International and Comparative Law Program

25 June to 20 July, 2012

The University of Wollongong Faculty of Law (UOW) invites you to the coastal city of Wollongong to participate in our 2012  International and Comparative Law Program.

OVERVIEW 

For many years, scholars, judges, policy makers and law reformers have engaged in transnational borrowing and co-operation. Traditionally, law students have had few opportunities for gaining equivalent insights. The 2012  International and Comparative Law Program is a unique chance for law students to enhance their legal education by stepping out of their provincial, state, canton and national jurisdictions to address issues of contemporary importance in an international context and from a valuable comparative perspective across Australian, Canadian and Swiss jurisdictions.

• Brochure(PDF) 643 KB
• Flyer(PDF 2.32 MB) 

Course Details

Two courses will be offered, taught in series over the four weeks of the Program:

• International and Comparative Criminal Law  - This course introduces students to comparative criminal law and then examines the emerging field of international criminal law and practice. The first part, Part A, will involve a comparison of the adversarial criminal justice system of the Common Law with the inquisitorial criminal justice system of French and Spanish Civil Law in national legal systems. The purposes and methodologies of comparative law will be discussed, before undertaking a comparison. The historical development of the criminal justice systems will be discussed and the systems currently in place then examined, with a view to identifying and understanding the similarities and differences between the national civil and common law approaches to selected criminal procedures and substantive crimes. The second part, Part B, will examine the development and operation of the international legal framework for the prosecution of international and transnational crimes. It will examine the international crimes of genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity, placed within the historical experience of international military and criminal tribunals and the recently established International Criminal Court, as well as hybrid tribunals. The domestic prosecution of international crimes in Australia and Canada will be discussed, together with transnational coordination of prosecutions for crimes of international concern such as organized crime, terrorism and torture. 
• International and Comparative Counterterrorism Law -The balance of the needs of law enforcement agencies in the fight against terrorism and the rights of individuals – both terrorist suspects and the general public – are a matter of extensive discussion. This course will examine the scope of permissible and impermissible operations to combat terrorism by examining and comparing rules of domestic and international law and practice. We will focus on the effort lawmakers and courts have placed on striking a balance between the protection of the public and the preservation of a democracy-based rule of law. We will discuss inter alia the following topics: the question of a definition of terrorism, or the absence thereof; civil and military detention of terrorist suspects; interrogation practices; due process v. national security; the scope of counterintelligence operations, in particular those of an extra-territorial character; terrorism and immigration law; non-criminal sanctions, or suing terrorists in court; and targeted killings. In particular, we will look at the law of the European Court of Human Rights and United States constitutional law.

The Program will involve visits to legal institutions in Sydney and Canberra, including the High Courst of Australia. The maximum enrolment in the Program is 25 students, drawn from across Swiss, Canadian, Australian and other law schools.

• About the University of Wollongong, University of Alberta and University of Lucerne  (Read More)

 HOW TO APPLY: 

Teaching Staff - Emphasising international comparisons and perspectives, the Program will be delivered by law faculty from Australia, Canada and Switzerland. (Read More)

Academic Credit - Participants will be required to enrol in both courses. The two courses will each involve 39 tuition hours, and will be assessed by a combination of papers,seminar participation and exams. Each Course has been assessed by the Faculty of Law at the University of Alberta as the equivalent of three upper year credits in its LLB program(6 credit points for both courses). and  by the University of Lucerne as the equivalent of six ECTS (twelve ECTS for both courses) . Credit recognition will be determined by the students' home law school. Prior to the start of the Program,students must have successfully completed the first year of a LLB or JD program at a Canadian Law School.

Fees for Canadian and Swiss applicants  -  $A 5,250 The fee includes tuition, course materials, accommodation, arrival and departure airport transfers, and field trip ground travel. The fee does not include airfares to or from Australia,or meals.

Further information:

Professor Greg Rose
Director, 2012 International and Comparative Law Program
Faculty of Law,
University of Wollongong NSW 2522

Ph: +61 2 42214120
email: grose@uow.edu.au 
Web:www.uow.edu.au/law