This course picks up where the introductory courses Australian Public Law and Commonwealth Constitutional Law leave off. We will look at constitutional law in further detail, focusing on how Australia and other democracies use constitutional law – both written and unwritten – to regulate the democratic process (elections, referendums, parliaments, political parties, etc). 

We especially consider attempts to use law to improve the practice of democratic politics – for example, to make politics less partisan, more fair and equal, more rational, or more democratic. We also consider whether such legal solutions have met with success or have tended to raise new problems of their own. Looking at international comparisons will help to answer questions about whether alternative constitutional systems for regulating democracy have been effective overseas, and whether or not they could be adopted in Australia.