This year, RoLIA will be maintaining a strong focus on supporting teachers and students through its education programs and resources. We are committed to providing relevant and engaging case studies which promote interest in legal issues. Our main way of provoking discussion is through our workshops which we currently run extensively in metropolitan and regional NSW and Queensland.
Workshops in Schools
RoLIA’s education team use the pyramid of “rule of law principles” as a discussion starter about what kind of processes and princples are required to provide for equality before the law in Australia.
Workshops are based on our case studies booklets which give an overview of relevant statues and case law. There is always a discussion about what we define as rule of law principles. Many of these principles are being challenged, diminished or redefined for a variety of reasons, and provide an interesting discussion point for understanding the law and society itself.
Sydney Law Day Out
We are launching a new program, the Sydney Law Day Out an excursion in the Sydney legal precinct with specialist seminars from judges, barristers, and other legal professionals. Law Day Out is an open-ended program which teachers can tailor to their students’ interests and provides a blue print for a memorable experience for students learning about our system of government and the law. Contact our Education Coordinator for more information about Law Day Out.
Education Resources
We have also redesigned the look of our website and will continue to produce new education content throughout the year. If you haven’t already, check out our education blog posts from last year. Here are some of the recent posts:
- Cool Links for Legal Studies Students: an annotated list of the best legal blogs, videos and websites to assist students in building their understanding of the legal world.
- Rounding up the Bikies: Dr Binoy Kampmark discusses the key issues of standing and public interest litigation in the recent High Court judgement Kuczborski v Queensland
- Metadata and Surveillance: A blog post about Nick Clark’s participation in a panel discussion at the JERAA Conference late last year and discussed the rule of law issues around metadata and surveillance in Australia.
- The Role of the Attorney General: A podcast of an interview with NSW Shadow Attorney General Paul Lynch in which he elaborates on the inherent tensions in the role and the importance of the separation of powers.
- High Court Case Notes: Two recent decisions on issues relating to the use of evidence in criminal trials are summarised. Fitzgerald v R [2014] HCA 28 is concerned with the use of DNA evidence and Honeysett v R [2014] HCA 29 evidence related to identifying perpetrators of crimes
~ RoLIA Education Team
