This course aims to arm students with an understanding of, and a critical approach to, the law as it applies to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. Central to the course is an examination of the extent to which Australian law recognises the rights and interests of Indigenous Australians as citizens and as peoples. It presents constitutional, human rights and property law relating to Indigenous peoples in their socio-political, historical and cultural contexts, questioning the adequacy of the current state of the law with a view to possibilities for future law reform. It acknowledges the disproportionately large role of the law in the lives of this arguably overly-regulated but under-protected group of peoples, providing an understanding of some of the central legal issues facing Indigenous Australians, and the impact this has and has had on Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples. The course covers issues relating to legal definitions of Indigeneity, the relationship between Indigenous Australians and the state, self-determination, racial discrimination, rights to lands and waters, and the place of Indigenous Australians in the world community of Indigenous peoples. As such, it builds on concepts introduced in Australian Public Law, International Law and Property Law.

At the conclusion of this course, students should be able to:

• Identify basic issues surrounding legal constructions of Indigenous identity and their legal and non-legal impact.
• Understand the limits of constitutional protections afforded to Indigenous peoples, and the role of constitutional law in relation to government policy and legislation relating to Indigenous Australians.
• Understand the effect of international instruments and mechanisms on domestic legal issues affecting Indigenous peoples.
• Identify conceptual and legal problems with property law relating to Indigenous peoples.
• Identify domestic and international legal avenues, and relevant legal argument, in relation to some constitutional, human rights and property law issues currently affecting Indigenous peoples.

• 10% Participation
• 30% Oral Presentation and 500 word Summary
• 60% Policy Submission

Final details of assessment will be confirmed in Week 1 and provided on the course Wattle website. 

Three hours per week.

International Law LAWS2250, Commonwealth Constitutional Law LAWS2202

Property LAWS2204

Please refer to the course Wattle website.

This course touches on a wide range of legal areas and concepts and therefore is best undertaken by students later in their degree.