GAJE 2015

Look, no clinic!Justice education

in the mainstream curriculum

Professor Simon RiceANU College of LawAustralian National University

‘Law-for-justice’

Fundamentally, it is a question of power and values

It is a rejection of (not an alternative to) the value-neutral curriculum

It sounds like CLS …

GAJE 2015 Simon Rice: Look, no clinic! Justice in the mainstream curriculum

A proposed ‘justice’ curriculum

Conventional accounts of doctrine, but subject to:• party’s perspectives• critical frameworks• exposing values• considering public interest(s)

GAJE 2015 Simon Rice: Look, no clinic! Justice in the mainstream curriculum

‘Justice’ is in more than the content: assessment

Assessment of two principal intended learning outcomes: (1) doctrine, and (2) critical perspectives.

1. Conventional exam, essay, problem, case note etc

2. Discussion and collaboration; commentary and analysis; reflection

GAJE 2015 Simon Rice: Look, no clinic! Justice in the mainstream curriculum

‘Justice’ in more than the content: teaching

Teaching, with a consciousness of:• classroom hierarchy• classroom power relations• mutual respect and deference

GAJE 2015 Simon Rice: Look, no clinic! Justice in the mainstream curriculum

A conventional doctrinal problem (Contracts)

A advertises the sale of a collectable 1932 Mercedes Benz sports car for $40,000. B sees the advertisement and decides to buy the car.

B sells stocks he owns to secure the funds he needs for the purchase price. He calls A to respond to the advertisement, and A advises that the price would in fact be $50,000. B does not have access to the extra $10,000 and has lost money on the fees associated with selling the stocks.

B seeks your advice as to whether he can require A to sell him the car for $40,000.

GAJE 2015 Simon Rice: Look, no clinic! Justice in the mainstream curriculum

The same doctrinal problem, with a justice variation

Sheena is a single mother of two children; her partner was killed in an industrial accident and she is waiting for the union to secure a compensation payment for her. She needs cash to pay for new clothes and school materials for her children, and decides to sell a family heirloom, a painting her grandfather gave her. On the advice of her brother, she advertises it for $10,000.

Oliver is an art dealer who sees the advertisement. He knows the painting is undervalued and immediately calls Sheena to buy it.

Sheena has learned from a family friend that the painting is worth closer to $30,000 and so she tells Oliver that is the new sale price. Oliver threatens to sue her for an order that she sells for the originally advertised price.

Sheena seeks your advice as to whether she is obliged to sell the painting for $10,000.

GAJE 2015 Simon Rice: Look, no clinic! Justice in the mainstream curriculum