You did not get the clerkship: What else can you do this holiday?

By Joseph Black (JDII)

The desire to be selected for a clerkship seems to be shared ubiquitously among law students and aspiring lawyers in Australia. At the same time, because so many people end up applying for clerkships, not all applicants, including excellent applicants, can be accepted. This can create quite a bit of heartbreak and sorrow.

Let us state a hypothetical: you are an excellent student who was not accepted for a clerkship. What do you do during your holiday instead?

Below are some ideas I have come up with. I do not speak as a coach, expert, or adviser but merely as a fellow law student, who has considered a variety of possibilities.

Learn a new language

One idea is to learn a new language. Our law school hosts an incredible number of students from around the world. By learning one of their languages, maybe you can learn to better converse with them, or at least in a new way, during and after the pandemic. Perhaps this could help you land a job in Australia or abroad in future. By learning a new language, maybe you can develop new ways of perceiving life. 

If you spend several hours each week learning a new language, I believe it is quite possible you could be semi-fluent by the end of the break. If you spend several hours each day, perhaps you will be a multilinguist in a few months.

Write for a publication

Another idea is to write for the Law School paper. At Sydney Law School, you have a myriad of options: Citations, Yemaya, Dissent, MOSAIC, Law in Society. The University of Sydney also has Honi Soit, and, I assume, many other papers as well. Through writing, you may develop your voice, which could help you continue to write fantastic essays later in your law degree, and foster a brand for yourself, which could help you advance in your future lawyering career. Maybe you can write an article assessing recent law reform in a particular area of law. Maybe you can write an article focusing on native title.

Study abroad*

Given the current pandemic and travel ban in Australia, study abroad is probably best for students already overseas or who can easily and responsibly travel overseas. Universities abroad often have winter schools, summers schools, summer institutes, and short non-degree programs in a variety of subjects throughout the year. 

You could study a field of law you cannot study at Sydney Law School, expand your network of lawyers and aspiring lawyers (internationally), connect with professors at other schools who can connect you to future jobs, and study material which you can later use in Sydney Law School assessments. A quick Google search can help you find a variety of options available. European University Institute in Italy offers a myriad of short programs throughout the year.

Volunteer at legal centres in your community

Volunteering at legal centres can truly be insightful. You can: see how solicitors work, interact with authentic clients in real life, help make significant and positive impacts on others’ lives, and see if a certain field of law really is for you. In my opinion, volunteering at legal centres is vital to building the community – and, as aspiring lawyers, that is a noble thing to do. Maybe you can volunteer at Marrickville Legal Centre. Maybe you can (remotely) volunteer with the Earth Law Center in the United States. A quick Google search shows a variety of options are available.

Volunteer at charities (not specifically law-related)

Like volunteering at legal centres, volunteering at charities can truly be insightful. You can: have the opportunity to help those who are extremely in need, have exposure to things you would not have had exposure to otherwise, practice another language, and make a real impact in the world. There are so many charities to choose from. Some places you could volunteer at, in Sydney, include Salvation Army, Vinnies, Twenty10, and ACON. Once again, Google can be helpful.

Do a law internship

If your heart is set on the clerkship, maybe look at doing a law internship instead. Through a law internship, you can still have the opportunity to engage with legal issues, make contacts in the legal universe, whet your legal mind, and perhaps help yourself land a job in the legal universe post-degree.

Sydney Law School offers internships at its different institutes: The Centre for Asian and Pacific Law, Sydney Institute of Criminology, Sydney Centre for International Law, and many others. A quick Google search can maybe help you find law internships at other places in your area as well.

Of course, this is not an exhaustive list of ideas, but just a sample. Now, try this. Grab a pad, pen, and trace a circle in the middle of a page. In the middle of the circle, put YOUR NAME and WINTER 2020. Around YOUR NAME, list a variety of things you could do. What do you think you could do, which could help propel you towards a career in criminal law? Take an online criminal law class, focusing on criminal law in America, through FutureLearn or Coursera? Do something quite novel, and take an online class on Pashtunwali? Do not let those clerkship rejection letters get in your way. The world is your oyster.

* For study abroad during the pandemic, I would probably carefully consider pros and cons and specific legal issues regarding going out or coming back to Australia or another country, with someone appropriate to consult. For study abroad, perhaps a virtual study abroad is possible?

130 years of Sydney Law School

By Coco Chen (BA/LLB II) and Jingyi Li (BCom/LLB I)

For every law student, we pride ourselves for being a part of Sydney Law School, from the high ATAR cut-off that creates so much tension on USyd Rants, to the sleek, modern, glass architecture of New Law and New Law Annex making landmarks on Eastern Avenue, to the vibrant SULS and the supportive teaching staff, no matter how much we complain about law school, we really love being a part of it. 

As Dean and Head Simon Bronitt reminded us in his weekly newsletter, 2020 marks the 130-year anniversary for Sydney Law School. And what better time than now, a strange point in time that will most definitely be recorded in history, for us to look back into the past of Sydney Law School. 

From Faculty of Law to Sydney Law School 

The degree in law was established by the 1850 Act to Incorporate and Endow the University of Sydney, in Clause 11: 

whereas it is expedient to extend the benefits of colleges and educational establishments...for the promotion of literature science and art…, Be it enacted That all persons shall be admitted as candidates for the respective degrees of Bachelor of Arts, Master of Arts, Bachelor of Laws or Doctor of Laws…

Standing alongside Arts and Medicine, the Law degree holds the longest history in Australia’s oldest university. For a lengthy period of that time, an Arts degree was a prerequisite for a Law or Medicine degree, which acted more like qualifications for exam results rather than certificates of completed courses.

Even though the Faculty of Law came into existence in 1855, it did not function as a teaching facility until the appointment of the first Chair of Law and first Dean Pitt Cobbett in 1890, the year marked by Dean Simon Bronitt as the inaugural year of operation.

From St. James Campus to New Law Building

Current undergraduate law students may not have memories of the main building prior to the construction of New Law Building, since the magnificent structure has been located on Camperdown Campus for over a decade. Before 2009, law school students attended St. James Campus bounded by Phillip, King and Elizabeth Streets. The 16-level building with a 4-storey library was situated right by the Supreme Court and Barrister’s Chambers. To quote Professor Gillian Triggs, Dean of Law School from 2007 to 2012, ‘it is not-uncommon a sight to see High Court and Federal Court judges duck through the traffic to the law school after court sessions have concluded for the day, to give lectures and attend seminars’. 

The highlight of the old law school is undoubtedly its close proximity to the heart of the legal practice, but it also created a problem in its distance from the main campus. Prior to the Law School’s move to St James Campus in 1969, students and staff had been bouncing all around CBD, including some floors in the Wentworth Court, a spot on Phillip Street, the now Selbourne Chamber, a floor in Martin Place, Wigram Chambers back on Philip Street and Barristers Court. Yet at the same time, the Law school had seen an increase of full-time enrolments and a need to find a permanent location back on Camperdown Campus. In 1957, as Sir Keith Murray led an inquiry on Australian Universities, the then-Vice Chancellor took the opportunity to propose constructing a new law building. Looking 52 years into the future, the proposal will eventually be fulfilled by Francis-Jones Moreton Thorp’s design which manifests itself as the current New Law Building and Annex. 

When the construction was complete in 2009, the excitement towards moving into such a modern architecture was recorded in the architect’s publication, ‘In the Realm of Learning: The University of Sydney's New Law School’. Amongst the most mentioned locations were the moot court and the library with special mention to the installation of technologies to record lectures. Reading the words of those who were witnessing the equally amazing exterior and interior of the new law school for the first time, reminded me of the opportunities I have had the opportunity to get up on level three of New Law Building, either handing in assessments or getting lost in the law building in the early weeks of first year when I was supposed to be in the annex. Whenever I go up there, I always take the chance to gaze at Victoria Park and the skyline in the distance and think to myself, this would be the view it takes to overcome any challenge. 

During its 130 years of operation, Sydney Law School witnessed history running its course and never stopped shaping brilliant minds who have their hearts set on bettering other people’s lives and advancing the society we are all a part of. Indeed, Dean Simon Bronnitt reminds us that “global wars, depressions, pandemics… have never daunted the spirit of this place, its people and programs”. Many of us can say for sure that this is the strangest semester we have ever had, but the support from our cohorts has been tremendously supportive and heart-warming. I suppose, when we graduate from Sydney Law School, we will look back at the past five years and think to ourselves: it was the best of times.

Bibliography

1. Act to Incorporate and endow the University of Sydney: http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/nsw/num_act/sua1850n31286.pdf

2. The Law School Shift

   https://www.sydney.edu.au/content/dam/corporate/documents/sydney-law-school/about/The_Law_School_Shift.pdf

3. History https://www.sydney.edu.au/law/about/history.html

Humanitarian intervention - a necessary evil?

By Ibrahim Taha (BA/LLB III)

More than 200 years after Immanuel Kant called for the protection of human rights under international law, the United Nations adopted a Charter unprecedented in human history, determined to save successive generations from the scourge of war. However, since its founding in 1945, the world has been plagued by war. The twentieth century saw two World Wars, a Cold War, and the mass extermination of six million Jews. If there was a chronicle on world history, the twentieth century would be its darkest chapter. From Syria, the worst humanitarian crisis since World War II, to Yemen, home to more than 12 million children on the brink of starvation, recent world events have reignited the hotly contested debate on humanitarian intervention.

Development of humanitarian intervention

Humanitarian intervention is defined as military force in a state, without the approval of its authorities, to alleviate human suffering and prevent gross violations of human rights. Throughout history, intervention on humanitarian grounds was supported by a moral, ethical and philosophical framework, rooted in natural law. Christian theologian Thomas Aquinas expanded Saint Augustine’s idea of universal moral norms to develop natural law; a system of moral duties discoverable through reason and binding on all subjects simply by their being human. Drawing upon the biblical injunction, ‘Thou shalt not stand idly by the blood of thy neighbour’, Aquinas formulated the just war theory, an ethical framework that justified armed force to punish violations of natural law. The modern practice of humanitarian intervention stems from the just war tradition which was widely accepted until the profound shift toward legal positivism.

While legal positivism proliferated during the ‘Age of Reason’ in the eighteenth century, its origins in international law date back to 1648 when a new political order was formed based on territorial sovereignty. The Treaty of Westphalia laid the intellectual foundations of international law through the recognition of politically independent, sovereign states subject to no higher authority. This enabled the development of a separate regime of rules and principles to govern relations between states, distinct from natural law. As the nation-state emerged, the naturalist tradition was succeeded by a positivist approach that derived international law from science, not morality; consent, not reason. Therefore, state sovereignty runs contrary to any form of intervention that would undermine the political independence of states.

The contemporary debate on humanitarian intervention - whether the inviolability of states overrides protection of individual rights - reflects the longstanding tension between positive and natural law. This inherent ambiguity was built into the UN Charter, which on one hand obligates states to refrain from any use of force in Article 2(4), while also proclaiming the inalienable rights of people in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. International law post-World War II has given primacy to the rule of non-intervention above the cosmopolitan ideal of universal moral principles that deserve protection.

Is humanitarian intervention legal?

Opponents of humanitarian intervention rest their case on positive law, the plain language of the UN Charter which fundamentally prohibits any use of force and threat of its use by states, regardless of the motive behind the action. This was affirmed in the Israeli Entebbe Incident in 1976, whereby Israel’s operation in Uganda to save hostages violated Ugandan sovereignty. Opponents argue that personal morality is not attributable to states whose right to independence includes the concomitant right to freely govern themselves, even where governments violate the rights of their subjects. Legal positivism maintains the primacy of state sovereignty with no exception, as supported by a plain reading of the UN Charter.

Proponents of humanitarian intervention reject the positivist presumption in favour of sovereignty over inalienable rights, as ethically and legally untenable. They recognise the right of states to use force to uphold the common good of humanity as pursuant to the purpose of the UN Charter which drew heavily from natural law. Drawing on the dynamic relationship between international law and state practice, proponents suggest the emergence of a customary right to intervention. Examples such as Kosovo 1999, Libya 2011, Iraq 2014, and the UN’s adoption of Responsibility to Protect in 2005 evince a pattern of conduct by the international community that signals progressive development toward humanitarianism.  

Both approaches to humanitarian intervention reflect deep differences in international law that are difficult to reconcile. While a plain reading of the Charter renders humanitarian intervention unlawful, emerging state practice suggests growing support for the doctrine. Since international law can be read to support either position, its legality rests upon the strategic manipulation of states and their contingent theory of how international law operates in the world. While the inherent ambiguity of the law presents an impasse for states, perhaps the path of reconcilability lies in the recognition that even though intervention on humanitarian grounds is unlawful in black-letter law, it can be legitimate.

Legitimacy of humanitarian intervention

Although international law relies upon state consent, separating morality from law or framing humanitarian intervention in only explicitly legal terms, denies the moral conscience of humankind. The UN Genocide Convention in 1948 was a milestone development in international law, that coalesced the ethical considerations of natural law with the logic of positive law, to create reciprocal responsibilities of all humanity to protect the sanctity of life. This presents an opportunity for reconciling the legal ambiguity surrounding humanitarian intervention. While there are concerns for risks of its abuse by powerful states in pursuit of ulterior objectives, unalloyed rejection of the doctrine is ethically untenable. Although NATO’s bombings in Kosovo in 1999 to rescue 12,000 Albanians was legally dubious, the multilateral coordination of 13 NATO states bolstered its legitimacy. It is important not to deny that in accepting the imperative to intervene, undesirable results are a tragic reality. The Iraq War is estimated to have caused over 100,000 civilian casualties, and is widely considered the worst foreign policy blunder in US history. The wider conflagration of the Iraq War highlights the need for the international community to uphold and enforce multilateral mechanisms of decision-making. The architects of the Iraq War sidelined key processes of collective deliberation and multilateralism that confers necessary legitimacy on the decision to intervene.

