Refugee Colloqium

This subject is not offered in 2008.

For the purposes of considering request for Reasonable Adjustments under the Disability Standards for Education (Cwth 2005), and Student Support and Engagement Policy, academic requirements for this subject are articulated in the Subject Overview, Learning Outcomes, Assessment and Generic Skills sections of this entry.

It is University policy to take all reasonable steps to minimise the impact of disability upon academic study, and reasonable adjustments will be made to enhance a student's participation in the University's programs. Students who feel their disability may impact on meeting the requirements of this subject are encouraged to discuss this matter with a Faculty Student Adviser and Student Equity and Disability Support: http://services.unimelb.edu.au/disability

This subject will be taught as part of a wider collaboration with the University of Michigan's Program in Refugee and Asylum Law. Specifically, it will provide the opportunity for Melbourne Law School students to work on the Michigan Guidelines project - an innovative, internationally recognised project on cutting-edge issues in international refugee law.

Every second year, the University of Michigan's Program in Refugee and Asylum Law hosts a Colloquium on Challenges in International Refugee Law in which leading academic experts are invited to Ann Arbor in order to develop an intellectual framework for resolution of a significant problem facing international refugee law. The purpose of the Colloquium is to tackle a single, cutting-edge concern via preparatory study and a two-day debate and policy formulation meeting. Students are actively involved in the drafting of background research for the meeting, and participate as colleagues with the invited experts. There have been four colloquia to date, resulting in four sets of Michigan Guidelines on Challenges in International Refugee law. The Michigan Guidelines have been cited and applied by courts around the world. The Guidelines can be found at http://www.law.umich.edu/CentersAndPrograms/pral/guidelines.htm

In this seminar course, Melbourne students will work with Dr Michelle Foster to prepare the background paper for the 5 th Colloquium on Challenges in International Refugee Law to be held in Ann Arbor in November 2008. This will involve in-depth collaborative research on an important and cutting-edge issue in international refugee law. The background report will form the basis for discussion at the 5 th Colloquium. (There will be an opportunity for 4-6 students in this subject to attend the Colloquium in Ann Arbor October/November 2008. Some funding may be available from the faculty).

This subject is not available as a breadth subject.

On completion of Refugee Law, students should have developed the following generic skills:

-The capacity for close reading of a range of sources;

-The capacity for critical and independent thought and reflection;

-The capacity for deductive analysis;

-The capacity to solve problems through the synthesis and evaluation of information;

-The capacity to communicate, both orally and in writing;

-The capacity to undertake independent legal research;

-Intercultural sensitivity and understanding