Melbourne University Law School
Encyclopedia
Melbourne Law School is one of the professional graduate school
s of the University of Melbourne
, and is one of Australia's oldest law schools. It retains a reputation for high quality teaching and research, with approximately 3500 undergraduate and postgraduate students, and a number of Australia's leading legal minds. It is widely regarded as being one of Australia's top law schools, with stringent entry requirements. In 2011, MLS was ranked the best law school in Australia, and ninth best in the world, in the QS World University Rankings
.
The school continued to grow throughout the 19th and 20th century, and underwent its first major transformation with the appointment of Sir Zelman Cowen as Dean in 1951. Sir Zelman shaped the law school after the United States model, reforming teaching, research and academic recruitment. Under his stewardship, full-time academics came to dominate teaching, instead of part-time practitioners. Many prominent international academics were invited to study at the School, and many Australians were given the opportunity to study abroad.
Recent developments in the Law School have seen a shift in emphasis towards postgraduate teaching, which culminated in the 'Melbourne Model', introduced in 2008. Under the Model, the study of law is available to postgraduates only, as part of the 'Juris Doctor
' program.
Graduate school
A graduate school is a school that awards advanced academic degrees with the general requirement that students must have earned a previous undergraduate degree...
s of the University of Melbourne
University of Melbourne
The University of Melbourne is a public university located in Melbourne, Victoria. Founded in 1853, it is the second oldest university in Australia and the oldest in Victoria...
, and is one of Australia's oldest law schools. It retains a reputation for high quality teaching and research, with approximately 3500 undergraduate and postgraduate students, and a number of Australia's leading legal minds. It is widely regarded as being one of Australia's top law schools, with stringent entry requirements. In 2011, MLS was ranked the best law school in Australia, and ninth best in the world, in the QS World University Rankings
QS World University Rankings
The QS World University Rankings is a ranking of the world’s top 500 universities by Quacquarelli Symonds using a method that has published annually since 2004....
.
History
The teaching of law at the University of Melbourne began in 1857, when Richard Clarke Sewell was appointed Reader in Law. This was in response to demand from young men wanting to practice law in the colonies, but wanting to stay in Australia to learn. This led to the first degree in law being made available in 1860, and the founding, in 1873, of the Faculty of Law.The school continued to grow throughout the 19th and 20th century, and underwent its first major transformation with the appointment of Sir Zelman Cowen as Dean in 1951. Sir Zelman shaped the law school after the United States model, reforming teaching, research and academic recruitment. Under his stewardship, full-time academics came to dominate teaching, instead of part-time practitioners. Many prominent international academics were invited to study at the School, and many Australians were given the opportunity to study abroad.
Recent developments in the Law School have seen a shift in emphasis towards postgraduate teaching, which culminated in the 'Melbourne Model', introduced in 2008. Under the Model, the study of law is available to postgraduates only, as part of the 'Juris Doctor
Juris Doctor
Juris Doctor is a professional doctorate and first professional graduate degree in law.The degree was first awarded by Harvard University in the United States in the late 19th century and was created as a modern version of the old European doctor of law degree Juris Doctor (see etymology and...
' program.
Research
The Faculty of Law is home to some key research institutes and centres, including:- The Asian Law Centre
- The Asia-Pacific Centre for Military Law
- The Centre for Comparative Constitutional Studies
- The Centre for Corporate Law and Securities Regulation
- The Centre for Employment and Labour Relations Law
- The Centre for Resources Energy and Environmental Law
- The Centre for Media and Communications Law
- The Institute for International Law and the Humanities
- The Intellectual Property Research Institute of Australia
Deans of Melbourne Law School
- 1873–1888 William HearnWilliam HearnWilliam Edward Hearn , university professor and politician, was one of the four original professors at the University of Melbourne and was the first Dean of the University's Law School....
- 1889–1892 Edward JenksEdward JenksEdward Jenks was a jurist and noted writer on law and its place in history.He was a brilliant law student at King's College, Cambridge and was placed first in the law tripos of 1886...
- 1893–1927 William Harrison MooreWilliam Harrison MooreSir William Harrison Moore KBE CMG , Australian lawyer and academic, was a professor at the University of Melbourne, and the third dean of the Melbourne University Law School.-Early life and education:Moore was born in London, England in 1867, the son of printer John Moore and...
- 1928–1936 Kenneth Bailey
- 1937–1937 George PatonGeorge Whitecross PatonProfessor Sir George Whitecross Paton, B.A., B.C.L. , Hon. LL.D. , D.C.L. , M.A was an Australian legal scholar and Vice Chancellor of Melbourne University....