The debate on humanitarian intervention is not a choice between the greater good and lesser evil; it is a necessarily tragic undertaking in pursuit of the common good, with full knowledge that the international community will always fall short. As American theologian Reinhold Niebuhr opined, ‘tragedy is linked to a recognition of our own finitude’. In the process of rectifying the most dire human circumstances, perfectibility is quixotic and dangerous. Acknowledgement of human imperfections does not exonerate abuse by powerful states, nor does it condone the imperialistic motives of a single state. Rather, it serves as a reminder that human ineptitude and limited resources should not bar states from upholding the noble responsibility shared by the international community - the compelling necessity to prevent the mass slaughter of innocent human beings.

Humanitarian intervention will continue to be debated and the contention surrounding its legality are almost as irreconcilable as the inherent tensions in international law. So long as the international community maintains a moral conscience, intervention will have a place at international law. The artificial construct of state sovereignty is no longer a shield to the mass slaughter of human beings.

Gilbert + Tobin: Legal Innovation, Clerkships and the Future

Footnotes is a podcast by SULS hosted by students, for students, presenting new and intriguing stories about the law. Here are the highlights from their most recent interview with Gilbert + Tobin, featuring Kristie Barton (Clerk and Graduate Program Manager), Bryce Craig (Lawyer - Technology + Digital) and Lauren Ziegelaar (Legal Transformation Lawyer) about clerkships and graduate roles, how the delivery of legal services has changed in the face of new and innovative legal technologies, and the skills young lawyers need to equip themselves for the legal industry of the future.

Do you have any tips or tricks for clerkship applications and interviews having gone through the process yourself and, Kristie, been on the other side of that? What advice would you give?

BC: I think it's very important to show your interest in the firm you're applying for, as well as a willingness to learn and contribute to growth. A keen clerk is the best clerk.

LZ: I totally agree. Do your research around the firm you're applying and have a genuine interest in the firm and the work that you're doing; but also have genuine interests outside of that. Don't be afraid to talk about the fact that you love running marathons or horse riding. You want to use your judgment about when to raise those things, but don't feel like you have to be this cookie-cutter person who doesn’t love anything but the law. 

KB: In terms of applications, tailor your application to the film that you're applying for. Try to find exactly what it is about each firm that really resonates with you or excites you and put it in the application. You’ll definitely get further in the process. 

The clerkship process is, obviously, very competitive. What advice would you have for people who may be unsuccessful this year?

KB: Clerkship may be the most linear pathway into a graduate program, but it's definitely not the be-all and end-all. The recruitment process offers such a unique opportunity for students to connect with firms and start building their networks by identifying people that they would like to have as mentors or contacts down the track. That is hugely invaluable. 

What do you see as being the role of technology and innovation in the delivery of legal services, drawing on your own experiences?

LZ: Great question! I was really lucky to work with the legal services innovation team as a graduate. The biggest learning point for me was that technology isn’t going to replace people; it just augments the way we deliver our legal services. I think what we’re going to see is more and more law firms and legal practice groups operating on the model, where it’s not a pure labour market but a labour plus capital market. 

At the moment, we just charge for our time and add disbursements such as court fees or other fees but we’re going to see the way we price and charge our work change. We are moving towards a market where law firms are providing legal advice but also tools, technologies and platforms that can be licensed out to clients. We are moving towards a model where the time of the lawyers is just one element of the services that the firm offers.

BC: Lawyers have always occupied a number of roles for their clients. They are expected to be commercially-minded and risk-averse and think about the ‘people’ element of how a decision is going to impact the client. Now, we're also expected to have competency with technology and data and applying that to matters. All the large matters I've worked on this year have some elements of data management and technology along with digital teamwork help bring clarity to those matters. That's just one example of how technology is becoming another part of the multipronged role we are expected to fill for our clients. 

KB: We need people now that are adaptable and open to new technologies and solutions and have a level of technological literacy. We certainly get some queries about how technologies like artificial intelligence are having an impact. I think lawyers are definitely not going away anytime soon, but we are upskilling our lawyers on qualities such as project management, data analytics and design thinking. We talk about this ‘T-shaped lawyer’ where traditional legal knowledge and skills are in the middle and non-legal skills are becoming increasingly important.

BC: The T-shaped Model is saying that you need to have some level of insight into many roles, but you don't have to be an expert. You don’t need to know how to code, for example, but you need to know how to talk to someone with those skills and to bridge that gap. Often the role that I see myself and other lawyers occupy is one of the conduits between those with very deep skills, and the request of the client.

LZ: There's also another model called the Delta Model. It has three sections: the process, the practice, and the people. The depth of your skills in those areas changes depending on what role you occupy. Your legal knowledge still forms the absolute foundation, but the additional skills you need evolve quickly. I think you guys are probably in the best position for it as early career professionals because you're incredibly adaptive and fast learners. I don't think it's something you need to be worried about as long as you're open to it.

Do you think COVID is going to be the tipping point for the law in the way that it approaches technological innovation? Now that we've gotten familiar with doing things digitally, do you think that this something that we are going to see in the future of law?

LZ: I think there are some elements that will change a lot but other elements are uncertain. Producing change in a law firm model has its own unique challenges. The things that speed up those processes are client-driven forces, internal forces such as staff and employees, and also external forces, such as a global pandemic. I think it will produce change, but it just depends on what areas will see that lasting change. 

BC: I think one of the impacts brought about just by changing economic and financial circumstances will be that a lot more clients will be even more cost-conscious. I think it's going to bring newfound relevance to teams, like Lauren's, that routinely deal with how to optimize the delivery of legal services.

How do you think your experience with innovation has helped complement other aspects of your work as a lawyer?

LZ: Having exposure to so many parts of the firm made me a better lawyer in my role in the corporate team because I really understood how the firm works from a business perspective. As soon as you understand the business side of the firm, it makes sense as to why things are done a certain way, and you can find opportunities to solve inefficiencies. 

If you want more insight from Kristie, Bryce and Lauren on the impacts of technology and innovation, have a listen to the full episode of ‘In Conversation with Gilbert + Tobin - Legal Innovation, Clerkships & the Future’ on your favourite podcast platform. 

The incoming global debt crisis requires a truly collective response

By Brendan Ma (BCom (Finance) / LLB (Hons) V)

From Argentina to Zambia, states are struggling to overcome the economic impacts induced by COVID-19. 

Plummeting export demand and commodity prices are driving sub-Saharan Africa towards a projected GDP growth rate of -1.6%, the worst on record. Meanwhile, for the tourism-dependent haven of the Maldives, the evaporation of international travel is expected to halve the government’s total tax revenue this year. Compared to the start of 2020, when the IMF projected positive per capita income growth in 160 countries, the IMF is now warning that 170 countries could experience negative growth.    

Source: IMF

These impacts could be disastrous if they set off a global sovereign debt crisis. Prior to the pandemic, a massive debt wave had been building up across the world. The total debt (public, private, domestic and external) owed by developing nations accumulated to the highest figure in history (nearly 2x their combined GDP). Many economists would argue that the accumulation of sovereign debt is not a significant problem insofar as governments maintain the taxing authority and long-run productive capacity to pay what is owed when they fall due. In 2020, payments amounting to 3.9 trillion USD worth of payments are due from developing nations. Yet, with GDP, tax receipts and export revenues tumbling, many of these governments are facing the real prospect of defaulting on their debt. 

Last month, Argentina defaulted on interest worth around 500 million USD. This was the ninth time Argentina defaulted. Sovereign debt lawyers and analysts are drawing comparisons to Mexico’s default in 1982. Back then, banks and investors in international credit markets halted or significantly reduced new lending to other indebted nations across Latin America. This triggered a long debt crisis amongst 27 emerging nations (including Argentina’s 5th default) and precipitated the ‘Lost Decade’ for the continent. 

The question today is whether the international financial system has the legal protections necessary to avoid another ‘Lost Decade’. 

The uniqueness of sovereign debt

At its core, sovereign debt is a contract between a government borrower and its creditor. This is often issued through government bonds and bills, although a significant proportion of bilateral debt owed to creditors, like China, is through loans. 

However, sovereign debt is unique compared to a conventional debt contract. If a commercial debtor defaults, domestic bankruptcy laws will provide temporary protections to prevent creditors from litigating or seizing assets in a frenzied fashion. For example, in the US there are automatic stays which take effect immediately upon the filing of bankruptcy. In Australia, voluntary administration under the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) triggers automatic stays to prevent the commencement or continuation of enforcement proceedings and prevents secured creditors from enforcing security interests (except for those with security over the whole or substantial part of the whole of the debtor’s assets). 

There is no equivalent international bankruptcy system for sovereign debtors. Defaulting nations would instead be vulnerable to lawsuits or enforcement actions in a desperate attempt to protect creditor interests. During a financial crisis and health pandemic, this could be at the expense of preserving debtor government resources that are necessary to support domestic spending priorities such as funding a public health system. 

On the other hand, sovereigns have traditionally enjoyed absolute immunity from being non-consensually sued in the courts of another country. Yet, since the mid-20th century, most countries have instead recognised a restrictive theory of sovereign immunity, particularly for commercial endeavours. Nations that enter the international marketplace as a borrower will be subject to overseas judicial proceedings as if they were a commercial party. 

However, even if a creditor obtains a favourable judgment, courts will often avoid executing against the overseas property of the debtor state unless the property is used exclusively for commercial purposes. Since most overseas property of sovereigns relates to embassies, military installations and, in the case of Firebird Global Master Fund II Ltd v Republic of Nauru [2015] HCA 43, bank accounts used for inter alia holding term deposits on behalf of the government and running a national airline, legal proceedings are not necessarily an attractive option for creditors when a sovereign defaults. 

Therefore most sovereign defaults are resolved through out-of-court negotiations to restructure the terms of the debt. However, that does not stop some opportunistic creditors from acting separately to collective negotiations and holding out for a better deal, or litigating. In the past ‘holdout creditors’ have included private vulture funds that buy distressed sovereign bonds with the aim of litigating or bilateral creditors who choose not to adhere to the collective outcomes of official negotiation forums, like the Paris Club. 

The risk of fragmented creditor approaches poses major problems in a sovereign debt crisis. It delays the resolution of the crisis and prevents a vulnerable sovereign debtor from quickly regaining access to capital markets. Importantly, it also hinders collective approaches to difficult, yet necessary, debt relief proposals. If holdout creditors exist, then the other creditors at the negotiating table are discouraged from offering discounts or deferments on debt repayments because this relief would effectively be redirected towards paying the claims of the holdout creditors. 

The international financial architecture has sidestepped these risks for a while. Whilst ad hoc sovereign defaults can be managed relatively urgently, COVID-19 is creating the possibility of a wave of sovereign defaults at once. Corralling all these disparate government and creditor interests with further defaults around the corner could be catastrophic and, according to the New York Times, ‘unlike anything we have seen’. 

Relief has not gone far enough

Attempting to avoid this wave of near-term defaults, the world’s largest 20 economies agreed via the G20 in April to suspend all 2020 debt payments for the lowest-income countries. This frees up US$20 billion for developing nations to use on vital health and economic policies in domestic COVID-19 responses. 

Whilst this is a step in the right direction, the relief only applies to debt owed to G20 nations. Private creditors are not yet obliged to follow suit. If they do not step up, then the debt relief provided by the G20 risks being directly used to repay private investors. For example, investors buying Zambian bonds at 38 cents on the dollar could generate significant profits if bondholders are repaid in full now that G20 debts are not payable in 2020. 

Developing nations are arguably better off avoiding defaults and utilising their resources for pandemic recovery, than diverting it towards immediate creditor payments. Rather than relying on all creditors volunteering to provide relief, the extraordinary impacts of COVID-19 call for much more collective global solutions. 

A role for the Security Council?

Avoiding a global debt crisis might require immediate protection for many developing countries against enforcement attempts by various creditors across the world. The UN Security Council has authority under Chapter VII of the UN Charter to impose legal immunities over state assets. This could prevent foreign enforcement by any creditor and provide the financial headroom for developing nations that the G20 intended to achieve. 

This authority has been invoked previously to shield Iraq in the immediate post-Saddam era. UN Security Council Resolution 1483 immunised all Iraqi oil sales and cash proceeds from ‘any form of attachment, garnishment, or execution’. This encouraged collective restructuring of Iraq’s debts and led to debt relief of 80% in net present value terms. 

United Nations Security Council

In order to act under Chapter VII, the UN Security Council must agree that the situation facing developing nations constitutes a threat to international peace and security. There can be no doubt that a sovereign default will accentuate the humanitarian crisis facing developing nations that are struggling to finance effective responses to the pandemic. A deepened economic and humanitarian crisis can further undermine the tenuous fabrics of political stability and peace in vulnerable nations. 

According to the Max Planck Research Institute, there is a correlation between sovereign debt and the risk of armed conflict and civil war. The risk of default undermines a state’s ability to provide basic services for its own population; it can entrench poverty and the regression of socio-economic rights in defaulting states. In these environments, threats to peace can manifest through prolonged civil unrest and violent riots, a scenario familiar to Argentina and Greece at the apex of their most recent debt crises. 

