Research Essay LAWS3000 Constitutional Law Session 1, 2020
Question: On 11 November 1975, Governor-General Sir John Kerr dismissed Prime Minister Gough Whitlam. Was this action constitutionally justified? Critically discuss.
Format and Word Count:
Essays must be submitted in double line spaced text, 12 point font (use Times New Roman or Arial). The word limit is 2,000 words, excluding footnotes (there will be an allowance plus or minus 10% of the word count). Footnotes should only be used for references, with no further discussion. A bibliography should not be provided. Do not submit a pdf. Submissions must be a word document.
The essay must comply with the Australian Guide to Legal Citation. The Guide is available here < https://law.uni
Late submissions will be penalized according to the unit guide.
Guidance
In your response, you are expected to critically engage with the essay question. There is no ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ answer, provided this is strongly argued and demonstrates evidence of appropriate legal research (eg drawing upon relevant case law, academic literature and so on) going beyond the set readings for the course.
Although a strong answer would demonstrate an understanding of the social, political and historical context surrounding this event, please remember that this is a legal essay – thus the focus of your analysis should be on the constitutional issues implicated.
Assessment Grading
Please see the marking rubric on iLearn for further details.
