Legal Studies 2022 HSC exam pack

Students should:

• read the question carefully to ensure that they do not miss important components of the question
• have a clear understanding of key words in the question and recognise the intent of the question and its requirements
• use the first page of the answer booklet for an extended response to develop a plan to assist in the logical sequencing of information
• relate to the question throughout the response rather than just at the beginning
• sustain their judgements throughout the response with a clear connection to the question
• communicate ideas and information using legal terms and concepts appropriately
• present a comprehensive, logical, and sustained response
• review their response to ensure that it addresses the question requirements. 

Question 21

In better responses, students were able to:

• demonstrate knowledge of the human rights explicitly stated in the Australian Constitution, for example, the right to vote, freedom of religion.

Areas for students to improve include:

• being familiar with the human rights explicitly stated in the Australian Constitution.

Question 22

In better responses, students were able to:

• provide a clear understanding of the role of some non-government organisations (NGOs) in the promotion of human rights.

Areas for students to improve include:

• avoiding general statements about NGOs or human rights and being able to refer to actual examples of the impact of some NGOs in supporting human rights
• having a clear understanding of NGOs
• avoiding the use of the media as an example of an NGO.

Question 23

In better responses, students were able to:

• demonstrate a clear understanding of one human right
• make a clear relationship between a human right and its development to become recognised and supported
• integrate supporting evidence of the development over time including the development of legislation and case law.

Areas for students to improve include:

• expanding on the explanation of recognition over time to ensure the relationship between the human right and its’ development is evident
• moving beyond general statements to answer the question
• using relevant terms and examples to support a clear understanding of the human right and its development over time, for example, referring to international documents such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, legislation and case law.

Question 24

In better responses, students were able to:

• demonstrate a comprehensive and detailed understanding of the role of the United Nations (UN) in protecting human rights
• identify and provide succinct and well-supported reasons for and/or against the statement using relevant international and/or domestic examples
• recognise the importance of broader themes and issues regarding the role of the UN in the protection of human rights, for example, the ratification of international law and the implications of state sovereignty.

Areas for students to improve include:

• moving beyond providing general information or a summary of human rights law or contemporary human rights issues
• providing a discussion on the reasons for and/or against the statement rather than providing overall judgements
• using relevant terminology to support a justified and well-rounded understanding of the role of the UN in protecting human rights, for example, enforceability, sovereignty, accountability.

Question 25

In better responses, students were able to:

• provide clearly reasoned judgements that articulate the balancing of individual rights and community interests as relevant to the content addressed
• make a clear judgement supported by a range of legislation, cases, media, international instruments and documents
• engage with the concept of law reform as a mechanism of/or need for change
• demonstrate knowledge of law reform through reference to appropriate examples regarding the consideration of individual rights and community interests and the tensions that may exist with change.

Areas for students to improve include:

• ensuring the response includes examples of criminal law reform and the balancing of individual rights and community interests
• linking the response to the stimulus and the question
• strengthening the reason or justification for the judgement regarding criminal law reform balancing individual rights and community interests.

Question 26(a)

In better responses, students were able to:

• refer to legal responses such as Australian Consumer Law, the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal (NCAT) and case law examples
• clearly identify non-legal responses such as media and non-government consumer organisations
• support each argument with contemporary examples consistent with their judgement
• clearly assess whether legal or non-legal responses were more effective than the other in achieving justice
• engage with the statement throughout their response.

Areas for students to improve include:

• making a judgement of the effectiveness of both legal and non-legal responses in achieving justice in relation to consumers
• integrating relevant examples, such as, legislation, cases, and media references to support judgements
• providing a sustained argument throughout the response regarding the extent to which the statement is true.

Question 26(b)

In better responses, students were able to:

• explore the concept of cooperation and engage with the effectiveness of the law in encouraging it to resolve issues involving consumers
• clearly identify at least one issue concerning consumers and develop a judgement regarding the effectiveness of the law in encouraging stakeholders to cooperate to resolve it
• refer to relevant examples, such as, cases and media articles to support their judgement
• link judgements to the question.

Areas for students to improve include:

• supporting the judgement by referring to examples that support the view that the law lacks effectiveness, is somewhat effective or otherwise
• demonstrating depth of knowledge of the role of the law in encouraging cooperation to resolve at least one consumer issue or of the law being effective in other ways such as through providing legal protections and redress
• linking cooperation to either the resolving of at least one issue or the failure to resolve it
• supporting arguments with examples of relevant legislation, cases, media, international instruments, and documents.