A sovereign debt crisis that engulfs many fragile developing nations simultaneously could be much worse. COVID-19 has exposed the cracks in the international financial architecture at a time when the most vulnerable states need its protection most. Avoiding another ‘Lost Decade’ will require action that is immediate, protective and – most of all – truly collective. 

Social Justice: Working in Criminal Law

The SULS Social Justice Portfolio recently hosted the event ‘Working in Criminal Law’, discussing a variety of issues with professionals from the field of criminal law. The panel consisted of Ruth Heazlewood (RH) and Madeleine Avenell (MA) from the Public Defenders Office, Adrienne Ey (AE) and James Ly (JL) from the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions NSW and Justin Wong (JW) from Streeton Lawyers. These were the highlights of the discussion:

Why did you choose in the organisation you currently work with? What attracted you to criminal law in particular?

JL: When I was at University, I worked at a small general firm and the exposure I had to criminal law was the most interesting part of the job. When I graduated, I applied for ODPP’s graduate program, the Legal Development Program and I've been here ever since then. The main thing that attracted me to criminal law is that it’s really interesting and different every day. 

AE: I got a position in the LDP when I first finished university. By that time, I already knew I was really interested in criminal law with how it sits alongside social justice issues. Part of the reason I was attracted to working at the ODPP, in particular, was that I wanted to work somewhere where I had access to a mentor and colleagues while getting good legal experience. 

JW: I was a volunteer at the Aboriginal Legal Service in my final two years of university and I tried to do as much criminal law electives as I could. I think what attracted me initially was probably a combination of wanting to help people, finding the stories really interesting and trying to make a difference. Most people I know in criminal law really enjoy what they do, as difficult as it can be sometimes.

MA: I have to admit when I got to the end of University, I didn't know what I was going to do. I got a job as a tipstaff in the Supreme Court and the judge I worked for only did criminal work. I thoroughly enjoyed it and it completely changed my attitude to law, particularly crime. 

RH: I’d always been attracted to criminal law, even as a student. In all my many years of practice, I still find criminal law the most interesting. If you find criminal law or criminal law finds you, then you’ve definitely got a strong sense of purpose.

What are the most rewarding and challenging parts of working in criminal law and, in particular, your organisation?

JW: I think the most rewarding thing is seeing the effect you could have on someone's lives when they're coming to you at, probably, the worst point in their life. The flip side of that is that there is so much responsibility on you. Litigation is always very uncertain and can be incredibly stressful and emotionally taxing at times. But overall, it's much more rewarding and it's a real privilege to be able to act for people.

RH: I think the challenges for any criminal lawyer is to behave ethically. Not in my case, but I have heard that sometimes students are put in ethical situations that are a bit dicey.

A lot is said about being a certain kind of person to work in criminal law. What traits or personalities do you think it takes to work and thrive in criminal law?

JL: I would say, passion and interest in criminal law.

JW: I’d agree with that. There are so many different personalities in our area, so you don't have to be a ‘particular type’ of person.

Some of you mentioned the Legal Development Programme (LDP) along with volunteering and criminal law electives. What do you guys think is the way into criminal law?

AE: There are a number of different ways to find the right role for you in criminal law. Justin mentioned he volunteered at the Aboriginal Legal Service which is one of the big criminal organisations in New South Wales that does take volunteers and PLT students. The same goes for Legal Aid. If you've done extracurricular activities or competitions at uni, I would recommend highlighting things like that. You really just need to be proactive and be willing to do a few different things. 

MA: My suggestion is doing anything that allows you to get to know a few people in criminal law. There are barristers who employ students as researchers or admin assistants and it’s a path to just get to know people.

RH: Public Defenders has so many students come through in various pathways: sometimes through the more structured internship programs but also through PLT while others come as volunteers. My main requirement is that they be in their fourth or fifth years because the work we do can be quite challenging. We also have an Aboriginal and Torres-Strait Islander graduate program, where we take on Aboriginal graduates to do their PLT. It's one way we can assist disadvantaged students in getting the support and mentorship that they need. 

With the current social restriction laws, courts and tribunal have had to change the way they operate across Australia. How have your operations been affected by the recent pandemic and will there be any long-lasting impacts in the future?

JW: Like every aspect of society, the impact is huge. I haven't done a huge amount of online court appearances myself, but it really does affect your ability to be able to stand and advocate in court. We’re used to having the ability to be able to pick up on small verbal cues and I found it very hard to get my point across in the same way through a screen. 

JL: In terms of practice moving forward, I think the pandemic has caused the court to look at how they do administrative things, forcing it to become more efficient. 

Our final question is how students can bridge the skill set gap. Are there any particular skills or aspects that you would encourage someone to have?

JL: Just speaking from the graduate program at the ODPP, we don’t expect you to be an excellent advocate when you come in. That's the whole purpose of the graduate program. I wouldn't be too concerned about bridging that gap now.

JW: There’s a huge difference between learning law and then applying it to a client. I think as a paralegal, observing how lawyers operate is a really great experience. The last three graduate solicitors we've had have all been paralegals while in university, so they're able to learn the skills early and hit the ground running.

Law School Basics Panel: Online Exams

This is a complete transcript of the SULS panel discussion for online exams held in Semester 1, 2020. The panel was moderated by Natalie Leung (Vice President (Education) 2020) and consisted of Professor Rita Shackel, Dr Kevin Walton, Professor Peter Gerangelos and Dr Gemma Turton.

Questions (click on the links to jump to each section):

• What should I do to prepare for an open book exam?

• Do you have any advice on turning the lecture or tutorial notes into appropriate exam notes?

• How is preparing for an online exam different to preparing for an in-person exam?

• How do you think the reading time should be used in an online exam/open book exam?

• If I am going over the word count of an online exam, what should I do? Should I keep writing and cut later or stop and start cutting?

• Are students expected to include a record of the work count, or can the work count be viewed by examiners without students stating it?

• If we are running out of time in the exam, should we be covering every issue briefly, or a couple in more detail?

• How can I get into a mindset that is similar to being in an exam room? It’s often very easy to get distracted at home.

• Do you have any tips on typing exams? I often feel more fluent when writing with pen and paper.

• What is the significance of the extra time that has been provided in assessments? Assuming that we don't have any internet issues or uploading and downloading issues, how should we be using this extra time?

• In relation to online exams, what would be the impact of referencing on plagiarism? What style of referencing are examiners expecting?

• Is it recommended to print out the questions?

• Would the expected standard of answers for a two-hour exam be different to that of a two-day exam?

• Do you have any tips you would recommend for students to make the best use of past papers when they're unable to obtain feedback for their responses?

What should I do to prepare for an open book exam? 

GT: My advice for an open book exam is to largely treat it like you would a close book exam. You aren't going to have time to be making an enormous amount of reference to your materials, and you certainly don't want to be looking at any of the topics or any of the statutes for the first time in the exam. Even though it's an open book exam, you should be as prepared as you would be if it was a closed book exam, and think of your materials as a support, rather than the primary resource that you're going to use.

RS: I agree entirely. I think one of the key messages for this semester with the online exams, is to be organized. Students will need to be really mindful of time management, given the fact that there are word limits imposed on the short release take-home exams. 

PG: Yes, I would concur with everything that's been said, and particularly the point about treating the open book exam in the same way as you would a sit down exam. In other words, you should be preparing for it in a very similar way. I think the only difference with an open book exam is simply that you don't have to rote learn case names etc., so you can focus on the substantive content of the material. Don't think that you can leave it until the day and just rely on your notes; you won't be able to. And if other courses are like mine, when we are aware that students have access to materials, sometimes the questions can be a little bit more challenging, in order to avoid students being able to look up an answer. I would be preparing for it as if it were a closed book exam, by understanding case principles and how they apply, identifying issues and so on. We should also add, students should become familiar with the scenarios and the facts of the cases you've been studying and also do revision problems that you've been given and practice that under time conditions.

KW: I just want to pick up on something that Peter said, and that is although you don't need to memorize the case names, you're going to need a really good set of notes. You don't want to be rifling through your notes, trying to find the name of the case, while you're doing the exam. You should be making notes that you can refer to quickly in the exam and that would be a crucial part of preparation.

Do you have any advice on turning the lecture or tutorial notes into appropriate exam notes?

PG: The examination notes should contain a clear statement of legal principle, with reference to the relevant cases, which goes back to Kevin's point. The idea of exam notes is to have a set of principles that are a full summary of the lecture and tutorial notes in order to also assist you to remember the more nuanced points; but if there are important nuanced points, perhaps you might want to put them precisely in the exam notes. That’s what I often say to students. There is an art in putting maximum meaning into minimum words, and that's the exercise with exam notes. Now some students say, ‘I took your advice and I used minimum words when they seek feedback on an assignment’ and I say, well yes, but unfortunately you forgot the first bit which is putting maximum meaning. Whatever you state must have the complete statement of the legal principle. That's what the exam notes are there for, to jog your memory, with respect to principles that hopefully you will have internalized as if you were preparing for a closed book examination. You can’t put everything down on the exam notes. They presuppose deep study and deep knowledge. Often you surprise yourself, if you have been doing that deep study, deep preparation and deep thinking, at how that material or knowledge you've gained does come out when you see a very cleverly framed set of exam notes. 

GT: A couple of other tips that I might suggest is that when you're making those notes, make sure that you are referring to the course as a whole, rather than the specific questions that were asked in a tutorial. I think students sometimes frame their notes in terms of the issues that came up in the tutorials, and obviously it's not possible for us to have covered everything about a topic within the tutorial. So make sure that your notes are wider than that they addressed the course as a whole, and perhaps when you're making your notes about the cases, think about why you're using cases in your answers. Is the case a key case that establishes a legal principle? Is it a case that creates an exception or limits or expands that principle or is it a case it's more illustrative of how that might be applied to facts? And think about why you might use particular cases in your answers, and let that shape how we take notes on them as you're condensing those notes down. 

How is preparing for an online exam different to preparing for an in-person exam? 

KW: I think it's implicit in a lot of what we've been saying, there's not really much difference in the preparation you should be doing. Obviously, just before the exam, you're not going to be getting on the train or the bus to come to the University campus. But in terms of the substance of the exam, your preparation is going to look no different. We've already made the point that you shouldn't be relying heavily on notes in the exam anyway, so although you might have more space than you would have in the exam hall, doesn't mean you need to fill the space.

RS: I agree entirely with Kevin's point. And I think that is one of the key messages coming out of everything that has been said so far, that in terms of the static side of exam preparation, not all that much is really different. I think where the difference arises is perhaps in the physical preparation and also what you do during the exam, and even some of that is not all that different. But I do think that in the conduct of the exam, students will need to be much more alert to issues around time management, and obviously also alert to some of the technical aspects of accessing and submitting an exam online.

GT: In an in-person exam, you're used to having a time limit; and now there will be word limits on some exams, if not all. It's important to make sure that you are aware of the word limit before you start. If you've got more of an extended-release take-home exam, plan when you're going to actually complete the exam: are you going to leave yourself time to go back and proofread it, and make sure that you've built all of that in before the submission deadline?

PG: Prepare a nice space for yourself. Make sure that you've got everything ready to go before the day. Perhaps a cup of coffee or whatever else you might need and put up a notice on your door that you're doing an exam so that people don't disturb you. Really make sure that everything is working well technically, well before the exam period so that it doesn't hit you on the day and create a massive panic.

KW: Just as you would in an in-person exam, you should be putting your phone away. It shouldn't be next to you while you're doing the exam, it's going to distract you. But also you have no reason to have it because you're not going to be communicating with anybody during the exam and certainly not about the exam itself. Just as you're going into the exam hall and there are certain things that you shouldn't have with you, you shouldn't have that device sitting next to you.

GT: And I would also put it on airplane mode because I know, for example, I get notifications on my watch. If a message has come through on my phone and I would find that distracting. As well as putting my phone completely out of reach, I would put it on airplane mode so that there is no unexpected distraction at all.

KW: And turn off notifications on your laptop as well. 

How do you think the reading time should be used in an online exam/open book exam?

PG: In the same way that you would do in an in-person exam. Even though we cannot enforce reading time, because you're in charge of the time yourself, I do think it's important that you spend 20 to 30 minutes planning your examination. I think that the initial period of looking at the exam problems, making an initial assessment of what you're going to attempt and initial issues is how you should use the time. Once you see what you need to do, attempt to allocate a number of minutes to each question, in order that you are able to complete the examination on time. The reading time is a time of deep reflection to identify issues, key facts, etc. before you actually start answering the question. If you just start immediately, you will get bogged down in your writing and you will miss things. That’s the essential answer. 

RS: From some of the emails I received from students, there is a particular concern around how to manage word limits. Perhaps adding to Peter's suggestions around planning and allocating your time in the exam, there may also be some benefit to thinking about how you're going to allocate word limits so that you can keep track of those word limits as you're progressing through your exams.

If I am going over the word count of an online exam, what should I do? Should I keep writing and cut later or stop and start cutting?

KW: Peter has provided some great advice on this, which is "maximum strategy of the maximum meaning and the minimum words". We've set the word limit in such a way that you should have plenty of words in order to answer the question. And what you shouldn't be doing is quoting slabs of a judgment, or sections in legislation; that's a waste of the words that you've been given. You should be mindful as you're planning your answers; treat each part of the answer as something quite separate, and be aware that if you have gone over the limit in one part, you're going to have fewer words to answer other parts. Try and avoid that as you're going and always have in your mind Peter's advice that you're trying to be pithy and capture the crucial principles and rules in as few words as possible. Unless there is a particular inspiration that's very important, there's no need to be reproducing sentences.