- 1938–1942 Kenneth Bailey
- 1943–1951 George Paton
- 1951–1963 Zelman CowenZelman CowenSir Zelman Cowen, was the 19th Governor-General of Australia. He is currently the oldest living former Governor-General of Australia.-Early life:...
- 1964–1964 Harold Ford
- 1964–1966 Zelman Cowen
- 1967–1973 Harold Ford
- 1973–1977 Sandford Clark
- 1978–1983 Colin Howard
- 1984–1986 Mark WeinbergMark Weinberg-Early life and education:Weinberg was born in South Africa and educated at King Edward VII School in Johannesburg. He received degrees in Commerce and Law and practised as a barrister...
- 1986–1988 Harold LuntzHarold LuntzHarold 'Harry' Luntz is an Australian law professor. He is widely acknowledged as one of the world's leading experts on torts law.He began publishing in academic journals in the early 1960s...
- 1989–2002 Michael Crommelin
- 2002–2003 Ian RamseyIan RamseyIan Thomas Ramsey was Professor of the Philosophy of Religion at the University of Oxford, and Bishop of Durham from 1966 until his death in 1972. He wrote extensively on the problem of religious language, Christian ethics, the relationship between science and religion, and Christian apologetics...
- 2003–2007 Michael Crommelin
- 1994–2004 James Hathaway
- 2010–2011 Michael Crommelin
- 2011–present Carolyn Evans
Prominent Current Faculty
The University of Melbourne attracts many prominent legal academics, including the following notable members of staff:- Caron Beaton-Wells, competition expert and scholar
- Michael Bryan, equity and restitution scholar
- Andrew Christie, intellectual property expert
- Matthew Harding, equity and trusts scholar
- Harold LuntzHarold LuntzHarold 'Harry' Luntz is an Australian law professor. He is widely acknowledged as one of the world's leading experts on torts law.He began publishing in academic journals in the early 1960s...
, professorial fellow and expert in tort law - Jenny Morgan, feminist legal academic
- Ian RamsayIan RamsayProfessor Ian Ramsay is Harold Ford Professor of Commercial Law, Faculty of Law, The University of Melbourne and director of their Center for Corporate Law and Securities Regulation in Melbourne, Australia...
, expert in corporate law and corporate governance - Cheryl Saunders, constitutional lawyer
- Manfred Ellinghaus, contract law scholar
Law
- Sir Zelman CowenZelman CowenSir Zelman Cowen, was the 19th Governor-General of Australia. He is currently the oldest living former Governor-General of Australia.-Early life:...
, former Governor General - Sir Daryl DawsonDaryl DawsonSir Daryl Michael Dawson, AC, KBE, CB Australian judge and naval officer, was a Justice of the High Court of Australia from 1982 to 1997.-Education:...
, former High Court Judge - Sir Owen DixonOwen DixonSir Owen Dixon, OM, GCMG, KC Australian judge and diplomat, was the sixth Chief Justice of Australia. A justice of the High Court for thirty-five years, Dixon was one of the leading jurists in the English-speaking world and is widely regarded as Australia's greatest ever jurist.-Education:Dixon...
, former Chief Justice of the High Court of AustraliaHigh Court of AustraliaThe High Court of Australia is the supreme court in the Australian court hierarchy and the final court of appeal in Australia. It has both original and appellate jurisdiction, has the power of judicial review over laws passed by the Parliament of Australia and the parliaments of the States, and... - Sir Frank Gavan DuffyFrank Gavan DuffySir Frank Gavan Duffy, KCMG, PC, QC , Australian judge, was the fourth Chief Justice of the High Court of Australia, sitting on the bench of the High Court from 1913 to 1935.-Early life:...
, former Chief Justice of the High Court of Australia - Sir Wilfred FullagarWilfred FullagarSir Wilfred Kelsham Fullagar, KBE, KC was a judge on the High Court of Australia.-Early Life and Studies:...
, former Justice of the High Court of Australia - Kenneth HayneKenneth HayneKenneth Madison Hayne AC is a Justice of the High Court of Australia which is the highest court in the Australian court hierarchy.-Education and professional life:...
current Justice of the High Court of Australia - Henry Bournes Higgins former justice of the High Court of Australia
- Sir Isaac IsaacsIsaac IsaacsSir Isaac Alfred Isaacs GCB GCMG KC was an Australian judge and politician, was the third Chief Justice of Australia, ninth Governor-General of Australia and the first born in Australia to occupy that post. He is the only person ever to have held both positions of Chief Justice of Australia and...
