR program. The unit examines the regulation of the individual employment relationship. The unit builds on the introduction to this topic in the foundation LAWS6071 Labour Law unit, by examining in closer detail the formation, construction and interpretation of employment contracts (including incorporation of policies and other documents, and exercise of contractual discretions); duties of employers and employees in contract; termination of employment contracts; and post-employment obligations (including restraints of trade). Students will examine decisions of courts and tribunals in detail.

This unit will explore a number of contentious issues arising in the law of civil obligations and remedies. It will revise and build on the fundamentals in the areas of torts, contracts and equity and place particular emphasis on the interaction of these three fields of the law. Particular topics and problems will involve issues of: causation and scope of liability; controlling liability by contract; tort duties to third parties to contracts; assessing loss; duties of good faith; fiduciary duties and conflicts. The unit will also include a number of guest lectures, to be announced.

This unit aims to introduce you to the diverse range of anti-terrorism laws and policies which have developed at the international, regional and domestic levels, and which proliferated after the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001. Laws will be evaluated in the light of their profound and complex political, ideological and ethical implications for political order, legal systems, human rights, and international relations. In essence, the study of terrorism (and the law's response to it) is the study of the timeless philosophical question of when political violence is justified, against whom, and for what purposes - whether it is 'freedom fighters', or 'State terrorism', that is at issue.

Australian International Taxation is a detailed study of the fundamental principles of Australia's international taxation regime as it applies to cross-border business and investment transactions. The unit focuses on corporate residence, source, non-resident withholding tax, relief from international double taxation, CFCs, transferor trusts, transfer pricing and thin capitalisation. The unit will examine both the issues of international tax rule design and policy, and the relevant provisions in the legislation, cases and rulings. The unit focuses on the international tax rules in Australia's domestic law. Although the role of double tax treaties is introduced, double tax treaties are covered in the companion unit Tax Treaties. Students should gain an understanding of the policies underlying Australia's rules for taxing international transactions, as well as a detailed knowledge of the foundation principles of law applicable to the taxation of inbound and outbound transactions.

Biological diversity is the variability among living organisms and the ecological complexes of which they are part, including diversity within species, between species and of ecosystems. Aside from whatever intrinsic value it may possess, biodiversity is crucial to support human life and welfare. Australia is fortunate to have some of the world¿s most complex and unique biodiversity - unfortunately, also to have one of the highest rates of extinction and loss of biodiversity. Despite a sophisticated system of environmental governance and a relatively high degree of environmental awareness, biodiversity continues to decline rapidly in Australia. This unit will consider the international legal regime related to the protection of biodiversity; how international instruments are incorporated into (or otherwise affect) Australia¿s regime; and the operation of Australia¿s regime at both national and state levels (the latter, particularly in NSW) - and will include consideration of various threats to biodiversity, different protection options (in situ and ex situ), and how biodiversity-related considerations affect and are affected by other Environmental Law fields

Every breach of contract gives rise to a right to claim damages, but not every breach confers a right of termination. The first part of this unit analyses the concept of breach of contract - the concept of standard of duty and the law's requirements for proof of breach. The balance of the unit is concerned with the circumstances in which breach of contract does confer a right of termination. From a remedial perspective this means that the unit is primarily about self-help - enforcement of a right (termination) rather than a remedy (damages).The unit includes a detailed consideration of express provisions for termination ("termination clauses"), their drafting, exercise and consequences.

This unit covers the law and effective enforcement policy governing crimes committed by large multinational corporations. The central policy issue discussed is how to use corporate and individual liability to deter criminal wrongdoing by employees of publicly-held firms. The substantive statutes covered include corporate criminal liability and enforcement practice in the United States (including deferred and non-prosecution agreements), US corporate sentencing practice, mail and wire fraud (including honest services fraud (the statute used against FIFA)); insider trading, Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, Travel Act, money laundering, and judicial review of deferred and non-prosecution agreements.

