- Melbourne University Law Review
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Melbourne University Law Review Former name(s) Res Judicatae Abbreviated title (ISO) Melbourne Univ. Law R. Discipline Law Language English Edited by David Foster, Timothy Lau, Julia Wang Publication details Publisher Melbourne University Law Review Association (Australia) Publication history 1957-present Frequency Triannually Indexing ISSN 0025-8938 LCCN sf84007069 OCLC number 60630207 Links The Melbourne University Law Review is a triannual law journal published by a student group at Melbourne Law School. The journal publishes articles on all areas of law, as well as case notes, book reviews, and review essays.
Contents
Overview
The journal is one of two student-run law journals at the University of Melbourne, the other being the Melbourne Journal of International Law. Students who have completed at least one semester of law are eligible to apply for membership of the editorial board. Applicants are assessed on the basis of their performance in a practical exercise, academic aptitude, proofreading skills, editing skills and enthusiasm. The 2011 editors are David Foster, Timothy Lau, and Julia Wang.
Occasionally, the review produces a symposium issue devoted to a particular aspect of law. Past symposium issues have focused on the centenary of federation, contemporary human rights in Australia, and tort law.
Rankings
The journal has been awarded an A* ranking by the Australian Research Council, on an A*-C scale. Only six Australian law journals received this ranking. The Washington and Lee University School of Law law journal rankings has ranked the Melbourne University Law Review number one in Australia.[1]
History
The Summons
The first periodical published at the Law School at the University of Melbourne was The Summons. It appeared with the subtitle "A Magazine of Legal and General Literature" and was published by the Articled Law Clerks' Society of Victoria between 1891 and 1903. It was a yellow-covered sixteen-page journal depicting an angel with a trumpet on its cover and served as more of a current affairs magazine than an academic journal, publishing reports of moots and discussing topical issues, which at the time included the fusion of the two branches of the Victorian legal profession and the admission of women.
Res Judicatae
In 1935, the students of the Faculty of Law established Res Judicatae — roughly translated as "things that have been judicially adjudicated on" — which was intended to provide a forum for discussion and debate among students of the law. Published by the Law Students' Society of Victoria, it focused on legal journalism.
Melbourne University Law Review
In 1957, Zelman Cowen (then dean of the faculty and later governor-general of Australia) re-established the journal along the model of the Harvard Law Review and renamed it the Melbourne University Law Review. In line with prevailing American practice, the top ranking law students were invited to become members of the editorial board. In 1998, the number of issues published each year was increased from two to three.
Alumni
Notable alumni of the Melbourne University Law Review include:[2]
- Hilary Charlesworth, Law Professor at Australian National University, Editor 1979
- Gareth Evans, Former Commonwealth Minister for Foreign Affairs, Member 1965-66.
- Kenneth Hayne, Justice of the High Court of Australia, Editor 1966
- Susan Kenny, Justice of the Federal Court of Australia, Editor 1976
- Stephen McLeish, Solicitor-General of Victoria, Editor 1984
- Robert Richter, Prominent Queen's Counsel, Editor 1966
- Ronald Sackville, Former Justice of the Federal Court of Australia, Editor 1962
- John Winneke, Former Justice of the Supreme Court of Victoria, Member 1958-60
Australian Guide to Legal Citation
The Melbourne University Law Review, in collaboration with the Melbourne Journal of International Law, publishes the Australian Guide to Legal Citation. The guide provides Australia with a uniform system of legal citation, akin to the Bluebook in the United States and the Canadian Guide to Uniform Legal Citation. The AGLC was first published in 1998. The third edition was published in 2010, which significantly expanded the chapters on foreign jurisdictions. Currently, it has been adopted by over 40 law journals.
External links
References
Categories:- Australian law journals
- University of Melbourne
- Triannual journals
- Publications established in 1957
- English-language journals
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