Legal Studies syllabus, dot point by dot point
Every dot point in the NSW Legal Studies syllabus, in syllabus order, with a focused answer for each. Open any dot point for the answer, exam-style questions and links to related points.
Core Part I: Crime
Module overview →How do defences to criminal charges operate, and do they achieve justice?
Why do people commit crime, and how can crime be prevented?
What is international crime, and how effectively do domestic and international legal systems deal with it?
What happens after a sentence is imposed, and do post-sentencing measures achieve justice?
What is the purpose of sentencing, and how effectively does it achieve justice?
How does the NSW criminal justice system respond to young offenders?
How are crimes categorised, and what are the implications for prosecution?
How does the criminal trial process operate, and how effectively does it deliver justice?
What is crime, and what must the prosecution prove to convict?
How does the criminal investigation process balance the powers of the state against the rights of the suspect?
Core Part II: Human Rights
Module overview →What are the key international and Australian instruments protecting human rights?
How effectively are human rights promoted and enforced in Australia?
How effectively does the international community promote and enforce human rights?
Should Australia adopt a Charter of Rights?
What are human rights, and how did the modern human rights framework develop?
How effectively does the law protect the human rights of refugees and asylum seekers?
How effectively does Australian law protect the human rights of Indigenous Australians?
Option: Consumers
Module overview →Why do consumers need legal protection, who counts as a consumer, and what are consumer laws trying to achieve?
How do contracts work for consumers, and which standards does the law impose on every consumer contract whatever the parties agree?
How does the law protect consumers from unjust contracts and from careless manufacturers and suppliers?
How does the law regulate marketing and advertising, and how effectively does it protect consumers from new marketing techniques?
How can consumers obtain redress, which organisations help them, and how effective are legal and non-legal measures in achieving justice for consumers?
What problems does credit create for consumers, and how effectively do legal and non-legal responses protect borrowers?
How does the law certify that products are safe and accurately described, and how effectively do legal and non-legal responses protect consumers from unsafe products?
How has technology changed the risks consumers face, and how effectively do legal and non-legal responses protect consumers online?
Option: Global Environmental Protection
Module overview →What is global environmental protection, how has global environmental law developed, and why do we need laws to protect the global environment?
What is ecologically sustainable development, and why are biodiversity, intergenerational equity, intragenerational equity and the precautionary principle important to protecting the environment?
How do state sovereignty, the United Nations and international instruments assist and impede the protection of the global environment?
What roles do courts, conferences, intergovernmental organisations, non-government organisations and the media play in protecting the global environment, and how effective are legal and non-legal measures?
How does Australia's federal structure affect its ability to respond to global environmental protection?
What role does the law play in responding to global threats to the environment, and how effective are legal and non-legal responses?
How effectively do legal responses resolve the conflict between the demand for resources and global environmental protection?
How has Australia responded to international initiatives for global environmental protection, and how effective have its responses been?
What are the barriers to achieving an international response to global environmental protection, and how effectively do legal and non-legal processes overcome them?
Option: Family
Module overview →How does Australian family law respond to contemporary issues such as surrogacy and same-sex parenting?
How does the law recognise different types of relationships?
What is family law in Australia, and how does it operate?
How does the law respond to domestic and family violence?
How does the law protect children at risk of harm, and how effective is the NSW care and protection system?
How has the law's idea of parental responsibility changed, and how effectively does it respond to the needs of children in modern families?
How is divorce determined, and how does the law decide parenting arrangements?
Option: Indigenous Peoples
Module overview →Who are Indigenous peoples, how did they lose their rights over time, and why do they need legal recognition?
Why is the right to self-determination important to Indigenous peoples, and what makes it difficult for them to determine their own future?
How do state sovereignty, the United Nations and international instruments assist and impede the recognition of the rights of Indigenous peoples?
What roles do courts, intergovernmental organisations, non-government organisations and the media play in achieving justice for Indigenous peoples, and how effective are legal and non-legal measures?
How does Australia's federal structure shape the law's response to the needs and rights of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples?
How have Indigenous peoples lost cultural rights, including language, and how effectively do legal and non-legal responses protect and restore them?
How effectively do legal and non-legal responses recognise and protect the land rights of Indigenous peoples?
How effectively does the law recognise Indigenous peoples' rights to natural resources, and their right to consent to resource development on their lands?
How effectively do legal and non-legal responses protect Indigenous peoples' intellectual property, including their traditional knowledge and cultural expressions?
Option: Shelter
Module overview →What is shelter, is there a right to it, and what must state and federal governments do to provide it?
How do people buy shelter in NSW, and how effectively does the law protect buyers, owners and sellers?
What rights and obligations do landlords and tenants have, and how well does the law protect tenants, landlords, boarders and lodgers?
How does the law protect people who secure shelter in aged care, retirement villages, residential parks and squats?
How are shelter disputes resolved, and how effectively do courts, tribunals, ADR, government bodies, NGOs and the media achieve justice for people seeking and providing shelter?
Why has shelter become so unaffordable, and how effectively do legal and non-legal responses make housing affordable for buyers and renters?
How does discrimination stop people securing shelter, and how effectively do legal and non-legal responses address it?
Why do people become homeless, and how effectively do legal and non-legal responses prevent and end homelessness?
What is social housing, why is there not enough of it, and how effectively do legal and non-legal responses provide it?
Option: Workplace
Module overview →How has workplace law changed over time, why do workers and employers need it, and where do the rules that govern work come from?
What legal instruments set the terms of work, and what rights and responsibilities do employers and employees have?
How do the Commonwealth and NSW share the regulation of work, and how does the law structure negotiations between employers and employees?
How are workplace disputes resolved, and how effectively do courts, tribunals, government bodies, unions, employer associations, NGOs and the media protect workplace rights?
How is pay determined in Australian workplaces, and how effectively does the law ensure workers are paid fairly and in full?
How does discrimination affect workers, and how effectively do legal and non-legal responses address discrimination and harassment in the workplace?
Why is workplace safety still a problem, and how effectively do legal and non-legal responses prevent harm and compensate injured workers?
When can employment lawfully end, and how effectively do legal and non-legal responses protect employees and employers when it does?
What leave are workers entitled to, and how effectively does the law help workers balance work with family, health and life?
Option: World Order
Module overview →How does the international community respond to terrorism, and how effective are those responses?
How does international law regulate the use of force, and how effective are political negotiation, persuasion and force in resolving conflict?
What is world order, why is it needed, and how does state sovereignty shape it?
What role does the United Nations play in promoting and maintaining world order, and how effective is it?
Which regional and global situations threaten peace and security, and how effectively do legal and non-legal responses address them?
What rules govern the conduct of hostilities, and how effectively are they enforced?
How successful has global cooperation been in achieving world order, and what limits its success?
What is the principle of 'responsibility to protect', and how effective has it been in preventing mass atrocities?
How does the International Criminal Court prosecute the most serious international crimes?