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2014 Notes from the Marking Centre – Legal Studies

Introduction

This document has been produced for the teachers and candidates of the Stage 6 Legal Studies course. It contains comments on candidate responses to the 2014 Higher School Certificate examination, highlighting their strengths in particular parts of the examination and indicating where candidates need to improve.

This document should be read along with:

Section II

Part A – Human Rights

Question 21

Candidates showed strength in these areas:

  • naming an international human rights document – for example, the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child
  • indicating the rights protected by the named international human rights document and how the document is applied.

Candidates need to improve in these areas:

  • understanding that a ‘contribution’ could include raising awareness of human rights issues or influencing the development of the law.

Question 22

Candidates showed strength in these areas:

  • identifying the rights expressly protected in the Australian Constitution
  • describing the impact of the separation of powers (legislature, judiciary and executive) and division of powers (federal, state and local) in protecting human rights
  • describing the role of the High Court in enforcing constitutional human rights protections and interpreting the Australian Constitution
  • identifying express and implied rights and explaining the differences between them.

Candidates need to improve in these areas:

  • explaining how the Australian Constitution protects human rights rather than merely identifying the rights that are protected.

Question 23

Candidates showed strength in these areas:

  • demonstrating an understanding of the roles of both international and domestic courts in protecting human rights
  • providing examples of court-based protection in both domestic and international contexts.

Candidates need to improve in these areas:

  • comparing (considering similarities and differences) the roles of domestic and international courts
  • including areas such as enforcement, protection and jurisdiction, and supporting their answer using relevant examples.

Part B – Crime

Question 24

Candidates showed strength in these areas:

  • demonstrating knowledge of the criminal investigation process
  • demonstrating an understanding of the rights of suspects
  • knowing about recent cases and supporting their discussion well with legislative examples, such as the Law Enforcement (Powers and Responsibilities) Act 2002 (NSW)
  • making an informed judgement.

Candidates need to improve in these areas:

  • referring to the statement provided and integrating it into their response, rather than just mentioning it in the introduction and/or conclusion
  • distinguishing elements of the trial and sentencing processes from the criminal investigation process
  • understanding the importance of civil liberties
  • understanding the rights of victims.

Section III – Options

Question 25 (a) – Consumers

Candidates showed strength in these areas:

  • supporting their response with a wide range of case studies
  • referring to contemporary case law and media examples rather than relying only on textbook examples
  • integrating reference to the Australian consumer law and the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal to support judgements about the extent to which consumer law reflects changes in values and ethical standards
  • making judgements regarding consumer law protections and how these reflect changing values and ethical standards.

Candidates need to improve in these areas:

  • identifying specific values and ethical standards
  • expanding the use of relevant examples from legislation, cases and media articles.

Question 25 (b) – Consumers

Candidates showed strength in these areas:

  • demonstrating knowledge and understanding of relevant contemporary consumer law issues
  • presenting arguments assessing the roles of organisations, tribunals and courts in resolving consumer law issues
  • supporting judgements with relevant and well-integrated examples.

Candidates need to improve in these areas:

  • providing a range of organisations, tribunals and courts
  • making a judgement about the roles of organisations, tribunals and courts instead of simply describing each legal response
  • using contemporary examples
  • presenting logical and cohesive responses.

Question 26 (a) – Global Environmental Protection

Candidates showed strength in these areas:

  • demonstrating knowledge and understanding of the nature and role of legal and non-legal responses in addressing various global environmental issues
  • using criteria, such as the degree of enforceability, the extent of international cooperation/agreement, and levels of compliance to determine the effectiveness of various legal and non-legal responses.

Candidates need to improve in these areas:

  • understanding that ‘compare’ includes similarities and/or differences
  • comparing the effectiveness of legal and non-legal measures rather than providing narratives or descriptions of case studies
  • integrating relevant examples and linking these back to the question in a sustained, logical and cohesive manner.

Question 26 (b) – Global Environmental Protection

Candidates showed strength in these areas:

  • demonstrating knowledge of a range of global environmental issues
  • demonstrating an understanding of the nature of state sovereignty
  • providing clear arguments for and/or against the role of state sovereignty
  • integrating a wide range of contemporary examples.

Candidates need to improve in these areas:

  • integrating relevant examples and evidence
  • avoiding the use of general statements about local initiatives, such as recycling, waste management, water use and solar panels
  • writing a sustained and cohesive response.

Question 27 (a) – Family

Candidates showed strength in these areas:

  • demonstrating a good grasp of the issues relating to those in same sex relationships and an understanding of the relevant legislation
  • knowledge of same sex couple adoption and the laws within the Australian Capital Territory
  • providing an informed judgement.

Candidates need to improve in these areas:

  • planning a cohesive response
  • making balanced judgements about law reform
  • using criteria to support their judgements.

Question 27 (b) – Family

Candidates showed strength in these areas:

  • demonstrating understanding of the role of media as a driver of law reform
  • identifying which issues were relevant to their analysis of the role of the law and the media.