RS: Also resist the temptation to cut and paste from other word documents from the electronic version of your notes, for example. Cutting and pasting into your exam risks, first, taking you over the word limit, and secondly, opening you up to plagiarism. So students should think really carefully about cutting and pasting into their exam answer.

Generally speaking most exams have specified an overall word limit. And that word limit has been made very clear in the cover sheet and will be strictly adhered to. When that word limit has been reached, the marker stops reading.

PG: When you are preparing, spread out the words evenly between the questions that you've been asked, as you're doing each question. Once you're reaching a particular self-allocated word limit, then you should start self-restraint to not go over too much. The word limit is ample in order for students to be able to, not just have a solid answer, but an excellent answer. One way to assist you in this word limit scenario where we're applying word count is in the preparation for examination notes. Now that you have the time, state the key principles or as many as you think is appropriate in very pithy language, but very fulsome in meaning. You won't be able to do that in the examination. Part of preparing for exams is being able to do that and not be very long-winded in the statement of principles.

GT: If you're trying to determine how many words you want to allocate to specific parts of the question, look out for whether marks allocated to parts of the question have been indicated by the examiner, because that's obviously a guide to how many words you want to be spending on each question.

Are students expected to include a record of the work count, or can the work count be viewed by examiners without students stating it?

RS: The word limit can be independently checked and will be checked and verified through Turnitin.

If we are running out of time in the exam, should we be covering every issue briefly, or a couple in more detail?

PG: As many issues as you can briefly, I think, although it depends on the examiner. One of the things that the mark is based on is the identification of issues. It's far easier to get from naught to 50 than it is to go from 50 and above. So if you get a couple, in detail, and you've missed five other issues, it's very difficult to get a pass; whereas if you identify five issues and deal with them briefly, it's indicative to the examiner that you know what you're talking about, you just haven't had the time to go through it all. Then, you might find that you actually do get to the 50% mark on that question. Applying that across the examination as a whole, it's far better to answer all the questions. Say, if there are five questions, to answer four really well and not answer question five, you'll get absolutely zero and that last question does affect your others. It's better to attempt everything. If you do run out of time, just even in dot points, identify as many issues as you can. Then if you still have time, start to go into more detail with a couple. That's very general advice. It really depends on the examination, but I think that's probably a general principle that most of us tend to agree.

KW: I agree. And just as with the word limit, we've been generous with the time limit as well, in recognition of all these complications of sitting online exams. And so, as with the word limit, you should have plenty of time to produce, not just a pass answer but even an HD answer.

How can I get into a mindset that is similar to being in an exam room? It’s often very easy to get distracted at home.

GT: I would say treat it as if you're going into an exam room. When you go into the exam room, you take your pens etc. in and you've got everything you need. Make sure you've got everything you want before you sit down to do the exam so that you're not distracted by getting up to get a drink and things like that. It helps to define your workspace. I know not everybody has an ideal workspace at home. Personally I don't either, I'm working at my dining table, and so I've got a load of my textbooks and I've marked out a desk space with those textbooks. They're like a little book barricade. That means that my eye-line is surrounded by work things, even though I'm in my dining room and kitchen. I think in terms of a workspace, doing the best with the space you have is the tip that I would give.

PG: If students are anything like I was before an exam, I didn't really need much to get me into the mindset, as it were. I would think ‘I'm doing a law exam’, and that really puts the pressure on and I think most of you will already be there in terms of your mindset. Just don't be complacent. Because you're at home, it takes away that little bit of anxiety, which I think is always a good thing to spur you on; not so much that it's debilitating, but just that sense of seriousness to help you. Another point that I make to students every year is to be kind to yourself. The first thing that you will notice when you see the factual scenario in front of you, you immediately think ‘I haven't got a clue what this is talking about’ and you start to panic. My advice is to allow yourself to panic for ten, twenty seconds and then say to yourself ‘well that's enough, I've got that out of my system’ and then you'll see, if you've prepared sufficiently, that your own ability, your intelligence, the fact that you've picked things up by osmosis more than you realized, will kick in. Just acknowledge that element of anxiety or panic at the start but allow yourself to experience that and then give yourself a time limit, and then get on with it. A positive mindset is key, which says, ‘I can do this’. It's not a pep talk, it's a statement of truth. The mere fact that you're in law school indicates a very high level of intelligence. Just let that intelligence come to the fore. Don't let panic or anxiety debilitate you in any way.

Do you have any tips on typing exams? I often feel more fluent when writing with pen and paper.

RS: Be really aware about what settings you have in place, in terms of autocorrect. I've been quite horrified lately, to discover the ways in which my autocorrect has actually been set up and has been working and what default words it's using. That's just a very practical example of what to be aware of when you are typing.

GT: I would add that, some advice that we've already given which is that you should be practising with past exam questions where possible. And so when you're practising with those, set yourself the same conditions that you will when you're doing the exam and practice typing them. That's a habit that you start to get into while you're studying, rather than doing it for the first time in the exam. If you're more comfortable with pen and paper, you've got your reading time and you might want to be jotting down a few notes or a structure for your answer, and then you type your answer. If actually sketching something out on paper helps, then perhaps use that during your reading time.

Questions from the floor:

What is the significance of the extra time that has been provided in assessments? Assuming that we don't have any internet issues or uploading and downloading issues, how should we be using this extra time?

RS: The examiner has determined what time should be set for completing the particular paper in a holistic way. The exam duration has factored in the reading time that students would require, as we've been discussing, and has also made account for the fact that this is an online exam, and students may experience some technical difficulties. There's an allowance for the time that it would take to access the paper, the time that it would also take to finalize your written submission, and upload, and there is an allowance for the possibility that something might go wrong in that process as well. It's useful for you in your planning phase, to think about how you're going to allocate your time and ensure that you do allow sufficient time to deal with those technical aspects. 

KW: We've given students plenty of time in order to do the uploading. If you only leave five minutes for uploading, you could get unlucky and experience some problem in that last five minutes. If the worst happens - you'll be given these instructions on the cover sheet - there is an email address to which you should send your answer as soon as possible, once you are able to re-establish internet connection. We've thought about the concerns that students will have about sitting exams in this way, and we try our best to put in place processes that would deal with that. That takes me back to a previous question as well about getting into the mindset, not being distracted during the exam. You could be in shared accommodation and there's noise in the place that you live in. You've done your best and yet there are these distractions. In the event that happens, students are able to apply for special consideration. There are a number of issues that might arise through no fault of your own, and the university has tried to anticipate those. If the worst comes to the worst in the exam, there are processes to go through and adjustments and accommodations that can be made.

RS: I totally agree with everything that Kevin has just said, but I would like to emphasize that not allowing yourself enough time to upload your exam of itself isn't a justification, or a basis for special consideration. Be mindful that it is your responsibility to ensure that you allow adequate time to submit your paper online. So don't be tempted to leave it until the very last couple of minutes, that's a free take home message. Factor that into your planning, and allow adequate time, assume that there might be a glitch. 

In relation to online exams, what would be the impact of referencing on plagiarism? What style of referencing are examiners expecting?

PG: It depends on each exam and I'm sure you'll get instructions if it were to the contrary. It's just what would happen in a normal examination. I'm not expecting any 'referencing' at all in the examination, unless perhaps there is a direct quote that is particularly important, you may want to put the judge’s name or the case. But certainly very lenient as far as that's concerned. 

RS: I would emphasize that it will be very important for students to familiarize themselves with the exam cover sheet for your unit of study. That exam cover sheet, which has very clean and very explicit instructions, will be provided to you well ahead of your scheduled exam. A very simple piece of advice is to read your exam cover sheet very carefully, and be very familiar with what you're being asked to do in that particular unit of study.

Is it recommended to print out the questions?

PG: That depends on individual preference; I certainly would, but really it depends on each person. It might be useful just to have it there on the side, rather than on the screen and you're going from one screen to another.

RS: I would just like to highlight that you have an obligation to ensure that the exam remains confidential. And that you also have an obligation not to share the exam or any questions within the exam, either in hardcopy or electronically.

Would the expected standard of answers for a two-hour exam be different to that of a two day exam?

PG: Yes, because you have the two days. If you're doing an examination in three or four hours, the examiner will of course, take it on board that you have a very limited time and the expectation would be lower. But again it all depends on the examination, I should say. But yes, there would be a slightly different standard if you've got a short release examination, as opposed to a longer one.

GT: Check the instructions for your exam; if it's a longer one, there may be referencing requirements. Also check the instructions because you're going to be told whether you are expected to take those full two days or whether it is a short exam that you are being given more flexibility as to when you complete it.

RS: Just building further on that, with some of the longer release extended take home exams, you may find that the approach toward limits is different. So, once again, do ensure that you read the instructions, very carefully because those instructions will give you information about what is expected of you in relation to that particular paper.

Do you have any tips you would recommend for students to make the best use of past papers when they're unable to obtain feedback for their responses? 

KW: One thing you could do is, you can share practice answers with your friends doing the same subject, and give one another feedback. That would be a useful thing to do.

GT: You may want to see whether the generic feedback for those questions has been made available. Not model answers, but generic feedback. If that's the case then, my advice would be to answer one practice question, look at how your answer compares with that feedback, take that feedback on board, and then go and answer another one. I've seen students who will try and write four answers, and only then look at the feedback, and it's not a developmental process. 

RS: I think that's great advice. I would, again, use this as an opportunity to caution students on how any model responses, or general answers that have been previously circulated to students, are being used in the context of a take home exam. Students need to be really careful about not lifting sentences or parts out of the model answers or general responses and using them in their response in a take home exam, because that is plagiarism. 

PG: I wanted to share two things. The first is from my experience over the years. There are some students that I come across that say they have been relying on notes that have been circulating or model type answers. It seems that they spend a lot of time doing that, to the detriment of their own reading of cases. If your whole preparation is just gleaning answers from circulating notes or other people's responses, you're not reading the cases and letting the principles sink in. And who's to say that what other people wrote are correct? It is often the case that if you're just repeating past errors or repeating past quality. Have confidence in yourself. If I can just make one point, and this is purely personal relating to my view of things, people may disagree - but sometimes students are just so focused on getting the top marks in an examination, that their actual legal education is lost or diminished. You've got to balance that with true learning and getting away from this earlier secondary school type emphasis on maximizing marks. Of course I'm not suggesting that good grades are not important, but not at the expense of deeper learning.

The second thing is, from my experiences being in charge with the integrity unit in the faculty. Look, be very careful with passing around your documents to others. Sometimes it does lead to a form of academic dishonesty. And the person that is giving out their own work, which another person then plagiarizes even or especially after it's been marked from previous years, can find themselves also in a lot of trouble. So please be very conscious of that. No one is stopping you from collaborating before an examination in the sense of discussing points, or perhaps sharing your own responses to questions and that sort of thing, but be very careful, don't cross the line. And I think a warning should be put out there, that a lot of trust is being put in people doing a take home exam. And, you know, we're trusting that people will not use their mobile to phone a friend in order to assist them in answering a question. So, it's a question of personal honor coming to the fore here. One final remark; one of the things I never understood was when students try to cheat. I always thought that an examination is one test to yourself, of how well you do, don't you really want to know that? As opposed to gaming the system to maximize a result, what's the point of that? And I can guarantee you, from my years in practice, a day will come that you will not be able to do that, and the whole facade comes crumbling down. So, I'm not just saying this for the sake of honesty, per se, which it really should be, but also the practical consequences of dishonesty - not just being caught out, but also the effect it has on your actual ability and the way you can perform in the future. I do apologize it's a bit long winded of me, and a bit personal, but I just wanted to make those remarks.

RS: Just to add to Peter's comments, I would really encourage students to reflect on what has been included in the cover sheet by way of the combined statement, and to really reflect on what that statement entails on the part of each and every student in terms of academic integrity. I think this is a wonderful opportunity to think about those types of issues, and to think about what that means in terms of how you conduct yourselves in the context of these online take home examinations.

Thank you to Professor Rita Shackel, Dr Kevin Walton, Professor Peter Gerangelos and Dr Gemma Turton for sharing your experiences with us and taking the time to share your insight. 

GT: Good luck with your exams!

In this together

By Lucy Schroeder (LLB IV)

Reconciliation Week 2020 invites us all to play an active role in reconciliation. What does this look like during a global pandemic?

The theme for Reconciliation Week 2020 could not be more apt. When Reconciliation Australia announced the theme in January, our sacred lands were ablaze, and we faced a national crisis of epic proportion. Our politicians argued back -and -forth on the cause of fires, while communities themselves were unified by the disaster. Attention turned to First Nations perspectives of sustainable land management which presented the opportunity to reinvigorate the dialogue for constitutional reform. However, another crisis has replaced this summer’s fires, affecting us on a global scale. No one could have predicted that the events marking the occasion would be cancelled in the name of social distancing, that those wishing to mark the week would have to do so in isolation. Yet being in this together has become a comforting catchphrase and a call to arms, repeated by politicians, health professionals and television presenters, as we remain glued to coverage of the pandemic. In a crisis on a global scale, being in this together has made our isolation more bearable. It has minimised our differences and highlighted our common humanity in the face of a common threat.

