Faculties (Faculty of Law) Rules 2005

Administered by Department of Education, Science and Training

Legislation au F2005B00560 Rules Not in force Legislative Instrument

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THE AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL UNIVERSITY

 

 

FACULTIES (FACULTY OF LAW) RULES 2005

 

The Council of the Australian National University makes these Rules under section 10 of the Faculties Statute 2002.

 

Dated: 10 December 2004.

 

 

 

 

Peter Baume AO

Chancellor

Citation and commencement

1 These are the Faculties (Faculty of Law) Rules 2005.

(2) These Rules commence on 31 December 2004, immediately after the commencement of the Rules (Repeal) Rules 2004.

Definitions

2 In these Rules, unless the contrary intention appears:

Chair for a Faculty meeting, means the person presiding at the meeting.

Dean means Dean of the Faculty.

leave means long service leave, leave without pay or parental leave;

meeting means a meeting of the Faculty.

member means member of the Faculty.

Students' Association means the Australian National University Students' Association.

the Faculty means the Faculty of Law in The Faculties.

the Statute means the Faculties Statute 1999.

Faculty of Law

3 (1) The Faculty includes:

 (a) for paragraph 3 (1) (c) of the Statute, academic employees holding a standard full-time or part-time appointment in the Faculty of Law of indefinite duration or engaged on a fixed-term contract for a period exceeding 1 year

 (b) for paragraph 3 (1) (d) of the Statute:

 (i) 1 graduate student member of the Board of Studies - Graduate Program in Law assigned to the Faculty appointed or elected in accordance with the Rules;

 (ii) a member nominated by the Students' Association from among the students enrolled in courses of studies for which the Faculty is responsible who have, at the date of the nomination, been enrolled as a student at a university for not less than 1 year; and

 (iii) each student member of the Education Committee of the Faculty having full voting rights at meetings of that committee; and

 (c) for paragraph 3 (1) (e) of the Statute:

 (i) 1 member of the general staff of the Faculty appointed or elected in accordance with the Rules;

 (ii) the President of the Law Society of the Australian Capital Territory (ex officio);

 (iii) a representative of the Commonwealth Attorney-General's Department appointed by the Secretary to that Department (ex officio);

 (iv) the Head of the Law Program, Research School of Social Sciences (ex officio);

 (v) the Librarian in charge of the Law Library; and

 (vi) such other persons, not exceeding 8, as the Faculty appoints.

(2) A nominated member of the Faculty referred to in subparagraph (1)(b)(ii), holds office, subject to subrules (4) and (5), for a period of 12 months but is eligible for reappointment.

(3) A member of the Faculty referred to in subparagraph (1)(c)( vi) holds office, subject to subrules (4) and (5), for a period not exceeding 3 years, but is eligible for reappointment.

(4) If a member of the Faculty referred to in paragraph (1)(b)( ii) or  (1)(c)( vi):

 (a) dies;

 (b) declines to act;

 (c) resigns office; or

 (d) ceases to have the qualification (if any) by virtue of which he or she was appointed;

his or her office becomes vacant.

(5) If a vacancy occurs in the office of a member of the Faculty by virtue of subrule (4), a member may be appointed to the vacant office in accordance with paragraph  (1)(b)( ii), or (1)(c)(vi), as the case requires, and the member so appointed holds office, subject to subrule (4), for the unexpired portion of the term of office of the firstmentioned member.

Functions of the Faculty

4 For subsection 3 (5) of the Statute, the functions of the faculty are to encourage and maintain standards of scholarship, research and teaching, and to maintain standards of examination, in subjects within the scope of the faculty.

Powers of the Faculty

5 For subsection 3 (5) of the Statute, the Faculty may:

 (a) enrol students in the faculty; and

 (b) exempt students in the faculty from attendance at lectures, classes and practical work; and

 (c) exempt students in the faculty from part of a course of study.

Convening of Meetings

6 The Dean must convene a meeting at the written request of not less than 20% of the total number of members.

Notice of Meetings

8 (1) Not less than 7 days' notice in writing of a meeting must be given to all members other than members on leave.

