Course overview
- Study period
- Semester 2, 2024 (22/07/2024 - 18/11/2024)
- Study level
- Postgraduate Coursework
- Location
- St Lucia
- Attendance mode
- In Person
- Units
- 2
- Administrative campus
- St Lucia
- Coordinating unit
- Law School
This course critically examines international and regional laws (treaties and case-law), and domestic policies and laws (legislation and case-law) and politics, relating to forced migration. Study will focus on both historical and contemporary refugee law and practice in Australia in light of international refugee law, and international human rights law in particular. The transplantation of those international norms into domestic law via the Migration Act 1958 (Cth) (and key cases interpreting and applying those laws) will be carefully and critically analysed. Attention will also focus on the key challenges to refugee protection raised by contemporary Australian practices, especially in respect of asylum seekers arriving irregularly by sea; including mandatory detention, offshore (regional) processing and temporary protection. The course will encourage students to incorporate comparative and/or interdisciplinary perspectives into their legal analyses of international law and domestic law and practice.
This course explores and analyses the key legal instruments governing refugee protection, including the 1951 Refugees Convention/Protocol and international human rights treaties, such as the UN Convention Against Torture. The course will carefully and criticallyᅠexamineᅠthese principles and how they are given effect in domestic law and practices, includingᅠAustralia, USᅠand the EU.
Contemporary practices applied by Western states to tackle irregular migration will be critically examined, including extra-territorial practices such as interdiction at sea andᅠoffshore processing in third countries. Pressing socio-legal issues will be unpacked and carefully analysed, including the use of administrative (or, civil) detention for prolonged and indefinite periods, and the convergence of criminal law and immigration law (crimmigration) and how the regulation of 'risky' refugees and asylum seekers is impacting on their substantive and procedural rights. Finally, we will examine critical issues arounds access to justice (to merits review and judicial review) for asylum seekers and the many challenges of refugee status determination.
Course requirements
Restrictions
LLM; LLM(Adv); LLM(16), LLM(24); MICLaw; GCIR; MIR(16); MIR(24); MIR(32), MIL, MIR/MIL Quota: minimum of 12 enrolments
Course contact
Course staff
Lecturer
Timetable
The timetable for this course is available on the UQ Public Timetable.
Aims and outcomes
Teaching Mission Statement
The mission of the TC Beirne School of Law is to educate students in and about the law. We seek to assist you to think critically about the law and to investigate its structures, principles, policies, and values. This is achieved by engaging with you as fellow investigators in a range of critical and intellectual conversations about the law and its place in society. Our role is thus to guide you in your own intellectual journey in the law and to equip you with the necessary skills that will enable you to continue that journey long after you have left the School.
Course Aims
The course is designed to give students a comprehensive and critical understanding of international refugee law, related human rights law,ᅠand key aspects of Australia’s domestic laws governingᅠimmigration and relevant international comparators.
The seminarsᅠinvite and enableᅠstudents to critically reflect on the nature of immigration, asylumᅠand refugee law, and understand the rationale of international, regional and domestic policies in this area. Moreover, the course seeks to develop and improve stude
Learning outcomes
After successfully completing this course you should be able to:
LO1.
Demonstrate a thorough understanding of the legal and institutional framework of refugee protection; notably international refugee law, and human rights law.
LO2.
Understand and critically appreciate the definition of a 'refugee' in international law, and in regional legal instruments.
LO3.
Understand and appreciate refugee status determination processes.
LO4.
Understand and critically appreciate the situation, needs, and legal rights/interests of asylum seekers and refugees under national and international law.
LO5.
Identify, structure and discuss relevant contemporary socio-legal issues and challenges to refugee protection, and present them logically and effectively.
LO6.
Develop alternative strategies for the regulation and protection of refugees and asylum seekers, including recommendations for law reform and policy change.
LO7.
Present and communicate socio-legal knowledge, understanding and critical awareness orally (to an audience of peers) and in writing.
Assessment
Assessment summary
Category | Assessment task | Weight | Due date |
---|---|---|---|
Essay/ Critique |
Essay - Who is a refugee?
|
40% |
12/09/2024 2:00 pm |
Essay/ Critique |
Essay - Access to refugee protection and durable solutions
|
60% |
12/11/2024 2:00 pm |
Assessment details
Essay - Who is a refugee?
- Online
- Mode
- Written
- Category
- Essay/ Critique
- Weight
- 40%
- Due date
12/09/2024 2:00 pm
- Learning outcomes
- L01, L02, L07
Task description
The first assessment will be released to students on Tuesday 20 August at 2pm.