, former Governor General and Chief Justice of the High Court of Australia - Sir John Latham, former Chief Justice of the High Court of Australia
- Sir Douglas MenziesDouglas MenziesSir Douglas Ian Menzies KBE , Australian judge, was a Justice of the High Court of Australia.-Biography:Menzies was born in Ballarat, Victoria, in 1907. He was educated at Hobart High School and Devonport High School in Tasmania, before returning to Victoria to study at the University of Melbourne...
former Justice of the High Court of Australia - Sir Ninian StephenNinian StephenSir Ninian Martin Stephen, is a retired politician and judge, who served as the 20th Governor-General of Australia and as a Justice in the High Court of Australia.-Early life:...
, former High Court Judge and Governor General - Sir Edward WoodwardEdward Woodward (jurist)Sir Albert Edward Woodward, AC, OBE was an Australian jurist.-Biography:Edward Woodward was born in Ballarat in 1928 to Eric Woodward and Amy Freame Weller...
, Director-General of ASIO and Federal Court Judge - Francis GurryFrancis GurryFrancis Gurry is an Australian national and the fourth and current Director General of the World Intellectual Property Organization . He is also Secretary-General of the International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants...
, Director General of the World Intellectual Property OrganizationWorld Intellectual Property OrganizationThe World Intellectual Property Organization is one of the 17 specialized agencies of the United Nations. WIPO was created in 1967 "to encourage creative activity, to promote the protection of intellectual property throughout the world"....
Politics
- Alfred DeakinAlfred DeakinAlfred Deakin , Australian politician, was a leader of the movement for Australian federation and later the second Prime Minister of Australia. In the last quarter of the 19th century, Deakin was a major contributor to the establishment of liberal reforms in the colony of Victoria, including the...
, former Prime Minister of Australia - Gareth EvansGareth Evans (politician)Gareth John Evans, AO, QC , is a former Australian politician from 1978 to 1999 representing the Australian Labor Party, serving in a number of ministries including Attorney-General and Foreign Minister from 1983 to 1996 in the Hawke and Keating governments. He was president and chief executive...
, former Foreign Affairs Minister - Julia GillardJulia GillardJulia Eileen Gillard is the 27th and current Prime Minister of Australia, in office since June 2010.Gillard was born in Barry, Vale of Glamorgan, Wales and migrated with her family to Adelaide, Australia in 1966, attending Mitcham Demonstration School and Unley High School. In 1982 Gillard moved...
, current Prime Minister of Australia - Harold HoltHarold HoltHarold Edward Holt, CH was an Australian politician and the 17th Prime Minister of Australia.His term as Prime Minister was brought to an early and dramatic end in December 1967 when he disappeared while swimming at Cheviot Beach near Portsea, Victoria, and was presumed drowned.Holt spent 32 years...
, former Prime Minister of Australia - Peter McGauran, former Federal Agriculture Minister
- Sir Robert Menzies, former Prime Minister of Australia
Other
- Paul Bassat, Founder and CEO of seek.com.au
- James P. GormanJames P. GormanJames P. Gorman has been CEO of Morgan Stanley since 1 January 2010. He was formerly Co-President and Co-Head of Strategic Planning at the firm.- Business career :...
, CEO of Morgan Stanley, 2010- - Sir John MonashJohn MonashGeneral Sir John Monash GCMG, KCB, VD was a civil engineer who became the Australian military commander in the First World War. He commanded the 13th Infantry Brigade before the War and then became commander of the 4th Brigade in Egypt shortly after the outbreak of the War with whom he took part...
, World War IWorld War IWorld War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
General - Adnan Buyung Nasution, Senior Advocate and Former Member of Indonesia Advisory Council of The President
- Dame Meg TaylorMeg TaylorDame Meg Taylor DBE is a Papua New Guinean lawyer and diplomat.She received her LL.B degree from Melbourne University, Australia, and her LL.M degree from Harvard University, USA...
, former PNG Ambassador to the United States
Publications
The following publications are produced by students at the Law School:- Melbourne University Law ReviewMelbourne University Law ReviewThe Melbourne University Law Review is a triannual law journal published by a student group at Melbourne Law School. The journal publishes articles on all areas of law, as well as case notes, book reviews, and review essays.- Overview :...
- Melbourne Journal of International LawMelbourne Journal of International LawThe Melbourne Journal of International Law is a peer-reviewed law review associated with the Melbourne Law School which publishes articles in all areas of public and private international law. The journal was established in 2000 and is published twice annually with a particular focus on the...
- Australian Guide to Legal CitationAustralian Guide to Legal CitationThe Australian Guide to Legal Citation is published by the Melbourne University Law Review Association Inc in collaboration with the Melbourne Journal of International Law Inc, and seeks to provide the Australian legal community with a standard for citing legal sources...