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Unit of Study CUL00414 - Indigenous Customary Law (2014)

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Unit Snapshot

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Unit description

Introduces students to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander customary laws, including religious, family and land laws. Examines the conflict between Indigenous customary and Australian laws in the context of social control. Influential cases in both criminal and civil law will be reviewed. International comparisons will be used to highlight the potential for future legislative recognition.

Unit content

1. Introduction - definitions, principles and concepts (2 weeks)
2. Maintaining social control and compliance under customary laws - pre-invasion and post-invasion
3. The content of Aboriginal customary laws
4. Dispute management
5. Recognition by the mainstream Australian system (2 weeks)
6. Torres Strait Islander customary laws
7. Reform proposals: frameworks for recognition
8. International comparisons
9. Reform proposals: further issues and unit conclusion (2 weeks)

Availabilities

Location Domestic International
Online Session 2 Session 2

Learning outcomes and graduate attributes

Unit Learning Outcomes express learning achievement in terms of what a student should know, understand and be able to do on completion of a unit. These outcomes are aligned with the graduate attributes. The unit learning outcomes and graduate attributes are also the basis of evaluating prior learning.

On completion of this unit, students should be able to:

GA1: Intellectual rigour, GA2: Creativity, GA3: Ethical practice, GA4: Knowledge of a discipline, GA5: Lifelong learning, GA6: Communication and social skills, GA7: Cultural competence
Learning outcome count Learning outcome description GA1 GA2 GA3 GA4 GA5 GA6 GA7
1 define Indigenous customary law and outline important concepts
2 interpret anthropological sources that seek to explain Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander customary laws, and summarise the content of such laws
3 describe methods of social control, and the extent of compliance with customary laws, in both pre-invasion and post-invasion Indigenous settings in Australia
4 contrast individual rights under Australian Indigenous customary laws - especially those of women and children - with communal rights under such laws
5 discuss Australian reports on the recognition of Indigenous customary laws and identify leading cases and statutes that refer to such laws
6 contrast the recognition of indigenous customary laws in Canada, the United States of America, and New Zealand, with Australia
7 locate the points at which state, territory and Commonwealth jurisdictions recognise Australian Indigenous customary laws and review the potential for further recognition.

On completion of this unit, students should be able to:

  1. define Indigenous customary law and outline important concepts
    • GA7:
  2. interpret anthropological sources that seek to explain Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander customary laws, and summarise the content of such laws
    • GA1:
    • GA7:
  3. describe methods of social control, and the extent of compliance with customary laws, in both pre-invasion and post-invasion Indigenous settings in Australia
    • GA7:
  4. contrast individual rights under Australian Indigenous customary laws - especially those of women and children - with communal rights under such laws
    • GA1:
    • GA2:
    • GA7:
  5. discuss Australian reports on the recognition of Indigenous customary laws and identify leading cases and statutes that refer to such laws
    • GA1:
    • GA2:
    • GA7:
  6. contrast the recognition of indigenous customary laws in Canada, the United States of America, and New Zealand, with Australia
    • GA2:
    • GA7:
  7. locate the points at which state, territory and Commonwealth jurisdictions recognise Australian Indigenous customary laws and review the potential for further recognition.
    • GA1:
    • GA2:
    • GA7:

Prescribed learning resources

Prescribed Texts
  • No prescribed texts.

Prescribed Learning Resources may change in future Teaching Periods.