Quorum

9 At a meeting, a quorum is 15 members.

Voting at Meetings

10 (1) At a meeting of the Faculty, each member present has a deliberative vote and, if there is an equality of votes, the member presiding at the meeting also has a casting vote.

(2) A member who is on leave must not vote at a meeting of Faculty.

Quorum must be present

11 (1) At a meeting, the business of the Faculty must not begin unless a quorum of the Faculty is present.

(2) At a meeting, any member may assert that a quorum of members is not present and, if the Chair, having taken a count, finds a quorum is not present then the proceedings of the meeting must be adjourned until a date to be fixed by the Chair.

Overview

The Faculties (Faculty of Law) Rules 2005 were enacted to provide a structured governance framework for the Faculty of Law at the Australian National University. These rules were made under the authority of the Faculties Statute 2002 by the Council of the Australian National University. The primary objective of these rules is to ensure the effective administration and management of the Faculty of Law, focusing on maintaining high standards of scholarship, research, and teaching, as well as upholding standards of examination. The rules outline the composition of the Faculty, its functions, and the procedures for convening and conducting meetings, thus providing a clear governance structure for the Faculty of Law. These rules commenced on 31 December 2004, following the repeal of the previous rules, to provide a contemporary and relevant framework for the Faculty's operations.

Scope and Application

The Faculties (Faculty of Law) Rules 2005, made under the Faculties Statute 2002, govern the operations of the Faculty of Law at the Australian National University (ANU). These rules apply to the various members of the Faculty, including academic employees, graduate students, student representatives, and other appointed members. The rules delineate the composition of the Faculty, specifying roles such as the Dean and the President of the Law Society of the Australian Capital Territory, among others. The Faculty is responsible for maintaining scholarly, research, and teaching standards and possesses specific powers like enrolling students and exempting them from certain academic requirements. Meetings of the Faculty must be convened by the Dean upon request from at least 20% of the members, with a quorum of 15 members required for proceedings. Voting is conducted among present members, with the Chair having a casting vote in case of ties. The rules also provide for the tenure and reappointment of members, specifying terms and conditions for their vacancies. These rules, coming into effect on 31 December 2004, aim to streamline the administrative and academic governance within the Faculty of Law at ANU.

Key Provisions

The Faculties (Faculty of Law) Rules 2005 (Rules) are made under section 10 of the Faculties Statute 2002 and govern the operation of the Faculty of Law at the Australian National University (ANU). These Rules came into effect on 31 December 2004. They outline the composition of the Faculty, its functions, and the processes for convening and conducting meetings. The Faculty is composed of academic staff, graduate students, students, and other members as specified in Rule 3. The Faculty's primary function, as per Rule 4, is to maintain high standards of scholarship, research, teaching, and examinations in subjects within its scope. The Faculty has the power to enrol students, exempt them from attendance at lectures, classes, and practical work, and from parts of a course of study as per Rule 5. The Rules impose specific obligations on the parties involved. The Dean is responsible for convening Faculty meetings at the written request of at least 20% of the total number of members, as stipulated in Rule 6. Meetings must be adequately noticed, with at least 7 days' written notice to all members not on leave, as per Rule 8. A quorum of 15 members must be present for the Faculty to conduct business, as outlined in Rule 9. At meetings, each present member has a deliberative vote, and in the case of an equal vote, the presiding member has a casting vote, as stated in Rule 10. Members on leave must not vote at meetings, and if a quorum is not present, the meeting must be adjourned, as per Rules 10 and 11. Breaches of these Rules may result in various consequences. While the Rules themselves do not explicitly outline offences or penalties, failure to comply with the procedural requirements for convening and conducting meetings, such as not providing adequate notice or failing to achieve a quorum, could lead to invalid decisions or actions by the Faculty. Such breaches might be subject to review or challenge under other applicable university policies or legislation, potentially leading to administrative or disciplinary actions. The specific legal or administrative consequences would depend on the context and the nature of the breach.

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