Question 27(a)

In better responses students were able to:

• clearly reference the statement by identifying legal responses at an international level such as the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, the Montreal Protocol, and the International Court of Justice and at a domestic level such as state and federal legislation
• clearly identify non-legal responses such as media and the actions of non-government environmental organisations
• engage with the statement throughout their response to effectively make judgements of the extent to which it is true.

Areas for students to improve include:

• developing a clear an understanding of ‘justice’ in respect to global environmental protection
• including judgement, supported with evidence as to why legal or non-legal responses were more effective in achieving justice
• providing a sustained argument throughout the response.

Question 27(b)

In better responses students were able to:

• clearly identify at least one issue concerning global environmental protection to refer to in support of the judgement being made
• evaluate the effectiveness of the law in encouraging cooperation to resolve issues with reference to relevant examples of where the law or alternate non-legal measures have been used to successfully protect the global environment or otherwise
• integrate and focus on international law such as conventions, treaties, protocols and courts and domestic law, such as, federal and state laws and courts.

Areas for students to improve include:

• providing a clear judgement using criteria of to determine effectiveness.
• referring to one or more examples in support of their judgement in getting stakeholders to cooperate to resolve global environmental protection issues
• demonstrating understanding of legal measures such as, the role of courts, international and domestic law, and how they are used in resolving an issue(s).

Question 28(a)

In better responses, students were able to:

• clearly assess whether legal or non-legal responses were more effective than the other in relation to achieving justice for families on a range of issues, supported by evidence integrated throughout the response
• clearly identify non-legal responses, such as, media and non-government organisations
• provide judgements for and/or against the statement supported with evidence.

Areas for students to improve include:

• presenting a clear analysis of legal and non-legal responses
• supporting arguments with relevant legislation, cases, media, international instruments, and documents that clearly link to the argument being presented and the question
• providing a sustained argument throughout the response regarding the extent to which the statement is true.

Question 28(b)

In better responses, students were able to:

• clearly explain how the law is able to resolve specific issues concerning families by encouraging cooperation
• identify an issue concerning families and developing a judgement regarding the effectiveness of the law in encouraging stakeholders to cooperate to resolve it
• make judgements of effectiveness using evidence and the application of relevant criteria
• use reasoned arguments that integrate legal terminology and concepts.

Areas for students to improve include:

• providing a consistent judgement of the way in which the law encourages cooperation
• connecting cooperation to resolving issues and providing specific examples of cooperation such as the use of Family Dispute Resolution
• distinguishing between syllabus points such as ‘legal consequences of separation’ and the specific issues which may arise from separation, which the law then assists in resolving
• avoiding interchanging ‘compliance’ and ‘cooperation’. Compliance suggests a power imbalance where one party has more control over another, whereas, cooperation refers to a process of working together for a common goal.

Question 29(a)

In better responses, students were able to:

• make clear, informed judgements about the effectiveness of legal responses
• refer to relevant case studies, for example, the Supreme Court of Canada, legislation such as the Finnmark Act (Norway) and actions of non-government organisations, such as, Survival International in achieving justice for Indigenous Peoples
• recognise constraints in the achievement of justice such as funding, state sovereignty and political will
• use comparative language to demonstrate an understanding of the varied effectiveness of legal and non-legal responses in the achievement of justice.

Areas for students to improve include:

• explaining how international legal documents, such as, the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and International Labour Organization 169 impact on the achievement of justice
• referring to criteria such as land rights or the right to practise culture in response what the achievement of justice for Indigenous Peoples means
• supporting judgements by integrating evidence that relates to the experiences of Indigenous Peoples
• providing a sustained argument throughout the response regarding the extent to which the statement is true.

Question 29(b)

In better responses, students were able to:

• demonstrate extensive knowledge of the law in relation to Indigenous Peoples through references to a range of measures including court decisions, statutes, such as, the Marine and Coastal Area (Takutai Moana) Act (New Zealand), as well as international law such as the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples
• link their knowledge about Indigenous Peoples to the role of the law in encouraging cooperation with reference to specific issues
• demonstrate a sophisticated understanding of issues facing Indigenous Peoples globally by referring to a range of case studies.

Areas for students to improve include:

• being familiar with international case studies and examples that draw from experiences beyond those of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples
• ensuring that responses move beyond narration to make a judgement about the effectiveness of the law
• drawing clear connections between the law and its role in encouraging cooperation to resolve issues.