Most matters handled by legal and accounting professionals have Capital Gains Tax ("CGT") implications - ranging from a simple conveyance or will, to a real estate development or litigation settlement. CGT is a major issue for all taxpayers and their advisors because the pervasive reach of the CGT provisions means that even straightforward commercial and domestic transactions often give rise to complex CGT issues. This unit examines the basic structure and core concepts of the CGT, and the specialist provisions that apply in a range of commercial and non-commercial contexts, such as the formation and sale of a business, conveyancing and property development, commercial and family litigation, and the settlement and administration of trusts.

The object of this unit is to provide an overview of the income tax system of China and a detailed analysis of the most important legislative and treaty rules of China in the area of international income tax, especially in dealings with Australia. Upon successful completion of the unit, students will have an advanced understanding of the policies underlying the Chinese rules for taxing international transactions as well as a detailed knowledge of the principles of income tax law applicable to inbound and outbound transactions. This unit includes a study of: overview of the Chinese income tax system; taxation of inbound investment into China; taxation of outbound investment from China; transfer pricing issues, and China's tax treaties.

This unit will provide students with an overall picture of the modern Chinese legal system. It will develop a perception of its unique character by tracing its role through major social epochs and the role of law in a socialist market economy. It will examine the concept of law as a political function and the implementation of law, not so much through courts, as through administrative fiats and authority, making law essentially a function of politics and administration. The unit will illustrate these perceptions through the study of various legal regimes. Lecture topics may include: Chinese legal history; Chinese legal system; criminal law and procedure; constitutional law; civil law and procedure; legal profession; environmental law; contract law; property law; company law; intellectual property law; foreign joint ventures; arbitration and mediation; foreign trade law and taxation law. The coursework component of the unit is residential and is conducted on the campus of the East China University of Politics and Law in Shanghai, People's Republic of China. Lectures will be given in English in Shanghai by professors from the East China University of Politics and Law. There will also be a visit to a Chinese law firm.

Recent extreme weather events and disasters around the world have resulted in loss of life, property, infrastructure and livelihoods and have severely disrupted the normal functioning of the societies which they have impacted. Worldwide insured losses alone from weather-related disasters have risen from US$5.1 billion per year between 1970-1989 to US$27 billion annually over the past two decades. International climate change negotiations have, over the past five years, delivered outcomes that are entirely inadequate to meet the goal set by the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change of keeping the rise in average global temperatures below 2 degrees C above pre-industrial temperatures. This unit of study adopts a climate justice approach to assess the respective roles and responsibilities of government and insurers to avoid, prepare for, respond to, recover from, and compensate for, the risks of climate disasters. The questions of avoidance and recovery will rely heavily on traditional Environmental Law mechanisms such as environmental planning and assessment and pollution and waste regimes, as well as the protection of biodiversity. The unit will also assess the viability of tort law and strict liability regimes for hazardous activities to compensate those who are impacted by climate disasters. The strict liability regimes include: global oil pollution spills, hazardous chemicals, asbestos and nuclear disasters. The unit will be taught by an esteemed international team of climate lawyers and individuals with experience in the insurance industry.
The objectives of this unit of study are to: Understand the science presented in two recent scientific reports, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's 2012 Special Report Managing the Risks of Extreme Events and Disasters to Advance Climate Change Adaptation (SREX), published in 2012, and the Australian Climate Commission's (CCC) 2013 The Critical Decade: Extreme Weather, (Extreme Weather Report, Understand the foundations of climate justice in the context of climate disasters, Understand the relevance of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, including the loss and damage mechanism, and the Hyogo Framework for Action 2005-2015: Building the Resilience of Nations and Communities to Disasters, The role of governments in enacting climate disaster risk reduction laws including: The role of Environmental and Planning Assessment Law and Building Codes in attempting to prevent climate disasters, Pollution, waste and contamination laws in the post-disaster phases, Biodiversity Law that is expected to protect species from the impacts of climate change and disasters, as well as promote ecosystems as disaster prevention measures, Governance arrangements between levels of government during and post the disaster, Compensatory regimes including those provided by government and the private sector through ex-post disaster relief, insurance and the capital markets; and The strengths and weaknesses of tort and strict liability regimes for compensating the victims of disaster.

