Social justice
At the Sydney Law School, we think teach, research, and engage in the social justice dimensions of law. We appreciate the social context in which law operates, and law’s potential to both enable and constrain, to both liberate and oppress.
Critical perspectives in the classroom, experiential learning in a variety of social contexts, and co-curricular activities, give students the opportunity to explore law’s power and potential.
Social justice opportunities for students
Students can volunteer to conduct legal research for NGOs and public agencies in support of their activity. Through the Law Reform Support Program, we partner with community and public legal agencies.
Students work in teams, in their own time, on a project of their choosing with the advice of a Law School academic, to support the law reform efforts of community and public sector agencies. These agencies are over-worked and under-resourced, and often lack the time or resources to carry out the research necessary to support their law reform efforts.
Students respond to briefs from partner agencies to research and report on current and emerging law reform issues. This co-curricular activity enables you to apply your skills and knowledge in support of efforts to improve the legal system.
Past projects include barriers to justice for Indigenous peoples and people with a disability, mental health care for prisoners, and regulation of retirement communities.
You can study issues of law and social justice for credit in one of our Law clinics. The clinical units enable you to apply classroom knowledge to real-world issues, to reflect on development as a social justice lawyer, and to develop skills in applied researching and client interaction.
Students will be on a day-a-week placement with our partner community legal centres and other social justice organisations, complemented by classroom study of the theory and practice of law in the public interest and for social justice.
The Sydney University Law Society (SULS) has a number of social justice activities for students to participate in, including a Juvenile Justice mentoring program.
The Sydney Innovation Program brings students together from across the University, working together to design solutions to global challenges.
Previous challenge topics have centred around sustainability, public health, automated-decision making and institutional integrity.
Research
Our researchers are working together to tackle some of the big issues in social justice, equality, human rights, policy reform.
Professor Simon Rice OAM