Details of the first summative assessment (2500 word essay) and assessment/marking criteria (rubric) will be circulated to the cohort in class before the assessment is made available to students. An assessment rubric provides a framework which clarifies the assessment requirements and the standards of performance for different grade bands.
The assessment examines legal material and topics covered in the first four seminars via the formative tasks set each week (in weeks 2-5).
This assessment task evaluates student’s abilities, skills and knowledge without the aid of Artificial Intelligence (AI). Students are advised that the use of AI technologies to develop responses is strictly prohibited and may constitute student misconduct under the Student Code of Conduct.
Submission guidelines
Assignments must be submitted electronically via the online assessment submission link on the course Blackboard site.
Deferral or extension
You may be able to apply for an extension.
The maximum extension allowed is 7 days. Extensions are given in multiples of 24 hours.
Extension to Assessment Due Date
An extension for an assessment item due within the teaching period in which the course is offered will generally be limited to one week in the first instance. In exceptional circumstances, approved extensions may be granted for more than one week but will not exceed four weeks in total. Where a student is incapacitated for a period exceeding four weeks of the teaching period, they should be advised to apply for removal of course.
A student may apply for an extension to assessment due date if they are unable to meet an assessment deadline due to extenuating circumstances. Please refer to the Applying for an extension page on my.UQ for further details on acceptable reasons for an extension and for instructions on how to apply. Additional information on extensions can be found within the Assessment Procedure .
Spoken or written notification of difficulties with assessment deadlines to a course coordinator or the School does not constitute an authorised extension.
Applications to be submitted before the due date: Applications for extension (whether they be medical or exceptional circumstances) shall be made by the due date and time for the assessment. Requests for extensions received after the assessment item submission due date and time, must include evidence of the reason for the late request, and will require the decision maker listed in the Student Grievance Resolution Procedure to accept the request for consideration.
Late submission
A penalty of 10% of the maximum possible mark will be deducted per 24 hours from time submission is due for up to 7 days. After 7 days, you will receive a mark of 0.
Penalties for Late Submission
The following penalties apply to late submission of an assessment item, assuming that an extension has not been approved, and that late submission is academically possible (e.g., it does not delay feedback to a cohort, or interfere with course delivery).
First 7 periods of 24 hours (or part thereof) - 10% per 24 hours of the maximum possible mark for the assessment item. For example, a report worth a maximum of 40 marks, submitted 28 hours late will attract a penalty of 8 marks, calculated as 2 periods of 24 hours x 10% x 40 marks.
More than 7 periods of 24 hours - 100%.
Essay - Access to refugee protection and durable solutions
- Online
- Mode
- Written
- Category
- Essay/ Critique
- Weight
- 60%
- Due date
12/11/2024 2:00 pm
- Learning outcomes
- L01, L03, L04, L05, L06, L07
Task description
The final summative assessment will be released to students on 15 October and students are afforded one month to complete the assessment.
The final assessment item (4000 word essay) will require students to demonstrate their understanding and critical awareness of several (related) themes (or topics) considered in the course in seminars five through to eight, carefully informed by the prescribed reading materials for those seminars and further independent study. After teaching and learning in this course finishes (week eleven) students are afforded over four weeks to complete the final assessment in the course.
This assessment task evaluates student’s abilities, skills and knowledge without the aid of Artificial Intelligence (AI). Students are advised that the use of AI technologies to develop responses is strictly prohibited and may constitute student misconduct under the Student Code of Conduct.
Submission guidelines
Assignments must be submitted electronically via the online assessment submission link on the course Blackboard site.
Deferral or extension
You may be able to apply for an extension.
The maximum extension allowed is 7 days. Extensions are given in multiples of 24 hours.
Extension to Assessment Due Date
An extension for an assessment item due within the teaching period in which the course is offered will generally be limited to one week in the first instance. In exceptional circumstances, approved extensions may be granted for more than one week but will not exceed four weeks in total. Where a student is incapacitated for a period exceeding four weeks of the teaching period, they should be advised to apply for removal of course.
A student may apply for an extension to assessment due date if they are unable to meet an assessment deadline due to extenuating circumstances. Please refer to the Applying for an extension page on my.UQ for further details on acceptable reasons for an extension and for instructions on how to apply. Additional information on extensions can be found within the Assessment Procedure .
Spoken or written notification of difficulties with assessment deadlines to a course coordinator or the School does not constitute an authorised extension.