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 unit seeks to develop an ability to understand and analyze any corporate tax system and assess its impact on corporate decision making. With a dedicated textbook (written by the presenter), it does this by comparing a number of influential and archetypal corporate tax systems (both common law and civil law) and assessing their behaviour in the context of a number of practical problems. For tax professionals, the unit 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. Topics include: corporate entities and hybrids, groups, interface with accounting, service companies, debt vs. equity, dividend relief, cross-border issues, incorporation, takeovers, trading in loss companies, share buy-backs, liquidation, bonus issues, convertible notes, mergers and demergers.

Comparative International Taxation is a detailed study of the basic principles of international taxation (residence, source, relief from international double taxation, anti-deferral rules, withholding tax, transfer pricing, thin capitalisation, and tax treaties). The unit is taught from a global perspective with the emphasis being on comparative analysis (focusing particularly on Anglo, US and continental European approaches, and also developed and developing country approaches). The unit examines the core issues in developing international tax rules and identifies different approaches countries have taken in dealing with these issues. As part of this study, recent trends in international tax rule development will be identified (particularly in the context of globalisation) and critiqued. Students should gain an understanding of the different approaches that countries have taken in the development of their international tax rules.

The content of this unit of study will be the following topics: Economic Theory of Competition Law; the Concepts of competition, market definition, market power, substantial lessening of competition and public benefit; Section 4D Exclusionary Provisions; Part IV: Cartels - Civil and Criminal Prohibitions; Section 45 Contracts, Arrangements and Understandings; Section 46 Misuse of Market Power; Section 47 Exclusive Dealing; Section 48 Resale Price Maintenance; Section 50 Mergers; Part IIIA Access to Services; Part VI Remedies and Enforcement; Part VII Authorisations and Notifications. The intended outcomes for students who successfully complete this unit are that they will have a firm grasp of the operation of the competition law provisions of the Competition and Consumer Act 2010.

The unit will examine in detail the legal and regulatory requirements relevant to the financial services industry, and how the risk of breaching those requirements can be managed by compliance systems. It will focus not only on legal theory but also on the practical day to day business issues involved with compliance.
The unit is divided into two parts: (a) Core compliance issues: licensing of financial service providers; compliance systems; insider trading and Chinese walls; market conduct rules; shareholding restrictions; trade practices; anti-money laundering, counter-terrorism financing and other measures to combat crime; retail customer obligations; marketing financial products; client money rules; privacy; fiduciary duties and conflicts of interest; confidentiality; phone taping; and investigating compliance breaches (including reporting obligations and HR issues); and (b) Specialist compliance issues relevant to: managed investments; deposit products, non cash payment facilities; credit facilities, stockbroking; derivatives; warrants; foreign exchange; futures broking; financial planning; margin lending; insurance and insurance broking; superannuation and retirement savings accounts.

This unit will address the role that constitutionalism is expected to play in a democratic state, and will explore various constitutional theories. The main focus will be on theoretical attempts at reconciling commitments to constitutionalism with emphasis on democratic participation: Is it paradoxical that a state governed by majority rules withdraws certain areas from collective decision-making? Various theories of constitutionalism, of constitutional interpretation, and of constitutional judicial review will be explored. The unit will also discuss the question of constitutional charters of rights, different models of judicial review, separation of powers, direct democracy and the functions of constitutions in transitions to democratic systems. The unit will follow a seminar format with the emphasis on class discussion of unit materials. First two days will be focused on the instructor's lectures while two remaining days on students' presentations.

This unit builds on the foundational unit LAWS6991 Fundamentals of Contract Law. It provides students with a detailed treatment of aspects of contract construction; the nature and effect of particular types of contractual terms; equitable and common law remedies; statutory measures having an impact on contracts and contract law (eg statutory unconscionability; misleading or deceptive conduct). Content and learning in this unit is scaffolded onto that of Fundamentals of Contract Law which is a pre-requisite for this unit.

