LAW 7165 - National Security Law and Technology

North Terrace Campus - Quadmester 4 - 2019

This course provides a survey of the legal and policy issues associated with the field of emerging technology and national security law. Focus areas include cyber, big data, artificial intelligence, information warfare and space. This is not a course focused on technical issues, and a technical background is not required. Rather, this course is intended to be an introduction to our ever-evolving technologies and the associated legal and policy issues. The readings and discussions will explore the gap between law and technology. It will provide an interdisciplinary approach to issues relating to technology, one that integrates key elements of law, policy, international relations, business, and a wide band of technology sectors. The instructors are US and Australian with experience in both practice and academic fields. They will provide the international legal framework as it relates to technology, relevant examples of the Australian legal context and outlook as well as survey US law and practice. The goal is to provide foundational knowledge to provide perspectives on the nature, function of law, and issues relating to the various public and private actors associated with technology in the context of national security.

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Course Details

Course Code	LAW 7165
Course	National Security Law and Technology
Coordinating Unit	Adelaide Law School
Term	Quadmester 4
Level	Postgraduate Coursework
Location/s	North Terrace Campus
Units	3
Contact	Intensive
Available for Study Abroad and Exchange	Y
Prerequisites	Students without a Bachelor of Laws must have completed LAW 7177
Assessment	Assessment in this course will include a combination of two or more of the following: interim written assessment; in-class presentation; assessment of contribution to class discussion; examination (invigilated or take-home); and/or research essay

Course Staff

Course Coordinator: Professor Melissa de Zwart

For enrolment enquiries please email lawenquiry@adelaide.edu.au

Prof Melissa de Zwart
Mr Renn Gade
Prof Harvey Rishikof

Course Timetable

The full timetable of all activities for this course can be accessed from Course Planner.

Course Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this course, students will be able to:

1. Undertake legal research at a high level of complexity.
2. Effectively structure and articulate written legal arguments.
3. Deploy advanced skills in statutory interpretation to resolve complex legal problems arising in relation to National Security Law.
4. Analyse a complex factual scenario and identify the relevant legal issues arising in relation to National Security Law
5. Articulate complex legal arguments orally.
6. Identify and evaluate relevant ethical and moral issues in legal situations arising in relation to National Security Law.

University Graduate Attributes

This course will provide students with an opportunity to develop the Graduate Attribute(s) specified below:

University Graduate Attribute	Course Learning Outcome(s)
Deep discipline knowledge informed and infused by cutting edge research, scaffolded throughout their program of studies acquired from personal interaction with research active educators, from year 1 accredited or validated against national or international standards (for relevant programs)	1,4, 6
Critical thinking and problem solving steeped in research methods and rigor based on empirical evidence and the scientific approach to knowledge development demonstrated through appropriate and relevant assessment	3,4, 5
Teamwork and communication skills developed from, with, and via the SGDE honed through assessment and practice throughout the program of studies encouraged and valued in all aspects of learning	2,5, 6
Career and leadership readiness technology savvy professional and, where relevant, fully accredited forward thinking and well informed tested and validated by work based experiences	1, 6
Intercultural and ethical competency adept at operating in other cultures comfortable with different nationalities and social contexts able to determine and contribute to desirable social outcomes demonstrated by study abroad or with an understanding of indigenous knowledges	6
Self-awareness and emotional intelligence a capacity for self-reflection and a willingness to engage in self-appraisal open to objective and constructive feedback from supervisors and peers able to negotiate difficult social situations, defuse conflict and engage positively in purposeful debate	6

Learning Resources

Required Resources

Course readings will be provided via MyUni prior to the course.

Learning & Teaching Modes

This course will be taught intensively Monday 18 November to Friday 22 November 10am-5pm.

Workload

The information below is provided as a guide to assist students in engaging appropriately with the course requirements.

The University expects full-time students (i.e. those taking 12 units per semester) to devote a total of 48 hours per week to their studies. This means that you are expected to commit approximately 9 hours of private study in addition to your regular class.

Learning Activities Summary

Monday 18 November	Course Intro, Australian Legal Context, U.S Legal Context, Ethics and Emerging Technologies
Tuesday 19 November	Encryption
Wednesday 20 November	AI and Big Data
Thursday 21 November	Information Warfare, Social Media and Influencing
Friday 22 November	Fakes, Revision and Overview

All students will be expected to undertake pre-reading prior to the course which will be provided in advance of the week of classes.