Question 30(a)

In better responses students were able to:

• demonstrate a detailed understanding of legal and non-legal responses in relation to content areas, such as, purchasing, tenancy, strata, and contemporary issues
• present a judgement throughout the response, recognising that some areas of shelter such as homelessness are better served by non-legal responses, while other areas such as tenancy are better addressed by legal frameworks
• engage meaningfully with the question, supporting their arguments about the achievement of justice with specific and well-chosen legal evidence.

Areas for students to improve include:

• unpacking what is meant by achieving justice such as access, fairness and equality, and how this is shown in different shelter contexts
• exploring both legal and non-legal responses to construct a view about which is more effective in achieving justice
• supporting arguments with relevant legislation, cases, media, international instruments and documents
• engaging with the ‘more effective than’ component of the statement, rather than describing legal or non-legal responses generally.

Question 30(b)

In better responses students were able to:

• select issues that enable an evaluation of the law in encouraging cooperation as well as resolving issues
• present logical judgements that well-informed by relevant legal evidence
• sustain an argument while recognising the varying effectiveness of the law in different shelter contexts.

Areas for students to improve include:

• addressing specifically the role of the law in encouraging cooperation to resolve issues, rather than providing a general evaluation of legal responses
• incorporating descriptions of cases or media reports to support an informed judgement
• unpacking judgements on the effectiveness of the law in encouraging cooperation throughout the response, rather than referring to effectiveness or justice without analysis of the law.

Question 31(a)

Students should:

• engage with the statement by considering the extent to which legal responses are more effective than non-legal responses (or not) in achieving justice in the workplace
• draw on legal responses that are effective in achieving justice such as legislation, courts and tribunals
• refer to a range of non-legal responses to support their judgements such as media and trade unions.

Areas for students to improve include:

• unpacking what is meant by ‘achieving justice’ such as access, fairness, and equality, and how this presents itself in the workplace.
• comparing the effectiveness of both legal and non-legal responses in resolving issues
• supporting judgments using relevant cases, legislation, media, documents and instruments
• providing a sustained argument throughout the response regarding the extent to which the statement is true.

Question 31(b)

In better responses students were able to:

• engage in a sustained response about how the law encourages cooperation to resolve issues in the workplace
• identify sections of the syllabus where cooperation occurs such as in negotiations for enterprise agreements
• draw on relevant workplace issues
• consistently link the law’s efforts to resolve workplace issues to an evaluation of the success of the law’s focus on encouraging cooperation
• structure their response logically by using paragraphs focusing on distinct workplace issues which occur and need to be resolved.

Areas for students to improve include:

• engaging closely with cooperation rather than compliance with the law or how workplace issues are resolved
• using relevant case studies to better support their judgement of how the law encourages cooperation to resolve disputes such as the availability of mediation
• engaging closely with cooperation rather than compliance with the law or how workplace issues are resolved
• integrating relevant legislation, cases, media, documents and instruments into the response
• using relevant examples to better support their judgement of how the law encourages cooperation to resolve disputes such as the availability of mediation.

Question 32(a)

In better responses, students were able to:

• demonstrate a broad understanding of legal responses such as the organs of the United Nations, international courts, intergovernmental organisation sand instruments, and of non-legal responses through, for example, media and non-government organisations
• integrate relevant legal case studies
• engage with the statement throughout their response to effectively make judgements of the extent to which it is true.

Areas for students to improve include:

• providing specific knowledge that is appropriate for legal and non-legal responses such as United Nations Security Council resolutions, Responsibility to Protect (R2P), Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, Non-Proliferation Treaties or Geneva Conventions
• developing a judgement regarding both legal and non-legal responses, and justice in relation to world order
• avoiding irrelevant references to human rights responses or environmental issues.

Question 32(b)

In better responses, students were able to:

• demonstrate a comprehensive understanding of the law in encouraging cooperation to resolve issues concerning world order
• select appropriate world order issues that could be related to the cooperation of sovereign states such as R2P, non-proliferation of nuclear arms, conduct of hostilities, compliance to international courts and enforceability of United Nations Resolutions
• integrate a variety of international instruments (law), cases, media reports, expert opinions and documents into their response to support their judgement of the effectiveness of cooperation compared to other methods
• use key legal phrases to support their argument such as lack of enforceability, the political will of nations states, principles of state sovereignty and the compliance to the law of the international community.

Areas for students to improve include:

• providing relevant detail about the selected issue and avoiding inappropriate issues, such as whaling and climate change
• demonstrating syllabus knowledge on the difference between the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court.
• using relevant examples such as from the media and cases to better support their judgement of how the law successfully (or otherwise) encouraged cooperation to resolve disputes.