The unit will involve a detailed study of the disclosure provisions and other requirements of chapter 6D of the Corporations Act, with particular focus on their application to the offer of company shares for issue or sale. However, some attention will also be given to listed managed investment schemes regulated under the Financial Services Reform Act. Attention will be paid to additional relevant legal requirements, including the ASX Listing Rules, for initial public offerings and other fundraisings. The unit is taught by lawyers with extensive experience in the field of corporate fundraising.

This unit will explore a range of recent trends and issues in corporate governance including:- the link between corporate scandals and corporate law reform; the board and independent directors; principles-based versus rules-based regulation; shareholder empowerment and institutional investor activism; takeovers and the regulation of executive pay. The unit will examine these issues from a comparative law perspective, analysing fundamental differences in corporate governance structure and techniques in a range of jurisdictions, including the US, UK, Germany, China and Australia.

Today there is an apparent consensus in favour of corporate responsibility, as reflected in instruments such as ASX Principle 3 ("Act ethically and responsibly"), but behind the appearance of consensus lie difficult questions of principle, policy and practical application. This unit aims to equip participants to engage in a sophisticated manner in the analysis of such questions. The seminar is organized around two broad themes. First, the seminar will examine corporate responsibility in the traditional sense of the consideration that corporations may be expected to give to the impact of their activities have on society, even as they strive to earn profits for their shareholders. Topics include environmental responsibility, corporate philanthropy, and the respective roles of directors, managers and shareholders. Second, the seminar will deal with current debates about the rights and responsibilities that arise from corporate personhood, including those concerning corporate criminal responsibility, corporate political participation, and the status of corporations under international law. Participants will learn to work with relevant primary and secondary legal materials, including materials from selected foreign jurisdictions, especially in North America. They will also become familiar with the conceptual tools available from various interdisciplinary perspectives (e.g., law, economics, philosophy, politics) for analysing problems of corporate responsibility.

The unit consists of a detailed examination of the tax rules applied to companies and shareholders in a domestic setting in Australia. The goals of the unit are to develop an understanding of the policies, detailed rules and current practical problems involved in the taxation of companies and shareholders and to explore why different solutions are used for these entities when compared to partnerships and trusts. Upon successful completion of this unit, a student should have an advanced understanding of the policies underlying Australia's corporate tax system, as well as a detailed knowledge of the technical detail involved in the rules for the taxation of companies and their shareholders in Australia. Topics to be covered include: the policy and problems of taxing companies and shareholders; taxation of company distributions and dealings with interests in companies, including liquidations and share repurchases; imputation, including dividends passing through partnerships and trusts and intercorporate dividends; debt equity classification; shareholder rules; dividend and capital streaming and stripping; and value shifting.

This unit critically explores the complex cultural, social and popular intersections between media and crime in the broadest sense. Topics covered include news reporting of crime; media constructions of offenders and offences; moral panic and labeling; media and policing; 'reality' crime shows; surveillance and social control, crime, television and film, crime and social media.

This unit provides an examination of research methods in the context of criminology. The relationship between theory and methodology is explored. The production of knowledge about crime is critically assessed. Sources and forms of crime data are discussed and their significance is assessed. Research design, evaluation and analysis are also studied.

The Criminal Justice Internship provides an opportunity to experience the working environment of criminal justice agencies. Experience gained through placement with a relevant agency will be complemented by attendance at four intensive seminars. These seminars will provide opportunities to reflect on the role of the host agency, the policy context within which the host agency operates, the ethical challenges associated with the work of the agency and the specific skills and knowledge gained through the Internship. The Internship will be especially beneficial to those students with limited work experience or those pursuing or contemplating a career change.

