Sydney Law School

Sydney Law School

Shield of Sydney Law School
Established 1855
School type Public
Parent endowment A$1.8 billion
(2013)
Dean Joellen Riley
Location Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Enrollment 3,300[1]
Faculty 78 (permanent) [2]
Website sydney.edu.au/law

Sydney Law School (informally Sydney Law or SLS) is the law school at the University of Sydney, Australia's oldest university. Sydney Law School began a full program of legal instruction in 1890 following the appointment of its first Dean, having offered legal examinations since 1855.[3]

Sydney Law School has produced many leaders in law and politics, including current Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and five other Prime Ministers, four Federal Opposition Leaders, two Governors-General, nine Federal Attorneys-General and 24 Justices of the High Court, more than any other law school in Australia. The school has also produced 24 Rhodes Scholars and several Gates Scholars. Sydney Law School has won the prestigious Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition on four occasions: in 1996, 2007, 2011 and 2015.[4]

In 2016, the QS World University Rankings ranked Sydney Law School 2nd in Australia and 11th in the world.[5] The Social Science Research Network ranks Sydney Law School as 1st in Australia and 5th in the world in the number of views and downloads of academic papers which have been uploaded to its website.[6]

Sydney Law School has approximately 1,700 undergraduate students; 1,500 postgraduate coursework students; and 100 postgraduate research students. There are now 24 chairs, including the Challis Chairs of Law, Jurisprudence and International Law. In 2010, the School replaced its graduate-entry LL.B. degree with the Juris Doctor degree. The LL.B. degree remains as part of an undergraduate double degree program. Sydney Law School offers a dual degree arrangement with the University of Cambridge and the University of Oxford.[7]

History

University rankings
Sydney Law School
QS World[8] 11
Australian rankings
QS National[9] 2

The law school was inaugurated in 1855 and established by the Act to Incorporate and Endow the University of Sydney 1850 (NSW) and an 1855 University Senate by-law, becoming the third faculty (after the Faculty of Arts and Sydney Medical School) of the University of Sydney.

The Faculty of Law commenced its work in 1859, primarily as a body of assessment and examination rather than teaching. In 1890, the first chair was appointed to the faculty and a full legal academic programme commenced at the Faculty.

Prior to 2011, Sydney Law School was the sole School under the Faculty of Law, under the College of Arts and Humanities, one of the three constituent Colleges of the University. As part of a re-organisation of faculty organisation, in 2011 the Faculty of Law was renamed Sydney Law School, adopting the better-known name of its sole School.[10]

Campus

St. James Campus

Old Law School building

The Law School building on Phillip Street in the centre of Sydney's legal and business district was the home of the Sydney Law School until early 2009. While the faculty is now located in the New Law School building on the main Camperdown campus of the university, some classes and other functions continued to be hosted on the St. James campus until 2015, and students could still submit assignments there. As of 1 July 2015, the building is no longer owned by the University and the Law School's CBD operations have been relocated to 133 Castlereagh Street, Sydney.[11]

The campus is bounded by Elizabeth, King, and Phillip Streets and is opposite the Supreme Court of New South Wales. The building consists of 13 dedicated levels, three of which are underground. Level four is the ground entrance level and houses the assembly hall, a foyer, and some offices; levels one and two house "Harvard-style" lecture theatres; level three houses a staff car park and other amenities; level five housed University of Sydney Union premises, including the office of the Sydney University Law Society (SULS), until their relocation to the New Law School Building on the Main Campus at Camperdown and Darlington. The Sydney University Law Library and the Faculty of Law's information desk were located on levels seven to ten and twelve, respectively. These facilities have since relocated to level zero to one and level three of the New Law Building, respectively.

The building was constructed in 1969 in the brutalist architectural style. Busts of classical orators and jurists adorn the Phillip Street entrance, while the University of Sydney crest is found on the Elizabeth Street and Phillip Street entrance. The St. James campus is located near St. James railway station and Martin Place railway station and is serviced by a bus stop outside its entrance on Elizabeth Street.

New Law School building

New Law School building

The Sydney Law School has changed location several times in the past but has always remained in the centre of the city because of the tradition of teaching by practitioners, and for easy access to the courts and members of the profession. However, with the increased number of enrolled students, the campus in the city was no longer sufficient for both staff and students and hence, the faculty proposed to shift the law school to the main campus in Camperdown.[12] Consequently, a new law school was constructed at the main Camperdown campus, adjacent to Fisher Library and on the site of the former Edgeworth David Building. Completed in February 2009, the faculty administration began occupation in mid-February, prior to classes beginning in early March.

On 30 April 2009, the New Law School Building was officially opened by Governor-General of Australia Quentin Bryce. Also in attendance were Robert French, Chief Justice of the High Court of Australia; Murray Gleeson, immediate past Chief Justice of the High Court; Jim Spigelman, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of New South Wales; and Malcolm Turnbull, leader of the Federal opposition.[13] Numerous seminars and other sessions were held as part of the building's opening day program.[14]

The design and construction of the New Law School Building were each performed by local Australian firms, namely FJMT (Francis-Jones Morehen Thorp) Architects and Baulderstone Pty Ltd, respectively.[15] The building is in the style of late-20th-century International Style architecture and is characterised by its blue tint glass exterior walls.[16]

Academics

Herbert Smith Freehills Law Library

Programs

The Sydney Law School offers the LL.B. (combined degree undergraduate-entry) and the J.D. (graduate-entry) as professional degrees in addition to higher-research degrees, namely the M.Crim. by Research, LL.M. by Research, Ph.D., and S.J.D.[17] In addition to this, the law school offers postgraduate coursework degrees/diplomas and non-degree/-diploma study in specialist areas of law and government, for both law and non-law graduates.[18]

Sydney Law School also offers a dual degree arrangement with the University of Cambridge and the University of Oxford.[7] The Pathways Program enables high-achieving students to commence a BCL at Oxford or LLM at Cambridge in lieu of their final semester.[19]

Publications

The following publications are produced by the Sydney Law School Law Publishing Unit:

Student organisations

Two student organisations operate in association with the Sydney Law School. The Sydney University Law Society (SULS), formed in 1902, represents all law students at the University. The Chinese Law Students Society (CLSS), formed in 2004, provides services with a more international outlook.[20]

A number of other student societies at the University of Sydney also cater to law students. These include the Korean Law Students Society at the University of Sydney (KLUS), which caters to Korean ethnic students, formed in 1997, the St. Thomas More Society, which caters to Catholic students, and the Sydney University Evangelical Union (SUEU) Law Faculty, which caters to Evangelical/Protestant students.

Notable alumni

In its over 150-year history, the Sydney Law School has produced a prominent group of alumni.

Notable faculty

Deans

  1. 1890–1910: Pitt Cobbett
  2. 1910–1942: John Peden
  3. 1942–1946: James Williams
  4. 1946–1947: Clive Teece (acting)
  5. 1947–1973: Keith Shatwell
  6. 1974–1977: David Benjafield
  7. 1978–1979: Dyson Heydon
  8. 1980–1985: John Mackinolty
  9. 1986–1989: Colin Phegan
  10. 1990–1992: James Crawford
  11. 1992–1993: Alex Ziegert (acting)
  12. 1993–1994: Colin Phegan (acting)
  13. 1994–1997: David Weisbrot
  14. 1998–1999: Ros Atherton (acting)
  15. 1999–2002: Jeremy Webber
  16. 2002–2007: Ron McCallum
  17. 2007–2012: Gillian Triggs
  18. 2012–2013: Greg Tolhurst (acting)
  19. 2013–Present: Joellen Riley

Notable professors

References

  1. ↑ "Sydney Law School website - History".
  2. ↑ "Sydney Law School website - Academic Staff".
  3. ↑ The University of Sydney. History - Sydney Law School. Retrieved 14 May 2013
  4. ↑ "International Law Students Association: The Future of International Law: Jessup Archives". International Law Students Association.
  5. ↑ "QS World University Rankings by Subject 2016: Law". Top Universities. QS.
  6. ↑ "SSRN Top 500 International Law Schools". Social Science Research Network, Top 500 International Law Schools List. 2015. Retrieved 13 March 2015.
  7. 1 2 http://sydney.edu.au/law/about/international/international_pathways.shtml
  8. ↑ "QS World University Rankings 2016/17". Quacquarelli Symonds Limited.
  9. ↑ "QS World University Rankings 2016/17". Quacquarelli Symonds Limited.
  10. ↑ Implementation Report - University of Sydney
  11. ↑ "CBD Campus". Sydney Law School. University of Sydney. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
  12. ↑ "The Law School Shift" (PDF). Sydney Law School. 2015. Retrieved 1 April 2015.
  13. ↑ "Sydney Law School Open Day - 30 April 2009 - Sydney Law School - The University of Sydney". Sydney Law School. Retrieved 31 May 2013.
  14. ↑ "Sydney Law School Building Opening - 10am-3pm, Thursday 30 April - Sydney Law School - The University of Sydney". Sydney Law School. Retrieved 31 May 2013.
  15. ↑ "Faculty of Law, The University of Sydney". Retrieved 31 May 2013.
  16. ↑ "Sydney Architecture Images- New Law School, Sydney University". Sydney Architecture. Retrieved 31 May 2013.
  17. ↑ "Research Programs @ Sydney Law School - Future students - The University of Sydney". Sydney Law School. Retrieved 31 May 2013.
  18. ↑ "Postgraduate Law @ Sydney - Future students - The University of Sydney". Sydney Law School. Retrieved 31 May 2013.
  19. ↑ http://sydney.edu.au/law/fstudent/undergrad/international_pathways.shtml
  20. ↑ Sydney Law School - Student Societies

Further reading

Coordinates: 33°52′08″S 151°12′39″E / 33.869008°S 151.210762°E / -33.869008; 151.210762

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