Graduate Diploma in Human Rights Law

The graduate program in human rights law offers the widest range of human rights subjects in Australia. Many world-renowned experts teach in the program, offering students exciting opportunities to examine a range of human rights instruments, institutions, theories and practices in contemporary context. The program is particularly relevant to lawyers currently working, or hoping to work, in the field of human rights, as well as those with a non-law background working in development agencies and other human rights-related organisations in Australia and around the world.

The Graduate Diploma in Human Rights Law focuses on:

• Human rights theories, as well as the processes and actors involved in the field of human rights
• The jurisprudence relating to the full range of human rights
• Assessing the effectiveness of different mechanisms for implementing or enforcing human rights
• Interpreting and comparing human rights law texts, including treaties, jurisprudence of treaty bodies and domestic courts, and academic scholarship
• The articulation of knowledge and understanding in oral and written presentations.

Students must complete four subjects from the prescribed list.

Students who do not have a law degree from a common law jurisdiction or any prior legal studies or experience are also expected to complete the two-day preliminary subject Australian Legal Process and Legal Institutions.

None.

# Offered in 2012

• Australian Charters of Rights
• Bills of Rights: An International Perspective
• Business and Human Rights #
• Criminal Procedure and Human Rights: International and Australian Perspectives #
• Environmental Rights #
• Equality and Discrimination at Work (Formerly Anti-Discrimination Law at Work) #
• Free Speech, Contempt and the Media
• Governing Plurality: Sovereignty, Religion, Technology
• Health, Development and Human Rights
• Human Rights and Indigenous Peoples
• Human Rights and Terrorism #
• Human Rights at Work #
• Human Rights Beyond Borders
• Human Rights in Asia
• Human Rights Litigation and Advocacy #
• Human Rights, Women and Development (Formerly Gender, Human Rights and Development) #
• International Criminal Justice, Transition and Trauma
• International Human Rights Law #
• International Law and Children‘s Rights #
• International Law and Development (Formerly Law and Development) #
• International Law and Ethics: Current Global Issues
• International Law and the Rights of Minorities (Formerly Sovereignty and the Rights of Minorities) #
• International Law, Culture and Identity (Formerly Law, Culture and the International) #
• International Migration Law #
• International Refugee Law: Refugee Rights #
• International Refugee Law: Refugee Status
• Law of Democracy #
• Post-Conflict State-Building
• Statehood in International Law: Empires and Resistance #
• Trade, Human Rights and Development #
• Women, War and Peace-Building (formerly Women and War)

None.

Available Breadth Tracks

• A degree in a relevant discipline and the equivalent of at least one year of full-time, documented, relevant professional experience; or
• A degree in law leading to admission to legal practice (LLB, JD or equivalent), at honours standard or equivalent; or
• A degree in law leading to admission to legal practice (LLB, JD or equivalent) and the equivalent of at least one year of full-time, documented, relevant professional experience.

The Melbourne Law Masters welcomes applications from students with disabilities. The inherent academic requirements for study in the Melbourne Law Masters are:

• The ability to attend a minimum of 75% of classes and actively engage in the analysis of complex materials and debate;
• The ability to read, analyse and comprehend complex written legal materials and complex interdisciplinary materials;
• The ability to clearly and independently communicate in writing a knowledge and application of legal principles and interdisciplinary materials and critically evaluate these;
• The ability to clearly and independently communicate orally a knowledge and application of legal principles and interdisciplinary materials and critically evaluate these;
• The ability to work independently and as a part of a group;
• The ability to present orally and in writing legal analysis to a professional standard.

Students who feel their disability will inhibit them from meeting these inherent academic requirements are encouraged to contact the Disability Liaison Unit: www.services.unimelb.edu.au/disability/

1. Advanced understanding of the changing knowledge base in the relevant area of law
   The specialist focus of the Melbourne Law Masters, the constant review and renewal of subjects and courses, the range and expertise of instructors from Australia and around the world, and regular advice from our advisory boards combine to ensure that courses and subjects reflect emerging knowledge and ideas
2. Ability to evaluate and synthesise existing knowledge in the area
   Small classes, a discussion-based environment and the emphasis on quality teaching and learning create an environment in which knowledge is exchanged, critically examined and adapted to current circumstances
3. Well-developed problem solving abilities, characterised by flexibility of approach
   Most subjects approach knowledge by reference to various issues or problems. Students are encouraged to critically analyse problems and identify and develop a range of appropriate solutions through class discussion, individual study and assessment tasks.
4. Advanced competencies in legal research and analysis
   Class preparation and class discussions are designed to enhance these skills, which are tested in all forms of assessment.
5. Capacity to communicate, orally and in writing
   Classroom discussion and formal presentations provide an opportunity to hone oral communication skills, and written assessment tasks are graded in part on written communication skills.
6. Appreciation of the design, conduct and reporting of original research
   Research papers and other research tasks are expected to attain a degree of originality and discovery that befits a quality postgraduate program, and students are encouraged and assisted to publish work of a high standard in refereed journals.
7. Capacity to manage competing demands on time
   The demanding nature of graduate study requires effective time-management skills from all students. The rigour of our programs, whether undertaken part-time or full-time, ensures that all successful graduates have enhanced time-management skills.
8. Profound respect for truth and intellectual integrity, including the ethics of scholarship
   Some subjects have a substantive ethical component. All instructors have a respect for intellectual integrity and are skilled scholars or practitioners in their own right.
9. Appreciation of the way in which knowledge provides a foundation for leadership
   Instructors in the Melbourne Law Masters are leaders in their fields, and many subjects involve visiting academics, exposing students to a wider array of leaders in a range of legal fields. The Law School is committed to the significance of knowledge, which informs all regular programs and a wide range of additional activities.
10. Capacity to value and participate in teamwork
    Small class sizes and an intensive teaching format are valuable in encouraging group dynamics and teamwork.
11. Understanding of the significance and value of knowledge to the wider community
    Law and legal knowledge are a community resource. In some subjects, this perspective is covered explicitly by the syllabus and the manner in which issues are treated in class. In addition, our diverse student body ensures that a range of perspectives on the way law impacts on the community are identified and analysed.
12. Capacity to engage with issues in contemporary society
    Our programs focus on the most up-to-date legal knowledge, analysing current issues and problems through the curriculum design, classroom discussion and assessment tasks. International students are also invited to participate in extracurricular activities to aid understanding of Australian law and legal institutions.
13. Advanced working skills in the use of new technology
    The most advanced IT infrastructure is available to Melbourne Law Masters students in the Law Library, the Moot Court Room, classroom settings and for private study.