This unit will be an investigation of the relationship between the criminal law and the market and will seek to investigate the question of how criminal law has understood and regulated markets in the modern period. It will have three main components. The first would be to look at the rise of a new type of market crime in the period since the mid-1980s. This development began with scandals into 'insider dealing' or 'insider trading' and more recently has seen the development of general crimes of 'market abuse' or conduct which undermines the integrity of markets. We will look at the reasons behind this recent resort to criminal law. The second theme will be to set this in historical context. The development of the modern criminal law is usually understood in terms of the withdrawal of criminal law from market regulation as, in the early years of the nineteenth century, crimes such as forestalling and regrating were abolished on the grounds that markets were self-regulating and that the criminal law should not intervene in market mechanisms. This will look at the re-emergence of forms of financial crime in the mid-nineteenth century in response to scandals around speculation on the railway boom and banking, and then at the development of certain 'economic crimes' related to revenue and the state in the twentieth century. The third part will then look at theoretical dimensions of the question, looking more generally at how the relationship between markets and civil order has been conceived in modernity.

This unit critically examines the development of the modern criminal law and process (broadly, since end eighteenth century). In terms of process, topics to be considered may include the development of the adversarial trial system, the decline of capital punishment, the formalization of rules of evidence and proof, the growth of the summary jurisdiction, and the appearance of 'hybrid' civil/criminal procedural forms. In terms of criminal law, topics may include non-fatal offences against the person, sexual offences, possession and 'endangerment' offences. The discussion of these topics is set in the context of legal scholarly discourse (criminal law theory) and the unit provides opportunity for reflection on the contemporary challenges of coordination and legitimation facing the criminal law. This unit adopts an explicitly critical socio-historical approach to the study of law. Discussion of relevant legal theoretical scholarship forms a core part of the subject matter of the unit.

In this unit, students will examine the ways in which criminal liability is established, and the central factors governing liability; analyse the general principles of criminal law, constituent elements of particular offences and the definition of a range of defences from historical, theoretical and practical context perspectives, with a special focus on male violence; and gain an appreciation of the tensions and perceived prejudices inherent in the criminal law and the criminal justice system.
The unit will cover the following: phenomenon of criminal law; violence; capacity; proof; attempts and accessorial liability; offences: sexual and non-sexual assault, murder and manslaughter; defences: provocation and self-defence, 'insanity' and substantial impairment, automatism, infanticide, intoxication, necessity and duress.

This unit is for law graduates who have, or intend to have, a practice that exposes them to cross-border financings and acquisitions.The unit highlights the distinctive concepts and practices relating to overseas securities and corporate laws in cross-border transactions (focusing to a significant extent on US laws and practices). It concentrates on resolving the challenges non-Australian issues can pose to transactions even if Australian law applies to many aspects of the deal.The US segment will begin with a brief examination the US Federal system in which corporate and securities law responsibility is allocated between the states and Federal government, proceed to a detailed discussion of the process of offering securities in the US and how it can affect non-US offerings in practice, and finally will conclude with an exploration of the regulation of takeovers under US law. Significant US M&A concepts and practices, including mergers, break-up fees, poison pills, and proxy fights will be discussed. The remainder of the unit will focus on deal regulation of selected other overseas jurisdictions in which there have been recent activity. We will also examine practical consequences of the regulatory requirements of these jurisdictions, particularly in so far as they relate to M&A, as well as certain subjects that have worldwide applicability (such as due diligence to determine possible corruption, vendor due diligence and directors' duties). The unit will be taught by a series of seminars, with an occasional guest lecture/panel discussion. The purpose of the unit is to assist Australian and other non-US lawyers in: identifying potential cross-border issues; and being creative in solving the challenges that arise in international securities transactions. The lecturer writes the Dealpolitik column for The Wall Street Journal and was for over 30 years a merger and acquisition and securities lawyer in the US (resident for several years in Australia).