Applications to be submitted before the due date: Applications for extension (whether they be medical or exceptional circumstances) shall be made by the due date and time for the assessment. Requests for extensions received after the assessment item submission due date and time, must include evidence of the reason for the late request, and will require the decision maker listed in the Student Grievance Resolution Procedure to accept the request for consideration.
Late submission
A penalty of 10% of the maximum possible mark will be deducted per 24 hours from time submission is due for up to 7 days. After 7 days, you will receive a mark of 0.
Penalties for Late Submission
The following penalties apply to late submission of an assessment item, assuming that an extension has not been approved, and that late submission is academically possible (e.g., it does not delay feedback to a cohort, or interfere with course delivery).
First 7 periods of 24 hours (or part thereof) - 10% per 24 hours of the maximum possible mark for the assessment item. For example, a report worth a maximum of 40 marks, submitted 28 hours late will attract a penalty of 8 marks, calculated as 2 periods of 24 hours x 10% x 40 marks.
More than 7 periods of 24 hours - 100%.
Course grading
Full criteria for each grade is available in the Assessment Procedure.
Grade | Cut off Percent | Description |
---|---|---|
1 (Low Fail) | 0 - 19 |
Absence of evidence of achievement of course learning outcomes. |
2 (Fail) | 20 - 47 |
Minimal evidence of achievement of course learning outcomes. |
3 (Marginal Fail) | 48 - 49 |
Demonstrated evidence of developing achievement of course learning outcomes |
4 (Pass) | 50 - 64 |
Demonstrated evidence of functional achievement of course learning outcomes. |
5 (Credit) | 65 - 74 |
Demonstrated evidence of proficient achievement of course learning outcomes. |
6 (Distinction) | 75 - 84 |
Demonstrated evidence of advanced achievement of course learning outcomes. |
7 (High Distinction) | 85 - 100 |
Demonstrated evidence of exceptional achievement of course learning outcomes. |
Additional course grading information
An assessment rubric will be circulated along with the assessment that provide a framework which clarifies the assessment requirements and the standards of performance for different grade bands.
Supplementary assessment
Supplementary assessment is available for this course.
Learning resources
You'll need the following resources to successfully complete the course. We've indicated below if you need a personal copy of the reading materials or your own item.
Library resources
Find the required and recommended resources for this course on the UQ Library website.
Additional learning resources information
Wherever possible students will be directed to resources (including treaties, legislation, cases, journal articles and book chapters) that are available digitally via the course Blackboard site, or via the law library catalogue or social sciences library catalogue.
Learning activities
The learning activities for this course are outlined below. Learn more about the learning outcomes that apply to this course.
Filter activity type by
Please select
Learning period | Activity type | Topic |
---|---|---|
Week 2 (29 Jul - 04 Aug) |
Seminar |
Intro: Refugee Protection and International Law Learning outcomes: L01, L02, L05 |
Week 3 (05 Aug - 11 Aug) |
Seminar |
Who is a Refugee (I)? Questions of Inclusion Learning outcomes: L01, L02, L04, L05, L07 |
Week 4 (12 Aug - 18 Aug) |
Seminar |
Who is a Refugee (II)? Questions of Inclusion Learning outcomes: L01, L04, L05, L07 |
Week 5 (19 Aug - 25 Aug) |
Seminar |
Who is a Refugee (III): Exclusion from Protection (on National Security or Criminal Grounds) Learning outcomes: L01, L04, L05, L07 |
Week 8 (09 Sep - 15 Sep) |
Seminar |
Access to Asylum: Third Country Processing Learning outcomes: L01, L04, L05, L06, L07 |
Week 9 (16 Sep - 22 Sep) |
Seminar |
Access to Asylum: Maritime Interdiction at Sea Learning outcomes: L01, L04, L05, L06, L07 |
Week 10 (30 Sep - 06 Oct) |
Seminar |
The Complexity of Refugee Status Determination Learning outcomes: L03, L04, L05, L06, L07 |
Week 11 (07 Oct - 13 Oct) |
Seminar |
Forms of Refugee Protection and Settlement Learning outcomes: L01, L04, L05, L06, L07 |
Policies and procedures
University policies and procedures apply to all aspects of student life. As a UQ student, you must comply with University-wide and program-specific requirements, including the:
- Student Code of Conduct Policy
- Student Integrity and Misconduct Policy and Procedure
- Assessment Procedure
- Examinations Procedure
- Reasonable Adjustments - Students Policy and Procedure
Learn more about UQ policies on my.UQ and the Policy and Procedure Library.
School guidelines
Your school has additional guidelines you'll need to follow for this course: