Short Essay Information

Length: 2500 words (max.) excluding citations and quotations, footnotes and bibliography.

1. The short essay is the second of the progressive assessments for this unit, summative assessment task 2. It is worth 20% of the final mark. Detailed information about the assignment will be given with the question.

In this unit you are required to use legal citation and referencing, not Harvard referencing style (which is used in most of your other units).

The Australian

Guide to Legal Citation (AGLC) is available online at

http://www.law.unimelb.edu.au/files/dmfile/FinalOnlinePDF-­-

2012Reprint.pdf . Please note that the file cannot be printed. Printed copies can however be bought online or ordered at the Unitext bookshop at your campus. The styles as set out in the Guide must be complied with and this will be taken into account in marking.

You will also find an introductory overview of the Australian Guide to Legal Citation on the Language and Learning website in the document ‘Referencing using law style'. Legal citation style is required by the Deakin Law School

http://www.deakin.edu.au/current-­-students/study-­-support/study-­skills/handouts/lawstyle.php.

Note legal citation requires you to reference your sources in footnotes. Note that endnotes should not be used.

2. You must include a Bibliography at the end of your essay. The Bibliography should include all materials that you consult, including books, articles, and reports cases or legislation, even if you do not refer to that material in your essay.

3. You should select only seven (7) academic sources: articles or chapters from books to use as reference sources in your essay. You should cite them appropriately in your Bibliography. The prescribed textbook is not considered as reference material and will not be counted towards your 7 sources. The statutes and cited cases are also not counted as academic sources. You may read more widely than seven sources and if so the additional sources must be included in your bibliography.

4. Acceptable sources include academic journal articles, academic books. Unacceptable sources include websites (including Wikipedia), blogs, essay writing services, law Q and A sites and similar web sites. Unacceptable sources will not be counted towards your seven sources. It is the student's responsibility to check that their sources are academic sources. Many academic sources are available the library databases.

5. The Short Essay may be based on a Chapter that has not been covered in class before the due date. It is expected that you do your own research on the topic before writing your essay.

6. The title page must include:

• your name and student number

• word count

7. Please refer to the Rubric (marking guide). Make sure that you follow the guidelines carefully to avoid losing marks for unnecessary mistakes and omissions. The mark will reflect an assessment of style, structure and the content.

Short Essay Question

Australia has signed a number of trade agreements with other countries in relation to trade and investment and is currently considering signing a number of additional agreements. These agreements may be multilateral or bilateral, and may focus on trade or investment.
Commonly the agreements will include an ISDS (investor-­- state dispute settlement) clause, which provides for the settlement of disputes between investors and host countries.

The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development has called ISDS clauses a "hot topic" due to the increased number of cases brought. There are also competing views as to the effects of ISDS clauses, and the merits of such clauses. Chief Justice Robert French AC of the High Court of Australia said:

The significance of ISDS arbitral processes is global. They have general implications for national sovereignty, democratic governance and the rule of law within domestic legal systems.

Discuss the above statement. Include in your discussion:

• Who makes law in Australia and the democratic aspect of the law-­-making process in Australia

• The international arbitral process

• The effect on the power of the Australian Commonwealth Parliament of an ISDS clause in an FTA.