Western attitudes toward death have undergone a remarkable transformation in the last century. For many, death now takes place in the hospital or the hospice following the decision of a doctor to cease providing treatment. As the management of death has passed from the family to health care professionals, it now makes sense to regard the moment and circumstances of death as largely medical phenomena. Moreover, as 'autonomy' has taken a dominant place amongst ethical values, it also makes sense to describe and measure death in terms of its 'acceptability' both to the dying person and his or her survivors. In tandem with these changes, technological innovations have transformed the dead or dying body into a potential source of valuable (and recyclable) biological material. These developments have thrown up new and urgent challenges for legal understandings about the timing of, and criminal responsibility for causing, death both within and outside medical settings. These developments have also disturbed conventional understandings of the corpse as sacred. Topics to be covered may include: death in contemporary Australia, the legal definition of life and death, medical futility and the concept of 'lives not worth living', euthanasia (with and without request), physician-assisted suicide, refusing and withholding life-prolonging treatment in adults and children, the Shipman/Patel scandals, ownership of the corpse and body parts, dead donor organ transplantation, organ sale and theft, posthumous reproduction, 'mercy' killing outside medical settings and the jurisdiction of the Coroner. The unit will interrogate these and other contemporary challenges for the law relating to death and dying both within Australia and, where appropriate, other selected comparator jurisdictions (US, UK and Canada). These will be mapped against socio-historical understandings of the changing meaning of death, dying and serious disability in Western societies, and students will be encouraged to reflect on the broader legal implications of these developments.

This unit exposes students to the role and limits of law in addressing acute problems of socio-economic development and human rights in developing countries, through an interactive field school conducted over two weeks in Nepal, one of the world's poorest countries. The themes to be explored are likely to include: The transition from armed conflict to peace in the aftermath of a Maoist insurgency and the end of the monarchy in Nepal (including issues of transitional criminal justice, the drafting of a new constitution, and building a new legal and political system in light of Nepalese legal traditions and foreign legal influences); The protection of socio-economic rights (including rights to food, water, housing, and livelihoods), minority rights (of 'tribals', and 'dalits' in the caste system), and the 'right to development' under constitutional and international law; The interaction between local disputes over natural resources, human displacement caused by development projects, environmental protection and climate change in the context of fragile Himalayan ecologies; The legal protection of refugees (Tibetan or Bhutanese) in camp or mass influx situations, in the context of the limited resources of a developing country and the causes of, and solutions to, human displacement; and The experience of women in development and human rights processes. The issues will be drawn together by reflection upon the influence of, and resistance to, human rights and international law in developmental processes.

This unit looks at the ways in which the exercise of discretionary judgment arises for consideration in the course of the criminal justice process and the ways in which that judgment should be exercised at each step. It deals with each stage from the reporting or observation of crime, through investigation, arrest, charging, bail, plea, hearing, appeal, retrial and publicity. It describes how actors at each step (citizens, police, prosecutors and judges) confront decision making, the laws (legislation, common law) and rules (prosecution guidelines, memoranda and procedures) that apply and provides examples of the exercise of such discretions. It also looks at the place of public commentary (personal, the media and political) in the process. The unit explores nuances in the conduct of any criminal prosecution aside from the application of the letter of the law.

The unit is designed to give students a broad understanding of the theory, policy and practice of ADR. It will enable students to understand various alternative dispute resolution processes, their advantages and limitations; understand the application of ADR in particular areas of practice: understand key theoretical debates about mediation; be able to advise others about ADR processes; be better participants in ADR processes; be better able to evaluate the possible applications of various dispute resolution methods. The use of ADR in employment and health care disputes will be considered.

This unit aims to provide an introduction to the legal and practical aspects of doing business in China. The unit will commence with an overview of the Chinese legal, political and economic system and will then move on to an examination of the system of commercial regulation in China, including contracts, land use, regulation of private and state-owned businesses and Chinese companies and securities laws. The unit will focus on Chinese contract law and the foreign investment regime and the related structuring and regulatory issues related to foreign participation in the Chinese market. Areas covered will discuss the principal issues relating to the establishment of a corporate or other presence in China and the related negotiation process. The unit will conclude with an examination of methods of resolution of disputes arising under contracts entered into in China. More specialized topics which may be covered include intellectual property, labour law, regulation of financial institutions and Chinese investment overseas.

The unit examines common commercial, tax and regulatory issues that arise from doing business in emerging market economies. Topics to be examined include: the special challenges of investing in emerging market economies; organisational forms commonly used in emerging market economics; financing options; host state regulatory regimes and limits on the activities of foreign investors; dispute resolution systems, and sovereign risk issues; tax issues in developing countries; home state regulatory issues, including domestic anti-corruption measures, money laundering and human rights regimes. The unit has a special focus on issues associated with investing into and doing business with former Soviet Union countries, and the famous Yukos case will be considered.