Candidates need to improve in these areas:

  • planning a cohesive response
  • discussing the role of the media, not just listing media cases
  • highlighting the positives and negatives of mainstream and social media
  • using criteria to support their judgements.

Question 28 (a) – Indigenous Peoples

Candidates showed strength in these areas:

  • integrating a variety of indigenous peoples’ case studies and issues from around the globe
  • integrating international instruments, such as UN declarations and conventions, and domestic law (eg specific laws from Norway, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea and Brazil)
  • acknowledging the meaning of self-determination and its relationship with state sovereignty.

Candidates need to improve in these areas:

  • understanding that ‘explain’ requires the response to demonstrate the cause/effect/consequence
  • integrating international and domestic law into the response
  • being aware of rights such as cultural rights, intellectual property rights and land rights that can lead to justice being achieved as a result of self-determination.

Question 28 (b) – Indigenous Peoples

Candidates showed strength in these areas:

  • identifying indigenous peoples who have and have not gained land rights
  • integrating a variety of legal and non-legal measures, both domestic and international
  • referring to a variety of global and domestic examples of indigenous peoples.

Candidates need to improve in these areas:

  • understanding the terms ‘compare’ and ‘effectiveness’
  • highlighting the different legal and non-legal measures instead of blending the measures together
  • providing specific details of legal measures and explaining the specific ideas regarding indigenous peoples’ land rights within a case/law/document/article they have identified.

Question 29 (a) – Shelter

Candidates showed strength in these areas:

  • comparing an extensive range of legal and non-legal measures to secure shelter, relevant to homelessness and discrimination
  • identifying the objectives of legal and non-legal measures and then discussing the extent to which they were achieved or not achieved
  • using case studies
  • making a clear, informed and supported judgement using contemporary examples.

Candidates need to improve in these areas:

  • explicitly identifying the different legal and non-legal measures
  • avoiding narrative accounts or excessive descriptions of measures
  • integrating domestic law into the response
  • linking the information and examples back to the question.

Question 29 (b) – Shelter

Candidates showed strength in these areas:

  • making reference to contemporary compliance issues
  • demonstrating knowledge of government policies
  • discussing the effectiveness of the law in relation to society’s expectations in the securing of shelter.

Candidates need to improve in these areas:

  • moving beyond general statements about contemporary issues with limited reference to the law
  • providing specific details of how people may or may not comply with the law
  • using a range of relevant and contemporary examples.

Question 30 (a) – Workplace

Candidates showed strength in these areas:

  • using a variety of contemporary issues to highlight a range of workplace disputes
  • referring to a variety of dispute resolution mechanisms
  • comparing the effectiveness of courts, tribunals and alternative dispute resolution mechanisms for workplace disputes
  • using a variety of historic and contemporary cases.

Candidates need to improve in these areas:

  • distinguishing between the various bodies that resolve disputes
  • discussing a wider range of dispute resolution mechanisms, rather than relying solely on mediation, conciliation and arbitration.

Question 30 (b) – Workplace

Candidates showed strength in these areas:

  • demonstrating knowledge of a wide range of rights and responsibilities of employers and employees
  • highlighting a range of contemporary issues such as discrimination, termination and flexibility in working hours
  • recognising areas where law reform has reflected changes in society and the adoption of international documents into domestic law
  • demonstrating knowledge of reforms through the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) and the implications for the rights of employees relating to leave, termination and remuneration as well as enterprise bargaining.

Candidates need to improve in these areas:

  • assessing the role of law reform in balancing various rights and responsibilities, rather than just describing what these rights and responsibilities are
  • integrating examples of case law, legislation, media and international instruments, rather than simply describing them
  • using more contemporary cases and media reports related to law reform within the workplace
  • linking law reform with rights and responsibilities.

Question 31 (a) – World Order

Candidates showed strength in these areas:

  • demonstrating knowledge of a wide range of legal and non-legal measures
  • evaluating contemporary measures from agencies such as the UN Security Council, the General Assembly and intergovernmental organisations such as the European Union and the Arab League
  • using relevant and contemporary case studies to support their arguments
  • integrating and analysing relevant media reports, documents, international law and opinions from experts.

Candidates need to improve in these areas:

  • understanding the concept of the ‘nation state’
  • explaining how legal and non-legal measures work and not just identifying them
  • articulating the link between the measure and the outcome (cooperation and achieving world order)
  • demonstrating understanding of non-legal measures
  • using examples that relate to situations that threaten peace and security at a regional or global scale, rather than using examples from their study of human rights.

Question 31 (b) – World Order

Candidates showed strength in these areas:

  • demonstrating knowledge of world order issues and situations that threaten regional and global security
  • demonstrating understanding of the concept of state sovereignty
  • using relevant contemporary case studies, clearly integrated into the response, to show how state sovereignty assists and/or impedes the resolution of world order issues
  • incorporating and analysing media reports, documents, international instruments and quotations from experts.

Candidates need to improve in these areas:

  • distinguishing between human rights issues and world order issues
  • distinguishing between global issues such as the global financial crisis (GFC) and climate change and world order issues such as threats to peace and security
  • linking relevant examples to their arguments.
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