LAW101 – ASSIGNMENT INFORMATION – T2, 2022
Overview
Task Word Count Weight Due Date
Assignment – Research 1750 words 35% Wednesday 17 August 2022 (11.59 pm, AEDT)
The purpose of this assignment is for you to critically analyse an area of law and evaluate whether it is consistent with the philosophies which underpin the Australian legal system. In your assignment you need to demonstrate an understanding of relevant theories and ideas and critically analyse whether the laws in question ‘measure up’ to these standards and ideals. You may also critique the law in terms of its effectiveness to achieve its stated purpose, or other relevant factors. You are required to support your arguments with reference to authoritative legal sources, including primary and secondary materials, to demonstrate your understanding of the law and relevant issues. Footnote references must be provided for all sources of law, and any other ideas you discuss in the assignment. It is important to acknowledge the work of other people who have contributed to your understanding of the topic.
Please read the UNE Law School Essential Guide for Studying Law Units, for information on the assignment style, referencing, word limit policy, and late penalties. Some important points to note:
• The word count is absolute – there is no 10% allowance.
• The word count relates to the text content of your assignment. It does not include page one information, footnote references, headings, and sub-headings. Please also remember that footnotes are only excluded from the word count if the footnotes are exclusively used for references. Any additional text in footnotes that is not a reference gets added to the overall word count limit.
• Please state the word count on the first page of the assignment.
• No bibliography is required for the assignment.
• Referencing must comply with the Australian Guide to Legal Citation, 4th edition. https://law.unimelb.edu.au/mulr/aglc/about
• You need to complete the Academic Integrity Module (AIM) and Academic Integrity and Referencing Learning Instrument (AIRLI) to be able to access the submission portal for the assignment. It is recommended that you do this well in advance of the assignment due date.
• The Law Skills Hub has a number of resources to Help you to develop academic skills including how to write a law assignment and referencing in law.
The marking criteria and how they will be applied are set in the Marking Criteria/Rubric attached in the ‘assessment tile’ of the Moodle site.
Question 2
In 2019 The Quebec Legislature (Canada) enacted the controversial Bill 21 An Act Respecting the Laicity of the State. The Quebec Government views the Act as a declaration of Quebec’s “particular attachment to State laicity” and an affirmation that “the state is a lay state”. Laicity is the constitutional principle of secularism, and a lay state refers to the strict separation of religion from state governance. The Bill prohibits public servants in positions of authority, such as lawyers, teachers, and police from wearing religious symbols at their place of work.
Read the contents of Bill 21, with particular regard to ss. 1-17 and Schedules I, II and III. In this assignment you are to analyse, following research in primary and secondary sources, the arguments for and against the Bill, critically discussing these arguments through the prism of the liberal and human rights concepts (theories of liberalism, rule of law, morality and power, and human rights etc.) that you have encountered in your readings. You need to only analyse two of these concepts.
