LAWS 331 – Bill of Rights

FACULTY OF LAW
Te Kauhanganui Tātai Ture
LAWS 331 – Bill of Rights
COURSE OUTLINE - 2013
1st Trimester
Course Content and Objectives
This course will build on the knowledge and skills that students developed in Laws 213
Public Law with respect to the theory, practice and development of the New Zealand Bill of
Rights Act 1990 (the Bill of Rights).
This year, the course will be taught in three segments. In the first segment, we will look in
depth at one current issue: the question of legal availability and regulation of gay marriage.
In the second segment, we will step back and take more of an overview of the structure of
the Bill of Rights, and of a broad range of issues that can arise with respect to its
interpretation and application. In the third segment, we will consider reform issues. The
assessment for this third section of the course will include all members of the class making
a submission to the Constitutional Advisory Panel on their thoughts on the future shape of
human rights protection in New Zealand.
A number of aspects of the course will be taught in comparative perspective. This means
that in addition to looking at Bill of Rights jurisprudence, we will look at the jurisprudence
of the Canadian Supreme Court, the United Nations Human Rights Committee, the House
of Lords, the Constitutional Court of South Africa and others.
A primary objective of this course is to stimulate a broad understanding of
Bill of Rights law and of the dynamic processes that underpin the creation, evolution and
development of norms and instruments in this area. More specifically, students can expect
to:
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hone their legal method skills, particularly with respect to in-depth reading of cases
and the reading and comprehension of statutory provisions;
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hone their ability to take comprehensive, coherent notes, drawing on their own
reading of the materials together with in-class lectures and discussions;
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broaden their knowledge and understanding of selected rights and freedoms within
the Bill of Rights;
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deepen their understanding of the Bill of Rights’ operative sections, ss 3-7;
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reflect on how breaches of rights ought to be remedied;
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reflect on the role of rights jurisprudence in New Zealand society and government
generally;
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LAWS 331
COURSE OUTLINE
2013
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reflect on the respective roles of the three branches of government with respect to
rights protection and enforcement;
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have practice in applying their knowledge in legal analysis and problem-solving;
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have practice in the art of submission-writing;
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have the opportunity to develop their own critical perspectives on the law;
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have practice in speaking in front of their peers in class discussions.
Time and Place of Classes
This is a first trimester course. The lecture times are Tuesday Wednesday and Friday, 15.4016.30 pm in GB LT2.
The teaching term runs from 4 March to 8 June 2013. There are two mid-term breaks. The
first commences Thursday 28 March and ends Wednesday 3 April (inclusive). The second
commences Monday 22 April and ends Sunday 28 April.
Lecturer
Professor Claudia Geiringer holds the Chair in Public Law at VUW Law Faculty. She joined
the Faculty in 2002 having completed an LLM at Columbia University, New York, where
she was a Fulbright scholar and human rights fellow. She has published widely in the area
of human rights and constitutional law. Her previous work experience includes five years
as counsel in the Bill of Rights team of the Crown Law Office, in which capacity she advised
the Crown on Bill of Rights matters and represented the Crown before the courts in public
law litigation. She has also served a six-month stint as the acting Special Counsel for
Human Rights for the Victorian Government in Australia.
Professor’s contact details:
Office: GB 211
Phone: 463-6318
Fax: 463-6365
Email: claudia.geiringer@vuw.ac.nz
Professor Geiringer’s office hours will be posted on blackboard under “staff information”.
To see her outside those times, please email and make an appointment.
The course administrator is Kristina Keogh, GB 224, kristina.keogh@vuw.ac.nz, 463 6315.
Communication and Notices
All information relevant to course content and administration, including assessment, will
be announced in class by the lecturer.
A Blackboard website has been created for this course. It will contain information relevant
to course content and administration, copies of important announcements, spare copies of
any handouts distributed in class, and any other material the lecturer decides to make
available. Please check Blackboard regularly.
Important announcements will also be sent to the class via email through the Blackboard
system. As Blackboard adopts your Student Computing Service email as your default email
address, please ensure you either check this email account regularly or arrange for any
email to be forwarded automatically to an email account which you check regularly (for
instructions on how to do this, see www.vuw.ac.nz/scs/support/faq.aspx#email).
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LAWS 331
COURSE OUTLINE
2013
Urgent course information (for example, lecture cancellations) will be posted on the notice
boards located in GB on the ground floor opposite the lifts and outside Lecture Theatres 1
& 2 as well as on Blackboard.
Expectations and Mandatory Course Requirements (Terms)
This class is taught socratically. There will be a seating chart. Students are expected to
prepare for class, attend regularly and participate actively in class discussions.
“Terms requirements” are mandatory course requirements. If you are not awarded terms,
you will not pass the course. The terms requirements for this course are that you:
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Prepare for class, attend regularly and sit in your correct place on the seating chart;
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Sit and achieve a mark of at least 40% in the terms test.
Terms may also be granted at the discretion of the lecturer.
Assessment
1.
Terms test
Weighting:
70%This will be held at 9.30am on Saturday 18 May 2013. There will be no class on the
Friday prior to the test (17 May). Room allocations will be announced closer to the date.
Students who need special facilities should make contact with the Course Assessment
Administrator Macey Liang as soon as possible (Macey Liang, GB 210, 463-6342, email:
macey.liang@vuw.ac.nz).
The test will be two hours in duration. In addition, you will be given 10 minutes of reading
time at the beginning of the test.
The test will be closed book. However, each student will be entitled to bring into the
examination one piece of A4 paper. You can write or type whatever you like on either side
of this piece of paper. Please note: you are not entitled to bring two single-sided pieces of A4
paper.
2.
Terms opinion
Weighting: 30%
The due date for the terms opinion is Monday 17 June 2013 at 12 noon.
The terms opinion will have two components. The first component will involve a
submission to the Constitutional Advisory Panel on your views for reform to New
Zealand’s human rights protections. The second component will be a longer essay,
justifying your submission.
Detailed instructions for the terms opinion will be distributed in class and via blackboard
early in the trimester. Further details (including penalties for exceeding the word limit or
for late submission) will be advised in those instructions.
3.
Class participation
Students are required to participate in class discussions. In cases where a student achieves a
mark just below a grade borderline, quality and extent of participation may, at the
lecturer’s discretion, be taken into account to boost that student’s final grade.
Workload
10 hours per week, including lectures. Close reading of the materials is expected.
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COURSE OUTLINE
2013
Assessment in Te Reo Māori
If any student wishes to sit all or any aspect of the assessment for this course in te reo
Māori, please contact me as soon as possible (and at minimum, one month before the
particular assessment).
Prescribed Reading Materials
You will need to purchase two volumes from the Victoria University Book Centre at the
start of the course: first, a slender volume entitled “Core Texts”, which contains texts that
you will need throughout the entire course; and secondly, a first volume of prescribed
reading materials.
Other prescribed reading materials will be distributed through the Book Centre and in class
during the course.
There is no prescribed textbook for this course. For students who want to extend their
reading there are now two excellent texts on the Bill of Rights, both of which are on closed
reserve. Students are encouraged to dip into them.