The University's policy on Assessment for Coursework Programs is based on the following four principles:

Assessment must encourage and reinforce learning.
Assessment must enable robust and fair judgements about student performance.
Assessment practices must be fair and equitable to students and give them the opportunity to demonstrate what they have learned.
Assessment must maintain academic standards.

Assessment Summary

Assessment Task	Task Type (Group or Individual)	Due	Weighting	Length	Redeemable	Course Learning Outcome
Class participation	Individual	End of week of intensive class	10%	N/A	No	1,3,4.5,6
Short Issues paper	Individual	29 November 2019	30%	2000 words	No	1,2,3,4,6
Research Essay	Individual	2 January 2020	60%	4000 words	No	1,2,3,4,6

Assessment Detail

Class Participation: Students will have ample opportunity to participate in class discusison. In addition, there will be at least one in class exercise where students will have the opportunity to present their considered analysis. Numerous legal, ethical and policy issues will be presented throughout the course and students will have ample opportunity to develop their own perspectives and to articulate those perspectives. Please note that this mark will be principally based on quality of engagement not frequency of engagement.

Short Issues Paper: The scope of this topic is large and there will be numerous legal, ethical and policy issues encountered through the course. Students will be required to identify a particular issue that has resonance with them and to write a 2000 word paper examining that particular issue.

Research Essay: While students will be free to design any relevant (and approved) topic they would like, selected possible topcs will be presented progressively through the course for consideration. These proposed topics will be mostly based on the themes that attract particular student engagement during the week. All topics must be approved by the Course Coordinator by the last day of the course.

Submission

Students must retain a copy of all assignments submitted.

The essay and short issues paper must be submitted in accordance with the specific directions contained in the essay instructions which will be made available on MYUni.

Extentions: Requests for extensions must be made electronically, according to law school policy.

Extensions will be granted only for unexpected illness, hardship or on compassionate grounds in accordance with University Policy. Work commitments, travel, holidays or sporting engagements for example are not unexpected circumstances.

Late submission: 5% of the total mark possible will be deducted for every 24 hours or part therof that it is late, including a day on a weekend. For example, an essay that is submitted after the due date and time but within the first 24 hour period, and that has been graded at 63%, will have 5% deducted, for a final grade of 58%. An essay that is two days late will receive a penalty of 10%, three days late a penalty of 15% etc.

Word length - 5% penalty for every 100 words that exceed the word limit. Applied to the total mark as illustrated in the formula above.

Course Grading

Grades for your performance in this course will be awarded in accordance with the following scheme:

M10 (Coursework Mark Scheme)
Grade	Mark	Description
FNS		Fail No Submission
F	1-49	Fail
P	50-64	Pass
C	65-74	Credit
D	75-84	Distinction
HD	85-100	High Distinction
CN		Continuing
NFE		No Formal Examination
RP		Result Pending

Further details of the grades/results can be obtained from Examinations.

Grade Descriptors are available which provide a general guide to the standard of work that is expected at each grade level. More information at Assessment for Coursework Programs.

Final results for this course will be made available through Access Adelaide.

Finality of Assessment Grades

Students are advised that Course Coordinators will not enter into negotiations of any kind with any student regarding changes to their grades. It is irrelevant, in any given circumstance, that only a minimal number of additional marks are required to inflate a student’s grade for any individual assessment item or course as a whole. Pursuant to the University’s Assessment for Coursework Programs Policyand the Adelaide Law School Assessment Policies and Procedures, grades may only be varied through the appropriate channels for academic review (such as an official re-mark).

Moderation

In accordance with the University’s Assessment for Coursework Programs Policy, course coordinators ‘ensure that appropriate marking guidelines and cross-marking moderation processes across markers are in place’ in each course. Procedures adopted by Adelaide Law School to ensure consistency of marking in courses with multiple markers include:

assurance of the qualifications of markers, and their knowledge of the content covered in each course;
detailed marking guidelines and assessment rubrics to assist in the marking of items of assessment;
sharing of example marked assessments at various grade bands across markers;
reviewing of selected marked assessments from each marker by the course coordinator;
comparison of the marks and their distribution across markers;
automatic double-marking of all interim assessment receiving a fail grade, and of final assessments where a student’s overall result is a fail grade;
the availability of re-marking of assessments in accordance with Adelaide Law School’s Assessment Policies and Procedures.

