Law and Development

Subject LAWS70093 (2011)

Note: This is an archived Handbook entry from 2011.

Credit Points: 12.50
Level: 7 (Graduate/Postgraduate)
Dates & Locations:

This subject is not offered in 2011.
Time Commitment: Contact Hours: The total class time is between 24 and 26 hours.
Total Time Commitment: Not available
Prerequisites: Visit the Melbourne Law Masters website for more information about this subject.
Corequisites: Visit the Melbourne Law Masters website for more information about this subject.
Recommended Background Knowledge: Visit the Melbourne Law Masters website for more information about this subject.
Non Allowed Subjects: Visit the Melbourne Law Masters website for more information about this subject.
Core Participation Requirements: Visit the Melbourne Law Masters website for more information about this subject.

Contact

For more information, contact the Melbourne Law Masters office.

Email law-masters@unimelb.edu.au or phone +61 3 8344 6190.

Alternatively, visit our website:

www.masters.law.unimelb.edu.au

Subject Overview:

Principal topics will include:

  • Law and development as a field
  • The ‘development’ concept and its precursors
  • The relationship between the concepts of ‘law’ and ‘development’
  • The institutionalisation of development
  • Development, imperialism, decolonisation and the nation state
  • Permanent sovereignty over natural resources and the New International Economic Order
  • Debt crises and development(s) at the Bretton Wood institutions
  • Trade and development
  • Globalisation, governance and the rule of law
  • Sustainability, democracy and human rights
  • Resistance, alternatives and post-development
  • The future: Development and security.
Objectives:

This subject will provide a conceptual, historical and theoretical frame for students undertaking Master of Law and Development in which to situate and critically assess learning in other subjects. For students in other courses, this subject will help you understand the importance of the concept of development to our understandings of international law and appreciate development’s central role in the construction and maintenance of contemporary global orderings.

A student who has successfully completed this subject should:

  • Have a thorough knowledge of the range of processes and actors involved in the institutionalisation of development
  • Have a general understanding of the role of international institutions, particularly the United Nations (UN), the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank and the World Trade Organization (WTO) with respect to development
  • Be aware of the historical context and range of theories of law and development propounded by international institutions
  • Have the capacity to assess the effects, both intended and unintended, of particular development initiatives
  • Be familiar with the range of theoretical approaches to understanding and critiquing law and development initiatives.
Assessment:

Visit the Melbourne Law Masters website for more information about this subject.
Prescribed Texts: Core subject materials will be provided free of charge to all students. Some subjects require further texts to be purchased. Visit the Melbourne Law Masters website for more information about this subject.
Breadth Options:

This subject is not available as a breadth subject.
Fees Information: Subject EFTSL, Level, Discipline & Census Date

Download PDF version.