In many ways, we are in this pandemic together. However, while we have all been impacted by COVID-19, the risks associated with a global pandemic are not distributed evenly. Particularly, the risks to First Nations Australians in this pandemic are acute. It is true that my actions affect you, as yours affect mine; and our collective practice of social distancing has played a major role in preventing the potentially devastating effects for First Nations people from the pandemic thus far. However, we must critically engage with this inequality and play an active role in its reduction before the comfort we find in being in this together is legitimate.

In April, the Victorian Deputy Chief Medical Officer (CMO) controversially compared COVID-19 to Captain Cook’s arrival in 1770. However, a new disease introduced into a population without immunity in Australia was a tool of genocide during colonisation. Despite the intervening centuries, Aboriginal people have been identified as one of the most at-risk groups in this pandemic. First Nations people as a population have poor public health outcomes, with lower life expectancy, higher rates of chronic illness and more challenges accessing adequate health care. In a global pandemic, these issues pose potentially devastating risks. CMO Brendan Murphy emphasised how important it was to keep COVID-19 out of remote Aboriginal communities because of the near unavoidable devastation it would cause. Some communities have taken it upon themselves to enforce isolation and travel restrictions. The health issues and risks posed to First Nations communities existed long before the pandemic, yet rarely gather the national attention it deserves.

Further, there is a drastic overrepresentation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in prisons and in deaths in custody. Despite representing less than 3% of Australia’s population, First Nations people make up over a quarter of the incarcerated population. Prisons pose a particularly high risk for the spread of coronavirus due to the density of the populations within them. First Nations people in prison are more likely to suffer from chronic disease and disability, and there are ongoing issues around the adequacy of health care accessible in prison. Furthermore, as it is well established that First Nations people are more likely to be subject to the use (and abuse) of police powers, the increase in police powers to enforce social distancing measures comes with the increased risk that these powers will be misused against First Nations people. Early NSW police data on the use of the expanded powers already showed this trend in early April. One example of this is Coonamble, where a third of the population are First Nations people, received 10% of the state’s infringements in NSW and represents 0.004% of the population. First Nations people disproportionately bear the health consequences of an outbreak, as well as additional criminal consequences..

These are complicated issues that don’t have easy solutions. There are some practical steps which will help protect First Nations people during the pandemic, and in extension, protect all of us. For example, the Aboriginal Legal Service has written a compelling open letter advocating for the protection of Mob [1] through releasing vulnerable individuals from prison who don’t pose a risk to the community and the prevention of over-policing. However, these solutions have not been broadly implemented, and the root causes of these complex problems remained unaddressed.

While it’s comforting to know that we are all in this pandemic together, it’s important that we acknowledge that we do not experience the risks and consequences in the same way.

Reconciliation demands a similar approach. The theme of Reconciliation Week 2020 In This Together compels us to think about the role we each play in reducing racial discrimination in Australia and achieving justice. As law students, we could spend our careers influencing the law, whether that involves advocating at an individual level or influencing legislation which affects everyone. It is on all of us, regardless of our race, nationality or ethnicity, to be knowledgeable of the issues First Nations people face, of the perspectives First Nations people hold, and to engage with this when we have the opportunity to make change.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders face the consequences of the absence of reconciliation in ongoing discrimination, poor health outcomes and overrepresentation in the criminal justice system, which has manifested in an increased share of the risks and burdens in this pandemic. These risks and issues existed before the pandemic, and will continue after the risk of transmission subsides unless reconciliation action is taken. All of us must play a role in making ongoing change by amplifying First Nations voices in decision-making and educating ourselves on the perspectives held by First Nations people. In a global pandemic, our collective survival depends on the most vulnerable in our society being protected through the collective action of social distancing. In our society, after the pandemic passes, achieving justice for First Nations people will similarly require all of us to play our part.  It is imperative that we maintain collective responsibility while we seek to learn from the past, come together in the present, and build towards a future of reconciliation, equitable health outcomes and reduced representation in the criminal justice system. After all, we ARE in this together.  

[1] Mob is a colloquial term used to identify a person’s own group of Aboriginal people or extended family, which is associated with a particular place or country.

Law School Basics Panel: Study Technique

This is a complete transcript of the SULS panel discussion for study technique held in Semester 1, 2020. The panel was moderated by Natalie Leung (Vice President (Education) 2020) and consisted of Dr Natalie Silver (NS), Dr Kym Sheehan (KS) and Charlotte Trent (CT).

How should I begin study for a unit?

KS: The first thing you need to do is to have a look at the unit of study outline to understand what the unit is about. The next thing I suggest you do is to look at the week by week schedule of what's going to happen. Finally, I suggest you look at the assessment schedule to get an understanding of the final assessment and what assessments might be on the way.

CT: Everyone muddles their way through the first weeks at least, before you start getting into a habit. You can find out what the unit is about through the unit of study, and through the reading list on eReserve. Try and make sure you’re on top of your notes and your readings, that’s a good way to keep at it.

What is the difference between a casebook and a textbook and is one better?

CT: I, personally, prefer the casebook. The casebook has all the cases in it, whereas the textbook tends to describe a lot more of the theory that might be in place or what is happening between the academics. Personally, I think you should pay a lot more attention to the case book.

KS: You can either buy the case book or just read the cases online. But I think reading the textbook can help a lot of students. Often if you don’t have an idea of what’s happening in this area of law, the textbook can help give students a really good overview. For the tutorials, I would read the cases. But a case book is probably going to be essential if it’s prescribed.

NS: If you read the textbook before the lecture, you’ll already have an idea of what they’re talking about. After the lecture, you can then look more in-depth into the case law.

Should I stick to the Unit of Study Outline or should I read beyond it?

NS: I would say stick to the Unit of Study because it’s very comprehensive. In fact, many students can’t always do the readings in the Unit of Study outline. In the subjects I teach, there is no research assignment so there’s no need to go beyond the Unit of Study.

CT: A few subjects will give you your case list in your exams, so it’s a very good idea to be familiar with them because it’s the bulk of your theory. If you want to do extra readings, out of curiosity, you can do that, but it’s not necessary.

How is preparing for a tutorial different to preparing for a lecture?

KS: I already said before that you should prepare for a lecture by reading the corresponding textbook chapter. However, to prepare for a tutorial, you need to complete the tutorial problems. The important thing is that you give yourself enough time for the problems. When you first do the problems, it’ll take some time because you don’t know where you’re going, but if you do that before you come to the tutorial, then you’ll get more out of it. You don’t want the first time you attempt a problem question to be in the exam.

CT: Doing a tutorial question every week is like practising for an exam. You’re doing, maybe 26 hours, of work that you won’t need to do at the end of the semester.

NS: We want to encourage tutorial participation, which may just be asking questions. 

What happens when I miss a tutorial or lecture? Should I try and catch up or should I just focus on the rest of the semester?

CT: Again, that’s really dependent on the subject. For the bulk of subjects, that one week’s worth of content will probably carry over to next week and the weeks after that. It's really important to at least try and catch up whether it’s by talking to your friends about what you've missed out on or talking to a tutor. If it does happen, as long as you catch up, it's okay.

KS: Lectures are typically recorded so if you can't attend a lecture then you listen to the recordings. One bad habit that some students get into is bulking up week by week, thinking “I'll listen to it eventually”. I suggest you try and catch up quickly. If you miss a tutorial, once again, you need to catch up on what you missed out on. But how you do that is a bit more complex because they're not typically recorded. One way is chatting with your friends and then another way is also chatting with your tutor. We always get impressed when people have done a bit of work. If you've missed the tutorial, try the tutorial problems and then ask for help.

NS: For some subjects, you can attend a makeup class.

KS: Certainly. But there’s a courtesy thing that is expected. Make sure to let the tutor of your makeup class know, and to let the tutor for your normal class know.

NS: Another thing about falling behind is that, in compulsory units, you've got compulsory mid-semester exams or assignments that are going to be on those early topics, so you want to keep up with the material.

CT: Another good way to figure out what you have missed are PASS sessions, or Peer Assisted Study Sessions. They’re an hour of peer-directed study sessions. They’re not going to be much help if you didn’t do any of the material, but it might be a good way of figuring out the key ideas of materials and figuring out where to start. They’re not the be-all and end-all, but they’re a very good resource in order to kickstart studying sessions.

What are your favourite study methods or study techniques?

CT: I’m a big proponent for studying pretty much from week two onwards. I've already started making scaffolds and making case notes and, for me, the process of writing out things over and is a really good method. If I’m going into an open book exam with my scaffold, there are one or two dot points along with key case names and so I'm not worried about running out of time and just flicking through my notes. It also means I've entrenched a lot of that knowledge in just my brain through the process of repetition.

KS: When you come with answers to the tutorial question, you should write out a fresh answer to that problem within 24 hours of the tutorial, when the information is still fresh. That way, you have an answer to the questions before you get into the exam period.

Do you have tips and strategies for avoiding procrastination?

CT: I think it’s just sitting down and doing something. There is nothing better than just trying to start. If you’re inundated with readings, you’ll probably push it off. So, it’s important to make it more manageable. And it’s highly dependent on you as a person.

KS: I think it’s really important to use your time well which might mean reading on the bus or train. I strongly recommend getting into exercise or some other good habits. One thing you want to do is to keep healthy and exercise can also help clear your head.

NS: One thing that becomes really important in law are study groups. This might be going over tute questions, building sets of notes and sharing information but they also bring in the social aspect of studying.

CT: Study groups do help because they force you to dedicate time to subjects. I think the biggest thing I struggled in through first year was the inundation of guilt if I wasn't studying or reading. But it’s perfectly fine to go a day without law study.

Check out the 2020 SULS Education Guide here: suls.org.au/publications

How advertising stalks your life: privacy law and your online presence

By Sarah Purvis (BComm/LLB III)

Ever seen ads for products you’ve literally just clicked away minutes ago, floating on your Facebook feed? Or suddenly flooded by cheap flights to Bali in Gmail and across a bevy of other websites after looking them up? This is the world of digital marketing, where every click, tap and hover are recorded and sold to advertisers. This practice provokes a number of concerning questions: how do the likes of these multinational corporations, Facebook, Google, etc, know what you’re doing? Is it bad that they know, or are there hidden benefits to it as well? And finally – what are the regulations and the countermeasures that you can put in place to protect yourself?

How do they know what you’re doing?

Whenever you reach a website, it will often ask to read your cookies. Cookies are small text files in your computer, and when websites ask to read them, they are asking for the server to remember and identify you in order to track what you are doing. Something to remember is that a site only knows the information you provide on their particular site.  

Is this a bad thing?

It really depends on what you want to do with that information! The most that cookies reveal are profiles of your interests, spending habits and lifestyle. It makes your life easier as cookies allow websites to remember what was in your virtual shopping cart, so that you can return to it even after you’ve closed the browser. It also allows websites to understand your behaviour, so that they can send you ads that are relevant to your interests. This means that Google will try to serve ads that match your preferences, making it more likely for you to return to websites that you’ve shown interest in.

If you are concerned about your privacy, there is always the option to clear cookies and cache as frequently as you wish. Subsequently, it would take longer to assess new websites and the visited sites will no longer store your information for memory purposes, but it’s up to you to decide how you like the trade off. 

Current legislation and regulation

In 2012, the Privacy Amendment Act was implemented, which included 13 new principles and in essence mandated companies to:

• Identify the types of personal information they hold, collect, use and disclose

• Amend compliance documentation – privacy policy and collection notifications

• Amend contracts

• Train staff and engineer compliance into their systems

However, this is only applicable to entities that generally have a large annual turnover ($3 million or more). 

Something else to remember is the terms and conditions, and privacy policies that companies place on their websites. Even if you don’t read them, they do apply to you and your behaviour.

How can you protect yourself?

One way to stop information from being stored on your computer, or to stop websites from collecting cookies, is to use incognito mode. However, it isn’t the godsend that people think it is. Your browsing activity is still visible to the websites you visit, and to the networks that you access the internet through, such as your wifi provider. Incognito mode doesn’t encrypt your information, and data such as your geolocation is still available to websites, so there is no guarantee of absolute privacy.

Feeling a bit worried about your data? It’s important to remember that only YOU have control over it – information is collected only if you choose to visit and use the websites. However, all of these rules change regularly, so it’s important to keep abreast of how your online presence, and the websites that collect information about you, change as new technology continues to roll out.

Ear Hustling

By Casey Zhu (LLB III)

Ronnel Draper, also known as Rauch, is a hopeless animal lover. The connection he experiences with animals is unlike any relationship he has developed with another human being throughout his entire life. Over the years, Rauch has had a countless number of pets, or ‘critters’ as he fondly calls them, but not the kind one would ordinarily expect, like a Golden Retriever or a Tabby; instead, Rauch has kept insects of all kinds, such as spiders, moths and bees, as well as larger animals like mice, squirrels (sparrows?) and frogs. Rauch is happy with anything he can get his hands on and can keep inside discreetly. Subtlety is key – he has lost many of his critters in the past, because pets are forbidden in prison.

