Genocide, State Crime and the Law

This subject is not offered in 2013.

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Criminology or Politics and Internaitonal Studies at Undergraduate level

191-537 Genocide, State Crime and the Law

For the purposes of considering request for Reasonable Adjustments under the disability Standards for Education (Cwth 2005), and Students Experiencing Academic Disadvantage Policy, academic requirements for this subject are articulated in the Subject Description, Subject Objectives, Generic Skills and Assessment Requirements of this entry.The University is dedicated to provide support to those with special requirements. Further details on the disability support scheme can be found at the Disability Liaison Unit website: http://www.services.unimelb.edu.au/disability/

Genocide, State Crime and the Law examines the differing roles played by law and legal process in the wake of genocide and other forms of state crime. It examines the limitations and potentials of law in addressing mass harm, in particular analysing the role and function of law in societal reconstruction and reconciliation. Case studies analysed include Rwanda, South Africa, East Timor, the former Yugoslavia, the Holocaust, Australia and Cambodia.

• Be familiar with a range of approaches to addressing genocide and state crime.
• Understand the social, political, cultural and historical contexts of legal and quasi-legal responses to genocide and state crime.
• Possess a critical understanding of these choices.
• Be able to critically and constructively discuss the limitations and potentials of law in the context of addressing mass harm.
• Be able to critically and constructively discuss the limitations and potentials of law in reconstruction and reconciliation.

A 1,000 word paper (20%) due mid-semester, a 500 word essay proposal with provisional bibliography (10%) due late-semester and a 3,500 word research essay (70%) due during the examination period

Hurdle Requirement: Students are required to attend a minimum of 75% of classes in order to qualify to have their written work assessed. Regular participation in class is required.

Assessment that is submitted after the due date and up to 10 working days late without an approved extension will be marked on a pass/fail basis only. Assessment that is submitted later than 10 working days will not be accepted or marked. In-class tasks missed without approval will not be marked. All pieces of written work must be submitted to pass this subject.

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A subject reader will be available for purchase from the University Bookshop.

• Lethe's Law: Justice, Law and Ethics in Reconciliation, E. Christodoulidis and S. Veitch, eds, Hart Publishing, Oxford, 2001.
• Between Vengeance and Forgiveness: Facing History after Genocide and Mass Violence, M. Minow, Beacon Press, Boston, 1998.
• Radical Evil on Trial, N. Carlos Santiago, Yale University Press, New Haven and London, 1996.
• Mass Atrocity, Collective Memory, and the Law, Mark J. Osiel, Transaction Publishers, New Brunswick, NJ, 1997.

This subject is not available as a breadth subject.

• have highly developed cognitive, analytical and problem-solving skills.
• have an advanced understanding of complex concepts and the ability to express them lucidly in writing and orally.