The objective of the unit is to provide an understanding of the modern economics approach to the analysis of tax policy. The unit defines the role of taxation within the framework of welfare economics and examines the social and economic effects of reforms drawing on available empirical evidence. Particular attention is given to the evaluation of current policies and proposed reforms in terms of distributional outcomes and efficiency costs due to disincentive effects on labour supply, saving and investment. Topics covered include: taxation of labour income, consumption and capital income, family income taxation, alternative approaches to the taxation of emission, and the taxation of resource rents.

This unit adopts an inter-disciplinary and integrative approach to understanding the dynamics of one of the most pressing global environmental concerns ecologically sustainable energy use. Working loosely within the framework of the Climate Change Convention, the unit relies on the perspectives of scientists, lawyers and economists to develop an integrated approach to sustainable energy use. The unit identifies current patterns of energy use in Australia and examines Australia's response to the Climate Change Convention. It also analyses the strengths and weaknesses of various political, legal and economic mechanisms for influencing the choice of energy use. The initiatives of the Commonwealth and New South Wales governments, as well as local councils, to promote sustainable energy use and to combat global warming are scrutinised.

The unit examines traditions of criminological theorising, research and public intervention that focus on the socio-spatial context(s) and determinants of crime and its governance. It explores the principal sources of data collection, the methodologies and theoretical underpinnings concerned with the spatial and social ecological dispersion of crime and deviance and its techniques of management and control. It also explores the relationship of public safety and crime prevention to public policy/interventions in areas such as urban and regional planning, housing, local government and community services.

The aim of the unit is to introduce students to overarching themes in environmental law and policy as a foundation to their more detailed studies for the Environmental Law Program. This is an overview unit addressing a number of environmental issues at various levels of analysis; such as policy making, implementation of policy and dispute resolution. The concept of ecologically sustainable development and its implications for environmental law and policy is a continuing theme. The unit is designed to develop multi-dimensional thinking about environmental issues and the strategies needed to address them. The unit provides a broad background of the political and economic issues in so far as they are related to the legal issues involved.

This unit has three aims. The first is to provide a sound analysis of Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) procedures and environmental planning laws in NSW and at the Commonwealth level. The second aim is to develop a critical understanding of EIA and environmental planning laws by examining their historical, ethical and political dimensions as well as relevant aspects of legal theory. The third and ultimate aim is to combine these doctrinal and theoretical forms of knowledge so we can suggest possible improvements to current laws and legal practices.

The expert evidence component of the unit will examine the role of expert witnesses, their reports and their testimony in civil and criminal cases. This will include an examination of the law governing the admissibility of expert evidence and the procedural means by which such evidence is adduced. Part of the unit will be devoted to current controversies surrounding the role of experts in particular civil and criminal cases.
The class actions component of the unit examines the substantive law, legal theories and procedural devices for the litigation and resolution of large scale, complex civil litigation. This encompasses representative actions, class actions and the use of other mechanisms for the aggregation and resolution of mass claims, including under bankruptcy law.
There will be a particular focus on Part IVA of the Federal Court Act (Cth) and representative action procedures available in Australia under the rules of court and statutory provisions in various areas (including discrimination, human rights, insurance law, privacy, corporations law and shareholder rights).
The unit will also cover comparative material on group litigation procedures and class actions under the laws of other countries, including England and Wales, Canada and the United States.

This unit examines the relevance of theory to the process of explaining crime as a social phenomenon. It will selectively analyse the history of criminological thought. Special attention will be given to the cross-disciplinary nature of efforts to understand crime, criminality and their causes. A significant section of the unit will deal with contemporary approaches to criminological explanation including the influence of feminism and postmodernism. Contemporary theorists such as Foucault, Garland and Braithwaite will also be considered. The unit will endeavour to make explicit the links between criminological theory and the development of public policy.