Rauch is serving a sentence of 15 years to life for second-degree murder at San Quentin State Prison, a maximum-security correctional facility in California. I heard of Rauch’s story in an episode of Ear Hustle, a podcast launched in 2016 that interviews men currently incarcerated in San Quentin on their daily lives in prison, as well as those who have been released, as they re-adjust to life outside. ‘Ear hustling’ is prison slang for eavesdropping, and that is exactly what co-founders and hosts Nigel Poor, a visual artist living in California, and Earlonne Woods, who formerly served a 31 year to life sentence for attempted second-degree robbery at San Quentin, do. They participate in ‘yard talk’, striking up conversations with inmates (and sometimes prison guards) and listening out for any interesting stories that can be recorded and produced in the prison’s media lab for their audiences. Usually, they don’t have to look very hard. The podcast, currently in its fifth season, relays incredible stories about the men inside San Quentin – some are funny, others are heart-breaking, but all offer profound insight into the real-life experience of incarceration and the criminal justice system.

Ear Hustle is only one podcast constituting a broader trend of radio broadcasts involving those in custody, with a sudden proliferation of these programs over the last ten years across the world. In 2007, National Prison Radio (NPR) made its first broadcast in HM Prison Brixton (formerly as Electric Radio Brixton), a men’s prison in London. Unlike Ear Hustle, NPR’s audience is targeted to prisoners across the UK, who make up the majority of their listeners. The innovation of NPR has spurred many others to follow in its footsteps, providing a platform for previously unheard voices not only in the UK and the US, but also in Israel (Radio Focus), Hungary (BARS FM) and Trinidad and Tobago (RISE Maximum Radio). Australia has been particularly influenced, resulting in the development of radio broadcasts such as Beyond the Bars, Jailbreak and WKRP Radio, as well as the podcast, Birds Eye View, involving the stories of women incarcerated in Darwin Correctional Centre. 

“…some are funny, others are heart-breaking, but all offer profound insight into the real-life experience of incarceration and the criminal justice system.”

These programs bear incredible rewards for their both participants and their listeners, inside and outside of prison. For listeners like me, who are fortunate enough to have never had a negative encounter with the apparatus of the criminal justice system or even seen the inside a police station, let alone a prison cell, these podcasts have been incredibly insightful. Ear Hustle and Birds Eye View give a tangible, initiate expression to commonly known, depersonalised trends, such as the inhumane impacts of solitary confinement and the disproportionate representation of Aboriginal peoples in Australian corrective facilities. It also introduces audiences to other niche aspects of prison life, such as what it is like to spend almost your entire life behind bars, the excruciating process of finding a compatible cellmate (also known as a ‘cellie’) and, of course, keeping pets in prison.

However, the most important outcome of these radio broadcasts and podcasts is their impact on those inside who participate by listening and creating these programs. The dehumanising impact of incarceration on the inmates can be greatly mitigated via the documentation which gives the incarcerated men and women the opportunity to voice their stories on air. The idea of creating a prison radio station, which later materialised as NPR, was put forward in 1994 in response to an increase in suicides and self-harm amongst young men in HM Prison Feltham in London. In 2016, NPR had almost 80,000 listeners; over 75% of inmates across England and Wales had listened to NPR and 37% listened daily. NPR’s aims include reducing the risk of re-offending through education on drugs and alcohol, health, critical thinking, family relationships and ethics, as well as training for skills necessary for employment. The stories that are broadcasted revolve around these themes, but also include informal conversations about almost anything, particularly music and grime. The radio’s dialogic approach is a new way to tackle the issue of education in prison, which is especially important due to the low literacy rates of those serving custodial sentences, a statistical trend seen in many countries. The study also reported that 85% of respondents had been inspired by something they heard on NPR and 75% replied that NPR had helped them to think about making a positive change to their lives.

“The dehumanising impact of incarceration on the inmates can be greatly mitigated via the documentation which gives the incarcerated men and women the opportunity to voice their stories on air.”

Listening to these programs has undeniably broadened my understanding of daily life in prison and the criminal justice system, but it has also generated just as many questions as it has answered. How can Australia’s corrective services facilities be reformed to address some of the profound inhumanities that those serving custodial sentences must face? How can we address the issue of racial asymmetry in prisons and Aboriginal deaths in custody? Should we shift away from these practices altogether, bringing restorative justice to the forefront instead? These questions are especially pertinent today, with the COVID-19 pandemic posing a huge threat to the health of those on remand. If you think being stuck at home is bad, imagine what life would be like in a 4’ x 9’ cell.

Laws that can change the way we consume

By Deaundre Espejo (BA/LLB IV)

Recent developments in environmental law have focused on the reduction of pollution and waste, as well as the shift to renewable energy. However, some argue that policy should also be directed at reducing consumption and production altogether, rather than simply minimising its carbon-producing effects. 

Several governments are beginning to introduce laws which aim to change consumption habits on a broader scale and help us lead more sustainable lives. Here are some of those policies emerging around the world.

Single-use plastics

Thailand prohibited three types of plastic  - microbeads, cap seals and oxo-degradable plastics - late last year. It plans to further ban four others - lightweight plastic bags, styrofoam food containers, plastic cups and straws - by 2022. There are exceptions for those who still need to use such plastics, including patients, children and the elderly.

Kenya has one of the world’s strictest regulations on the use of plastic. In 2017, it made the production, sale, and use of plastic bags punishable by a maximum fine of AUD $56,000 or four years imprisonment. In June this year, a ban on all types of single-use plastics in protected areas such as national parks, beaches and forests, will take effect. 

Food waste

South Korea has adopted a “pay as you waste” system. All residents are required by law to discard food waste in biodegradable bags, collected at designated checkpoints. Each bag discarded is charged a fee, priced according to volume. The bags and their disposal average a cost of about $6 a month for a four-person family, and the tax collected from this scheme pays for about 60% of the cost of collecting and processing the city’s food waste.

France became the first country in the world to ban supermarkets from throwing away or destroying unsold food. Instead, they must donate surplus food that has not passed its expiry date, to charities and food banks. Failure to do so could result in fines of up to AUD $6,300. The law also prohibits supermarkets from deliberately spoiling food in order to stop it being eaten by people foraging in stores’ bins.

Recycling and reusing

Japan’s system of recycling is one of the most thorough in the world. They have much stricter regulations for sorting, treating and segregating waste. Plastic containers must be washed, with labels removed, and cartons folded to minimise space. Any waste must be labelled with household data to ensure compliance with regulations. Further, there are very little rubbish bins on city streets, to encourage individuals to process their waste at home.

Sweden has introduced 50% tax breaks on repairs to items such as shoes, clothes and bicycles, and allows its citizens to claim, from income tax, half the labour cost of repair. It is hoped that the policy would incentivise consumers to reuse old items rather than purchase new ones. A Swedish municipality has also opened up the world’s first shopping mall dedicated to recycled, reused, and repaired goods. 

Car emissions

France has recently adopted a law implementing tax rises for high-polluting cars. As of this year, cars emitting carbon dioxide above the limit of 184g/km will be subject to a penalty of 20,000 euros (around AUD $34,000). This is accompanied by an increase in spending to assist the automobile industry in the ecological transition. The French Finance Ministry estimates the new laws will help generate $56 million in tax revenue a year. 

Spain has set up several residential priority areas in Madrid, which prohibits non-resident vehicles from entering. The only vehicles permitted to enter these areas include zero-emissions delivery vehicles, public transport and emergency services. The initiative is part of Spain’s “sustainable mobility plan,” which purports to make cities more pedestrian-friendly while reducing daily car usage from 29% to 23%. 

A tax on consumption?

Some policy-makers propose a tax on consumption, which refers to a system in which people are taxed based on how much they consume rather than how much they add to the economy (income tax). However, such a tax would be entirely regressive, as nearly all the income of poor or middle-class households goes towards consumption. There would need to be a tax trade-off or cash rebate for those households, perhaps paid for by a global wealth tax.

One thing is clear: we are consuming and producing much more than what our earth and renewable technologies can keep up with. As Australia begins to transition to renewables and overhaul its suite of environmental laws, it may want to look to the successes and failures of other countries to pursue feasible ways to regulate consumption. 

Deaundre Espejo is the Vice President (Social Justice) of SULS and a BA/LLB IV student. When he’s not studying or talking about environmental issues, he enjoys bushwalks, HIIT workouts, and RuPaul’s Drag Race.

Native title and the carbon economy: a modern iteration of dispossession?

By Sean Perry (BA/LLB III)

The Mabo (No 2) decision in the High Court of Australia is a fixture of any law student’s studies. Its evocative language of rights and the overturning of terra nullius occupies a prodigious space in our understanding of Australian native title. The climactic conclusion of the land rights movement is vested in Mabo and the subsequent Native Title Act 1993, or so it is presented.

But the story is not over, nor the fight won. First Nations communities are facing an abundance of obstacles in securing title. And beyond the usual culprits, there is a new kid on the block: carbon.

Carbon farming and sequestration is challenging Indigenous title across Australia, having the potential to fundamentally shake what has already been a rapidly shifting area of law.

The process of carbon sequestration - the dominant player in the Kyoto Protocol ‘carbon offsetting’ scheme - is best understood as the removal and storage of carbon from the atmosphere into carbon sinks such as oceans, forests, or soils. These carbon sinks absorb more carbon than they release, with the photosynthesis potential of trees particularly utilised.

With land activities contributing around 17 percent of Australia’s total greenhouse gas emissions in 2013, carbon farming and sequestration will play a vital role in meeting our Paris Agreement targets. So far, carbon farming has reduced about 60 million tonnes of carbon emissions, close to 10 percent of the nation’s total emissions in 2019. 

However, it comes with danger - an unwinding of decades of progress in Indigenous self-determination and access and enjoyment of land. 

The Carbon Rights Legislation Amendment Act 1998 (NSW) amended the Conveyancing Act 1919 (NSW), to recognise sequestered carbon as a property that can be bought and sold, protecting people’s rights to sequestered carbon on freehold land title. 

Such legislation may prove another opportunity for greedy interests to strip native landholders through a renewed extinguishment of native title. The ‘bundle of rights’ of native title – established in the High Court in Western Australia v Ward – is being unravelled by the carbon economy, with dire consequences for the participation in and benefit of climate change mitigation for Indigenous peoples.

Emily Gerrard of the Australian National University (ANU) cautions that “the progressive unbundling of conventional property interests…creates a regime for the piecemeal appropriation of traditional land and resources.” She argues that:

“Climate change related laws, regulations and markets have the potential to further decrease or limit Indigenous peoples’ rights and interests in country and its resources... by restricting rights in relation to the access and use of land and resources.”

The judiciary has tried to keep up with this rapidly developing arena. In Yanner v Eaton (1999), for example, the High Court extended property rights under native title to include biota (in this instance, crocodiles). Yet carbon rights are increasingly challenging native title interests, and more often than not, winning. 

Royalty free image, source: https://unsplash.com/photos/xFqH9peAlmw

The marketisation of climate change will certainly provide bountiful opportunities to Aboriginal and Torres Strait traditional owners for social, cultural, and economic growth as recognised by the Australian Human Rights Commission’s’ Native Title Report 2008. The opportunity to participate in the carbon economy through involvement in land use projects and other collaborative projects relating to environmental management, and the empowerment of bringing Indigenous knowledge holders to the fore in Australia’s climate change response, may strengthen many communities.

Phil Eulo, of the Budjiti Aboriginal Corporation, elaborated in an interview with ABC:

“We’ve lost a lot of our native trees, our bush tucker trees, our medicine bush, our fruit trees…we want to see them all come back on our country in all the farms that are in the determination area. We have to work together now. It should have been working together 100 years ago.”

Further, the carbon economy will work best when it involves and is led by Indigenous custodians, who have the knowledge and resources to care for our country as they have done for more than 80,000 years.

Indigenous-led carbon offset projects like the West Arnhem Land Fire Abatement Project (WALFA) – abating an equivalent to 488,000 tonnes of CO2 over its first four years – demonstrates the potential for traditional practices and knowledges to produce beneficial economic development for Indigenous communities and climate action.

The story of native title in Australia is not at an end. Native title does not end with merely a recognition of traditional interests in land and the injustices of colonial dispossession. It begins with this recognition, and it evolves with economic and social development, determined by and for individual Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island communities.

In his 2013 Social Justice and Native Title Report, commissioner Mick Gooda reflected that “sadly the Native Title Act as it was drafted reflects the high-water mark of our native title” with mixed outcomes in the “social, cultural and economic empowerment of Indigenous peoples”. It is precisely this superficiality that led David Martin in 2015 to query: “Does native title merely provide an entitlement to be native?”

To leave you with the Declaration of Indigenous Peoples on Climate Change, 2000 Articles 2 and 3:

“Our traditional knowledge on sustainable use, conservation, protection of our territories has allowed us to maintain our ecosystems in equilibrium … Our cultures, and the territories under our stewardship, are now the last ecological mechanisms remaining in the struggle against climate devastation. All Peoples of the Earth truly owe a debt to Indigenous Peoples for the beneficial role our traditional subsistence economies play in the maintenance of the planet’s ecology.”

And let us not forget it.

Law School Basics Panel: Assignment Technique

A complete transcript of the SULS panel discussion for assignment technique held in Semester 1, 2020. The panel was moderated by Natalie Leung (SULS Vice President (Education) 2020) and consisted of Professor David Kinley (DK), Professor Simon Rice (SR), Mr Tim Pilkington (TP) and Dasha Moskalenko (DM).

Make sure to check out the 2020 Education Guide at suls.org.au/publications

How much time should I leave to start an assignment?

SR: I believe for many students, it's the reverse. How little time can I get away with? We usually give a long lead time for assignments, so sometimes you’ll have more than half a semester to do it. Give yourself as much time as you can. We’re expecting full intellectual rigorous answers and if you can do that on the weekend beforehand, good, but otherwise give yourself time to work through it.