Paul Rishworth et al The New Zealand Bill of Rights (Oxford University Press,
Melbourne 2003)

Andrew Butler and Petra Butler The New Zealand Bill of Rights Act: a commentary
(LexisNexis, Wellington 2005)
General University Policies and Statutes
Students should familiarise themselves with the University’s policies and statutes,
particularly the Assessment Statute, the Personal Courses of Study Statute, the Academic
Progress Statute, the Statute on Student Conduct and any statutes relating to the particular
qualifications being studied. See the Victoria University Calendar or go to the Academic
Policy and Student Policy sections on: http://www.victoria.ac.nz/home/about/policy.
For the Academic Progress Statute, see:
http://www.victoria.ac.nz/home/study/academic-progress.aspx.
The Academic Office website also provides information for students in a number of areas
including academic grievances, student and staff conduct, meeting the needs of students
with impairments and student support/VUWSA student advocates. This website can be
accessed at: www.victoria.ac.nz/home/about/avcacademic.
See also the 2013 Law Faculty Undergraduate Prospectus for further information, including
assessment in te reo Māori: http://www.victoria.ac.nz/law/.
Other Information
Information about the following is available on Blackboard:
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Class Representatives
Academic Integrity and Plagiarism
Turnitin
Withdrawing from Courses
Please ensure you read and understand this information.
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