This unit covers introductions to history, historiography and Australian legal history, followed by more detailed critical study of specific topics including the process of Federation; conscription; the powers of the High Commonwealth during war; the attempted banning of the Communist Party; the attempted secession of WA; the law of The Dismissal; war crimes and terrorism; native title; the use of history in constitutional interpretation and within the law of evidence; and legal biography with emphasis on particular judges. The unit deals with the constant and complex interplay of source and (legal) historian; and the dialogues between law and history, past and present. -- Course Website
Instructor: David Ritter
Prerequisites: LAWS1130 Legal Process