DM: There are some problem questions that you could probably complete in a couple of days if you’ve learnt the content throughout the semester, but that’s usually not the case. You will want to leave a couple of weeks to start, especially if you haven’t closely followed the content in class.

DK: As soon as you get the essay, don’t just ignore it, read it, because even if you’re not intending to do any work on it right away, at least understand what it is saying and you’ll be amazed at how much things start coming in. That is a way to slowly but surely finding a way to start, rather than just the day before you give it in.

TP: Even with problem questions, I found that as a student, it’s really valuable to take a couple of weeks. You might be able to do an initial draft in a couple of days but to really refine it and to think through the problem, I always found it took much longer than that.

Sounds good! What do you think is the difference between a problem question and an essay assignment?

DM: I look at a problem question exactly as that – you’re applying the law that you’ve been taught in class to a series of facts. I see it more as a practical application of something you would do as a solicitor or writing advice to a client. You get a real-life factual assignment and you’re going through, systematically, the law you’ve learnt and ultimately reaching what you’d advise a client. An essay assignment gives you more freedom in the way you approach it. You want to do a wider reading, formulate a unique thesis or argument, devising your own argument and supporting it with whatever readings you’ve done.

SR: Conceptually, I think they’re drastically different. 

TP: The first thing that I look for is that a student understands the law well enough such that they can recognise the issues the facts raise. Students are reasonably good at applying the law to the facts when they understand the law, but the problem is they haven’t understood the law and therefore they either misapply it or miss the issues.

SR: Problem questions use IRAC (Issue, Rule, Application, Conclusion) but the worst thing you can do is approach essay questions with an IRAC state of mind. The essay question is not a problem to be solved through an application of the law. You start from a fundamentally different position.

How much reading should I be doing for each (problem-solving assignments and essay assignments)?

TP: People who get HDs on problem questions have generally read over 90% of the cases and the legislation that are prescribed in the course. If you want to do well, you need to engage with the authorities and the legislation. If you haven’t done that, it’s very rare to get an HD.

DM: There are different types of reading. For problem questions, you’d be looking at case law and legislation, and less likely to be delving into journal articles and books. For essays, you want to be doing as much reading as possible and as widely as possible – reading different journal articles, books, online resources, and if it’s relevant, you’ll be going into case law and statute.

SR: For essays, you’re not given prescribed readings – you’re expected to create your own, starting from wondering and asking “what is this about?”. You need to take the lead from the course readings and then you use your research skills to broaden out and read articles in the footnote references of another article or case. There is no ‘should’ in terms of ‘how many references should I include’. Find material that is relevant and helps you develop a thesis.

DK: The creation of a reading list is dependent on how you decide to answer the question. Almost all essays have a number of ways to approach it. Interrogate the question, stick to answering the question but find your own way of answering the question. The more you interpret the question, the more you’ll be guided as to what you read, and, therefore, you may not follow the same path as other people. 

SR: A question could simply be “Is constitutional recognition of indigenous people desirable?” There’s no correct answer for that. You’re going to talk to people, listen to the news and ideas will form. And then you’ll end up formulating an answer to a very very open question.

After we finish the reading and get to the writing, how should I structure a problem question versus how should I structure an essay?

TP: With problem questions, the IRAC formula is generally encouraged, but you don’t need to strictly stick to it. It’s important to draw a conclusion – often students don’t give an answer to a problem. You are often told to advise a client, and you need to tell them your opinion. It’s fine to draw a tentative conclusion, but you still need a conclusion

DM: In problem questions, you’re encouraged to use subheadings and identify the issues in very clear terms. 

DK: With essays, as you interrogate the questions and find readings that excite you, that’s how you’re going to structure the essay. At the beginning, you need to have an introduction, what are you going to do, what steps are you going to take to get there, what are you going to conclude, and then follow through with that. You have to think of your word count and recognise your parameters, which dictate the structure you use.

SR: You need to keep in mind what you’re doing – you’re writing for a marker to assess. You need to make sure the marker understands what you’re saying and make sure it’s presented in an accessible way. The harder we have to work to read it, the harder it is for you to do well. You’re trying to impress us with sophistication and knowledge rather than comprehensive. Don’t deal with a new issue every paragraph.

I’m really struggling to begin an assignment, do you have any tips on getting the ball rolling?

DM: For an essay, I try to work out a structure based on what I’ve read and then fill in the gaps with research. For a problem question, print out a copy of the problem question, annotate it and try to identify every issue that arises. You might find more issues as you read back on the cases and notes.

DK: I think you should start writing as soon as you can. Even if it’s a little linkage between a few issues, write it down as soon as possible. You’ll see a pattern and start writing a sentence or two, even if it’s in the middle of an essay. Even if the sentence is not perfect, it’s still a sentence. Sometimes, it’s not at all logical.

Do I need to cite everything I write? What if it’s an original thought?

SR: There’s no need to cite a lot. While the bibliography is everything you’ve been to, what you use in the essay is much more conservative. You need to footnote anything that you found in your research. But for your original thoughts, you can’t cite that, so you just state it confidently.

TP: With respect to problem questions, every proposition of law needs to be cited or footnoted. If it’s a well-established proposition of law, it’s enough to cite one case – citing more cases won’t get you more marks.

SR: Rather than just footnoting what other people say, you need to critically analyse. We need to see there has been some critical exercise to convert what has been read into an argument.

DK: It is important that when you make a statement, you have to support your views. That’s where you bring in the citations.

Should I do all my referencing at the end or should I do it as I write?

DM: I tend to shorthand my references as I go and then come back to the end and fill them out. When you’re researching, you should be noting exactly where you got your information from.

TP: Sometimes you’ll write something and want to come back later to check you’ve understood it – by referencing as you go, it makes it easier.

SR: For academics and people writing PhDs, using referencing software like Endnote to keep records can be helpful.

Do you have any general tips on assignments?

DM: Keep it simple – don’t use flowery language, make sure the sentences are short and clear. Generally, you start early so you can revise things like sentence structure, which can affect the marker’s response.

TP: Avoid using long words and Latin.

SR: If you wouldn’t say it, don’t write it. People will use extraordinarily complex sentences, and they just waste the word count.

Studying Online – tips and tricks

As we enter a different phase of our university education amidst rapid changes in our personal, social and academic lives, many of us have been forced to rethink our study routines and how we do uni. With the news and government regulations changing by the hour, it can be an overwhelming experience for many of us. Here are some tips and tricks to make this sudden transition easier for you. 

Social distancing 🡪 spatial distancing

You might not be able to go out much or sit less than 1.5 metres away from each other, but social distancing doesn’t have to be social isolation! Keeping yourself preoccupied is key to avoiding boredom. Make the most of this time to reconnect with family and friends, pursue a new hobby or read a book that’s been on your to-do list for a while. Set up a study group on Zoom (more on that below) to help each other. Try and get some sunlight too if possible, but avoid crowded public spaces and keep public health guidelines in mind.

Zoom zoom zoom– your new best friend

All USyd students have access to a Zoom Business account by signing up with your University email address. Most of you will be using Zoom for lecture and tutorial delivery, however it is also a great way to do groupwork (e.g. assignments, presentations). A Zoom account isn’t necessary to join other Zoom meetings, but you’ll need it if you want to set up your own meetings. 

Features:

• Screen sharing – great if you want to work through a document/PowerPoint that only one of you has access to or practice a presentation

• Whiteboard – accessible via the “Share Screen” menu, allows you to write text and draw 

• Recording – you can record the Zoom call if you need to refer back to something later

• Chat – between individuals or to a group

• Breakout rooms – probably something your tutor uses in class

• Apps – to jazz up your Zoom, connect external apps from the marketplace

• Password and waiting room can be required upon entry.

TIP: For a more immersive experience, change up your background from a plain wall/your bedroom mess to one of SULS’ custom Zoom backgrounds, available here. Instructions on how to install a virtual background can be found here. 

If your internet connection at home is unstable, try turning off your camera. Otherwise, you can also call into Zoom meetings with a phone – check the meeting invitation for details. If you don’t have Wi-Fi and only one of your devices needs an internet connection, USB tethering (rather than mobile hotspot) may provide a faster internet connection AND you can charge your phone (very slowly) at the same time.

TIP: As you may be using digital devices even more than you normally would, make sure you take regular breaks from your screen, rest your eyes, eat a snack and do some exercise. 

Maintain a routine

Without the commute to uni, we can get more sleep (yay for our health!), but it’s also easy to sleep in without the structure of campus life. Schedule in your classes, study time, work, exercise and social time, either as a timetable or on a digital calendar/diary, and stick to it. Don’t get into the habit of missing lectures or tutorials if possible as you’ll regret it in week 13/STUVAC/exams. If you absolutely cannot make one of your classes, schedule time that afternoon/evening or the next day to watch the recording – do not let yourself fall behind. 

TIP: import your Canvas calendar into your own calendar to see upcoming assignments and classes (including Zoom class links) – however this may cause all of the Zoom classes for your subjects to show up on your calendar, which can be irritating. An alternative is to set up recurring events for your timetabled classes on your calendar and copy and paste the Zoom invitation in the description, so you have easy access to your classes!

Have your own space

If possible, try and set aside a space (away from your bed!) that is dedicated to uni and study (and work if you’re working from home). This way, it’s easier to get into the mindset for uni/work as you’ve established your boundaries. This is the place for serious work - binge on Netflix and chat with friends on your bed or on a comfy sofa somewhere else! If there is only one place where you can study, change up the table settings to create this differential. For example, laying out notebooks and pens when studying, and taking the time to pack up your study setting and put things that help you relax such as a lamp, speakers and a candle can put you in the right mindset. 

For some people, a good pair of headphones and a white noise playlist can help you get into the mood. If possible, elevate your laptop on top of a shoebox/old law textbook so the screen is eye level and use a separate mouse and keyboard to reduce neck strain and awkward double chins in Zoom classes. More tips on healthy computer ergonomics can be found here. 

Participate in online society events

If you’re looking for something to do, SULS will be migrating many of its talks, wellbeing events and some campus/social events online. This includes our popular Law School Basics series, some of our workshops and talks from esteemed guests. Find out more here. 

SULS also has a podcast, Footnotes, available wherever you get your podcasts, and we will be doing monthly releases from March.

Be sure to check back for our next instalment of online studying tips, where we explore how we can keep our mental health in check whilst in social (spatial) isolation. In the meantime, if you’re looking for some wellbeing tips, join the SULS Wellbeing Facebook Group.

Alison Chen is the SULS Publications Director and a BA/LLB III student. When she’s not studying or working, you can find her playing classical piano, bingeing on American late-night shows or doing Hapkido (a Korean martial art) in the dojang.

If you are interested in contributing to Citations or other SULS Publications, you can contact Alison at publications@suls.org.au. 

If you need someone to talk to, feel free to contact Oscar Alcock (SULS Sports Director) at sport@suls.org.au or Dani Stephenson (SULS Campus Director) at campus@suls.org.au.  

For further information about student support services and how SULS can help you, consult our 2020 Student Support Services Handbook or email Max Vishney (SULS Equity Officer) at equity@suls.org.au. 

Footnotes: Allens "A Day in the Life of a Litigation Lawyer"

SULS Footnotes is a podcast hosted by students, for students, presenting new and intriguing stories about the law. They’ll be releasing monthly podcasts throughout the year, so make sure to check them out on any podcast platform (Spotify, Apple Music, etc.) and follow SULS on Facebook and Instagram. 

Here are the highlights from their most recent interview with Allens on ‘A Day in the Life of a Litigation Lawyer’, with Lucy Zimdahl and Daniel Emmerig from Allens’ Disputes team, to see how the process of litigation unfolds on a corporate scale.

What does an average day for you look like?

Lucy: I probably spend a lot less time in court, and spend a lot less time at my desk in front of a computer than you would imagine. A lot of my day is meetings with barristers, with clients, with internal team members and emails back and forth. I would think that I’m in the office 95% of the time. 

Interviewer: How many opportunities are there for pro bono work?

Lucy: A lot! You are encouraged to treat your pro bono workload very much on level with all your billable client work. It's a big part of what we offer at Allens, definitely check out the website if it’s something that interests you!

Are there any large differences between the commercial approach against the traditional approach that law students might be more familiar with?

Daniel: In law school, you’re writing an exam response examining a fact scenario. When you're actually practising law, you also have to consider things like commerciality; assess the risks. It's more of a consideration in the context of an operating business than in an exam.

Is going to Court intimidating? And does it get easier?

Lucy: It is still quite intimidating and incredibly adrenaline-filled. Even though you are not doing the advocacy, you have to be switched on, which is quite tiring but thrilling; it’s one of the things I find most gratifying about being a litigator.

Daniel: When you're the junior lawyer, you will be going through the documents and will become very familiar with the minutes. If there is a question and the barrister turns around and asks you what actually happened, then you have to find the document or the evidence to clarify. It can be very exciting and intense. 

What is your role in the courtroom? Is it always high adrenaline and high stakes Suits style?

Lucy: [laughter] Ignore what you see on US TV. You don't whip out the smoking gun document dramatically and you're not allowed to ambush a witness. Compared to what you might see on Suits, it's very diplomatic and civilised and the emphasis is on time efficiency and cost efficiency. Having said that there can be plenty of drama: opening and closing arguments from barristers are often a sight to behold and everyone is on the edge of their seats during a witness cross-examination.