Approval of Results by Board of Examiners

Students are reminded that all assessment results are subject to approval (and possible moderation/change) by the Law School’s Board of Examiners. Assessment results at the University are not scaled. Under the Assessment for Coursework Programs Policy, students are assessed ‘by reference to their performance against pre-determined criteria and standards … and not by ranking against the performance of the student cohort in the course’. However, under that same policy, the Board of Examiners (as the relevant Assessment Review Committee for courses at Adelaide Law School) is required to ‘ensure comparability of standards and consistency’ in assessment. On occasions, the Board of Examiners will form the view that some moderation is required to ensure the comparability of standards and consistency across courses and years, and accordingly provide fairness to all law students. All assessment results are therefore subject to approval (and possible change) until confirmed by the Board of Examiners and posted on Access Adelaide at the end of each semester.

Student Feedback

The University places a high priority on approaches to learning and teaching that enhance the student experience. Feedback is sought from students in a variety of ways including on-going engagement with staff, the use of online discussion boards and the use of Student Experience of Learning and Teaching (SELT) surveys as well as GOS surveys and Program reviews.

SELTs are an important source of information to inform individual teaching practice, decisions about teaching duties, and course and program curriculum design. They enable the University to assess how effectively its learning environments and teaching practices facilitate student engagement and learning outcomes. Under the current SELT Policy (http://www.adelaide.edu.au/policies/101/) course SELTs are mandated and must be conducted at the conclusion of each term/semester/trimester for every course offering. Feedback on issues raised through course SELT surveys is made available to enrolled students through various resources (e.g. MyUni). In addition aggregated course SELT data is available.
Student Support
The course is constantly being updated and revised to reflect the evolution of the law, to respond to student feedback, and to engage with the latest teaching practices. Student feedback is collected each time the course is run, including through SELT reports. Previous SELT reports, and staff feedback on them, are posted on the course MyUni site for students to view and consider. The University Writing Centre provides academic learning and language development services and resources for local, international, undergraduate and postgraduate coursework students enrolled at the University of Adelaide.

The centre offers practical advice and strategies for students to master reading, writing, note-taking, time management, oral presentation skills, referencing techniques and exam preparation for success at university through seminars, workshops and individual consultations.

Lex Salus Program
Lex Salus (law and wellbeing) is an initiative of the Adelaide Law School aimed at destigmatising mental health issues; promoting physical, mental and emotional wellness; building a strong community of staff and students; and celebrating diversity within the school. It also seeks to promote wellness within the legal profession, through the involvement of the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of South Australia, the Honourable Chris Kourakis, as the official Patron of the program.

Students can participate in the Lex Salus program by attending barbecue lunches, pancake breakfasts, knitting and crochet circles, seminars, guest speakers, conferences and other activities. Our Facebook page, website and regular all-student emails promote upcoming events, and have tips and information on wellness.

Our Lex Salus YouTube channel also includes videos on topics like managing stress, and interviews with LGBTQ lawyers and their supporters which celebrate diversity and individuality. Students who commit to 10 hours of volunteering with Lex Salus in one year can have their service recognised on their academic transcript and through a thank you morning tea with the Chief Justice and law school staff.

Student Life Counselling Support
The University’s Student Life Counselling Support service provides free and confidential service to all enrolled students. We encourage you to contact the Student Life Counselling Support service on 8313 5663 to make an appointment to deal with any issues that may be affecting your study and life.
Policies & Guidelines
This section contains links to relevant assessment-related policies and guidelines - all university policies.
Academic Honesty
Academic dishonesty is a serious act of academic misconduct. All students must be familiar with the University’s Academic Honesty Policy.

Academic dishonesty is a serious matter and is treated as such by the Law School and the University. Academic dishonesty (which goes beyond plagiarism) can be a ground for a refusal by the Supreme Court of South Australia to admit a person to practice as a legal practitioner in South Australia.

Academic honesty is an essential aspect of ethical and honest behaviour, which is central to the practice of the law and an understanding of what it is to be a lawyer.
Fraud Awareness

Students are reminded that in order to maintain the academic integrity of all programs and courses, the university has a zero-tolerance approach to students offering money or significant value goods or services to any staff member who is involved in their teaching or assessment. Students offering lecturers or tutors or professional staff anything more than a small token of appreciation is totally unacceptable, in any circumstances. Staff members are obliged to report all such incidents to their supervisor/manager, who will refer them for action under the university's student’s disciplinary procedures.

The University of Adelaide is committed to regular reviews of the courses and programs it offers to students. The University of Adelaide therefore reserves the right to discontinue or vary programs and courses without notice. Please read the important information contained in the disclaimer.

Authorised by:	Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Vice-President (Academic)
Maintained by:	Course Outlines Administrator