Constitutional Law LWEN 1305

Course description:

The course discusses selected topics relating to the constitutional system. Topics include State legislative power, including constitutional interpretation; the process of characterization and an examination of heads of power specified in the Constitution; the legal relations between the entities of the State and the resolution of inconsistencies between laws; implications in The Constitution, social and economic relations; and constitutional rights.

Course Aims:

Course outcomes:

Students must demonstrate a satisfactory level of understanding and application of the core areas of legal knowledge. This course teaches the following topics within these core areas: · State constitutions and constitutional systems, · The constitution and operation of the legislature, and · The relationship between the different levels of government.
Constitutional Law concerns the study of the fundamental law of a community; the law that governs the relationship of the government to its people. The course is designed to give students an understanding of the operations of general principles of constitutional law, as well as specific constitutional issues including the distribution and exercise of legislative power, constitutional rights and freedoms. In particular, a student who successfully completes this course will have:

  • knowledge and understanding of the basic principles in the above core areas of knowledge, and specifically, to understand the historical context in which the constitutional systems was established, to identify the fundamental principles that underpin constitutional law, and implied and express rights and freedoms within the Constitution;
  • an awareness of the indeterminacy of legal principles in the constitutional context, and the continuous state of development of those principles;
  • critical thinking and problem solving skills in the application of constitutional principles to problem-solving exercises.
  • an ability to analyze critically constitutional principles and legal doctrines, especially in the light of the contexts (international, cultural, social and other) in which the constitutional system operates;
  • an ability to present, both orally and in writing, constitutional arguments and critique of those arguments.