Daniel: It's very tense as well for the lawyer because you have quite a personal stake in this matter. Something could happen in the next half an hour which could make or break this whole thing. It is great to watch the product of all your work and it's also very exciting because you don't know what's going to happen.

What are the key skills required and the pressures of your role?

Lucy: Ownership in taking initiative is a really vital thing. The grads I admire most and see the most potential in are the people that will come to a meeting with me and, without any prompting, will say what they would do next. That's important because everyone has to keep driving things forward and making progress.

Daniel: At the entry-level, the particular skills you need would be the ability to learn on the job. Also having the ability to do a draft and accept that it's still a learning process; you're not going to truly master this kind of work for another few years. 

Lucy: I guess some of the pressures are that the turnaround times need to be really fast. But the nice thing about litigation is that it naturally ebbs and flows. And even when it is busy, it's typically because you're on the cusp of trial or settlement of an arbitration. These are the most exciting time in that matter’s life cycle as well. 

Interviewer: Do you have any general advice for lawyers wishing to become involved with or learn more about your work?

Lucy: In an ideal world, a summer clerkship or work experience with a barrister would be fantastic. On a more real level, think closely about the resources that you do have at your disposal. Your lecturers and tutors have many of their colleagues practising in law firms in Sydney; maybe they could put you in touch. Talking to people in the industries that you're interested in is the best way to understand what your future would look like in practice. 

Nowadays I think there's probably better access for students to information about law firms. We have Allen’s Confidential podcast that’s run by our graduate; firms also publish updates on their websites about significant matters. 

Two other tips I would give is that there are probably opportunities at University to volunteer with legal advice clinics, it will give you really significant meaningful experience in diplomacy, drafting, negotiation skills and matter management. 

The other is to follow Chambers, where different barristers publish case summaries that will be focusing on the legal issues at the heart. If you keep abreast of those you’ll understand the kind of disputes we, at Allens, face. That’ll be essential in coming across as well rounded and well developed as a law student applying for work experience. 

Daniel: If you’re particularly interested in litigation or disputes, working for a barrister while you're at university is a very good option. You can see the differentiated roles between barrister and solicitors, and you may get chances for having a crack at first drafts of things, commissions or even discussing a matter with someone senior. 

[Interview ends.]

If you want more insight from Lucy and Daniel on what the role of a litigation lawyer entails, have a listen to the full episode ‘A Day in the Life of a Litigation Lawyer’ by Footnotes on your favourite podcast platform.

Law in Crisis

By Robert Anstee (BA/LLB III)

The scale of change is unrecognisable to many of us. 

Narratives which have gone on volubly for decades have been rudely interrupted. 

Joining global efforts, federal and state governments have clamped down on public life. Legislated stimulus worth nearly 10% of GDP, broad shutdowns of social gathering and travel, and penalties for breaches backed up by an enlarged police presence in NSW. 

In all of this, the imperatives are our health and our economy. It seems Cabinet has taken a middle-road approach, steadily phasing in social distancing and other health measures. 

Abrupt policy changes are unlikely to be logistically or politically feasible. The government, wary of public confidence, will probably stay the course with its image of surgical, decisive strides to curb the crisis. 

Despite this steadfast stance, experts disagree on the way forward. 

Members of a GO8 expert panel recommended a full shutdown. Failing to do so, it was advised, will swamp the health system, wreak economic ruin and delay recovery. Snuffing out the virus as quickly as we can might rapidly spur the economy, as consumer demand rebounds and businesses rehire. 

A contrarian article in the New York Times suggests the opposite; that we isolate and focus resources on those most vulnerable or in need of hospitalisation. The vast majority, bearing mild to no symptoms, should go on living as normally as possible. The aim is to let society and the economy chuff along, as long-term damage to either, if less imminently, also endangers lives. 

Importantly, strict social control does much to lower infection rates, but in so doing, hinders the growth of natural immunity. To avoid the risk of a second wave of infection, we may need to hold on until a vaccine is widely distributable. Halting the economy for a vaccine one or two years away complicates matters; unemployment, strained welfare, social unrest and political polarisation are not unimaginable. 

I don’t aim to ask what measures are ideal, nor to endorse an approach. I doubt that anyone can confidently foresee the consequences of irregular actions in these irregular times. 

The point is that the government may be wrong, and the consequences may be grave. 

Thinking on things away from the fog of panic, what I do worry about is the unilateral haste of the National Cabinet, however vital and effectual, in arresting this crisis. 

Beyond the ballot box

In times like this, we can’t lose sight of those who command. Crisis often obscures and rationalises distressing changes in the way a government exerts its authority. 

Emeritus Professor Gillian Triggs of Melbourne University has often broached this issue in the context of counter-terrorism and human rights law. She has long warned that as the Executive and its hold on parliament grows stronger, our democracy and the institutions which limit bad or cruel decisions grow weaker. 

“It may be true that any one of these laws can be justified in individual circumstances… My concern is that these examples when viewed together become greater than the sum of their parts and a distortion of democracy.” 

The Constitution is famously spare on basic rights and protections. It enshrines parliamentary sovereignty, wherein parliament, essentially seized by the government of the day, can make or unmake any law. Our chances for popular participation or holding the executive to account, even in crisis, are thin, rare and largely kept in ballot boxes. 

If Cabinet has made the wrong choice, has done too much or too little, caused months or years of distress in the struggle of averting disaster, there is little facility in the law to dispute it. How can we check a government that goes too far, or worse, resolves to abuse its power?  

The shift from stable managerialism to closures, relief packages and public paralysis, then, should arguably alarm us beyond this health crisis. 

In a fast-changing world where we will undoubtedly face further and possibly graver emergencies, where executive power swells unhinged at the beck of necessity, can we rely on the usual steadiness of parliament? 

Will the next time be different? 

#usydonline: what does it mean to go to uni from home?

By Jingyi Li (BComm/LLB I) & Coco Chen (BEc/LLB II)

If you were part of any USyd-based discussion group, you would have seen a petition being circulated around two weeks ago, asking for the university to “shut down”. As of March 23, Sydney University has moved all contents online. Days later, students were informed that Fisher Library will be closed until further notice. 

The closure of the campus means that in the foreseeable future we may not be able to catch up with friends at Taste or listen to the carillon chiming as we walk through the Quad, but for many, these are the least of our issues. A proportion of non-local students have taken the option of leaving Sydney and returning home; most of them are still paying the rent for their no-longer-occupied accommodation. The rest that decided to stay in their accommodations are only able to maintain contact with their concerned family members via digital communication. The universal struggle among all, however, is the decreased level of focus one can achieve at home, especially when combined with unprecedented length of time being house-bound. In a time like this, how is #usydonline doing? Can the new teaching methods and learning approaches, mostly provided by Zoom, guarantee the quality of our education?

We all came to know Zoom, a platform designed for live conferences but now plays a major role in running lectures and tutorials virtually. A handful of functions on Zoom, such as screen sharing, annotating and recording, are essential to ensure the accessibility and effectiveness of online learning. And despite these dark times, students are trying to make the most out of the situation. Sydney Uni’s official Instagram account posted a video of students performing TikTok dances on Zoom before their 8 am tutorial, starting a trend among students. SULS helpfully provided photos from the New Law Annex (and one from level 3 of New Law, featuring the much-feared assessment delivery box) to be used as Zoom virtual backgrounds. All of these features will certainly encourage us to continue using Zoom, perhaps for study groups, even after university returns to normal.

On the other hand, we have a fair share of complaints over system crashes and being ‘kicked out’ of Zoom during a class. Whilst most of these problems can be solved within minutes, there are instances where students are unable to rejoin a classroom. Additionally, though Zoom has a better audio quality than other live conference apps, it appears that connection issues can become frequent when twenty or more students in the tutorial have their webcams on at the same time. This is, at the very least, annoying, and certainly has some level of detriment on the student’s learning experience. Whilst the aforementioned issues are not entirely Zoom’s fault (NBN should take some heat there), the Australian Financial Review reveals that Zoom’s privacy policy allows it to collect the user’s personal data, speech and video, whether he or she has a Zoom account or not. Whilst this may affect corporations in regards to their decisions to use Zoom, students should be less concerned as long as we exercise caution when disclosing sensitive personal information (same principle applies anywhere else).

Besides that Zoom may stick around with us for classes, students and the teaching staff are concerned about other aspects of online education; most importantly among which are exams. The most recent newsletter from Vice Chancellor Michael Spence addressed several decisions, including that ProctorU will be used in online exams, and the grading system will not change to a pass/fail system. 

For those who are not yet aware, the ProctorU service offers extensive methods to prevent cheating in online exams by designing different ‘stakes’ which go from recording a screen to, what is the equivalence of live streaming, all depending on the nature of the assessment. Some responded to this announcement with the concern that their privacy may be compromised, as proctors will need to gain access to the student’s computer to make sure certain functions are disabled and no prohibited applications are running at the same time. In addition to privacy concerns, we question whether having someone intensely watching over you (Big Brother style) for the duration of the exam will have negative psychological effects on examinees. Compared to a normal sit-in exam, the level of stress from being closely monitored may have an impact on one’s performance. 

In response to Dr Spence’s email, SRC voiced its disagreement with the university’s decisions which “do not reflect what is best for students” and expressed its will to continue fighting for greater leniency and assurance for students. As students, what we can do individually is to take good care of our safety, health and well-being, and not hesitate to let our faculties know of any issues we are experiencing. We hope that the transition to a completely online second-half of the semester is not too jarring in the near future.

How to thrive at Law School? Why balance is so critical

By Oscar Alcock (JD III)

Law school can be a stressful time in people’s lives. The pressures of achieving excellent grades, working, getting involved at university outside of one’s classes and extracurricular activities away from campus can be a heavy load to bear. 

It is normal to feel like we are all constantly in motion, struggling to stay afloat. The analogy often thrown around is that law school can be like a duck floating on top of the water. People give the impression that everything is under control, but underneath the surface they are scrambling.  

There is no doubt that ambition and drive is essential to get ahead in this world. 

However, technology detoxes and mindfulness retreats, among other escapes designed to help us reach a “zen” like state don’t help us manage our busy schedules on a day-to-day basis. They can be enriching experiences but fall into the narrative that we need an escape from inevitable burnout. 

Why can’t we just avoid burnout entirely? How can we achieve that? 

The short answer is that we need a lifestyle change, not a detox. 

Everyone needs down time and should actively schedule time for self-reflection. 

Most millennials and certainly Gen Z are addicted to social media and technology and this has widely been shown to contribute to stress and anxiety for students. Social media and devices have become almost inseparable parts of everyday life for most people. But how do we better moderate our use of this technology so we can thrive at law school?

Social media has transformed social interactions. People are now intimately connected in a way which was almost unimaginable only a few short decades ago. 

Young people today have grown up in a world of filters, influencers and a comparison culture cultivated by Facebook and Instagram which has contributed to increasing levels of anxiety, depression and eating disorders. 

This is not to demonise social media or technology. Social media allows people from far flung regions of the globe to stay connected in a way which has been unthinkable for most of human history. However, social media is chronically overused, and many young people have developed dependency on the dopamine highs which use of the technology brings. 

https://www.pickpik.com/balance-stones-sea-beach-pebble-stability-95635

This feedback loop has similar effects to drug, alcohol and gambling addictions. These things aren’t necessarily a problem in and of themselves. Responsible consumption of alcohol and gambling within ones means is not a problem. Likewise, it is the compulsive use of social media and technology which needs to be guarded against. 

Devices and social media take away from genuine human interactions. With people’s attention spans becoming shorter and shorter, we have lost the ability to properly have downtime or enjoy an experience for its own intrinsic value, separated from the documentation of that experience and circulating it to the wider world. 

It is almost as though people have become afraid of their own thoughts. People need distractions. But genuine reflection shouldn’t be shied away from, it should be encouraged. The liberating effects of meditation, yoga and gratitude journals are testament to this. 

Social media and technology are incredible human assets which should be cultivated but we all need to ask ourselves whether we are the masters of the technology or wherever the technology is mastering us?

Ultimately, my formula for thriving at university is simple: work hard and schedule your time, prioritise sleep, limit social media and technology usage to when you are in a positive headspace, find time for genuine human interactions, keep a gratitude journal and practice mindfulness, exercise regularly and find time to meditate.

Nothing here is particularly ground-breaking but sometimes we all need to remind ourselves of the importance of BALANCE.  

About

Citations is a student blog run by the Sydney University Law Society (SULS), featuring analytical and opinion pieces about current affairs and the law, interviews with faculty, alumni and members of the legal profession and more light-hearted pieces about student life. Launched in March 2020, it aims to complement the Publications Portfolio’s extensive suite of journals and guides and provide a space for Sydney Law students to share their work without the commitment of a journal.

Ideas? Questions? Submissions? Contact Alison (SULS Publications Director) at publications@suls.org.au. 

Team:

Alison Chen (Publications Director)

Daniel Lee Aniceto (Design Director)

Barry Wang (Marketing Director)

Digital Content Committee: Coco Chen, Jingyi Li

The Sydney University Law Society acknowledges and pays respect to the traditional owners of the land on which the University of Sydney is built, the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation.  

All references to 'Sydney University Law Society' or 'SULS' refers to Sydney University Law Society Inc., an incorporated charitable association registered in the state of New South Wales. All views expressed herein are those of the individual authors and do not reflect, in any way, the attitude of the Sydney University Law Society. The Sydney University Law Society does not accept any responsibility for the losses flowing from the publication of material in Citations.