ADVANCING BETTER GOVERNMENT
THROUGH TEACHING STUDENTS
PRACTICAL POLICY ENGAGEMENT
ANITA JOWITT
UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH PACIFIC
ALTA, 4 -6 JULY 2016,
VICTORIA UNIVERSITY, WELLINGTON
Oppositions
 Practical
 Theoretical
 (impractical)
 Vocational skills:
problem solving for
clients
 THE GOOD STUFF
 Jurisprudence, policy
 WASTE OF TIME/
IVORY TOWER/
REMOTE
But
 Vocations on graduation are changing
 Only a small percentage of LLB graduates now enter legal
practice
 Being able to operate in the politico-legal law reform
sphere is, in my experience as a policy practitioner,
very practical
Argument
 Law schools have an obligation to teach how to
engage in legal policy as a practical skillset
 At USP, an LLB programme outcome (like a TLO) is
 Ability
to contribute to the development of South
Pacific countries’ laws and legal systems
Argument + response
 Law schools have an obligation to teach how to engage in
legal policy as a practical skillset
 OK, but how? What does this even mean?
 For legal reasoning there are lots of models/examples to
follow (IRAC, memo to senior partner, letter of advice to
client, written submissions to court, mooting) but what
legal policy activity/assessment examples can I adapt to
my courses?
Recent policy practitioner experiences
 2013: Vanuatu Youth Parliament



Members of parliament debating mock Bills
Young – some with little schooling
Critical reasoning worksheets
Expose cognitive (critical reasoning) processes
 Allows focus on process of political law reform debate

 2013 - : Employer rep, Vanuatu Tripartite Labour
Advisory Council





Employment Relations Bill; IDA; Minimum wage setting; National
Sustainable Development Plan
Developing/expressing consensus as representative of a particular
constituency
Responding in a policy vacuum
Advocating
Academic essays NOT acceptable
Using experience to enrich teaching
 LW 305: 300 level option (formerly compulsory) on
developments in, and how to develop, law in the
Pacific
Youth parliament process
+
TLAC position papers
Assessment
 In group assume position of an NGO, reach
consensus and prepare position paper for
Minister/Parliamentary Select Committee on Bill
 3 pages max
Youth Parliament influence
 Same Bills
 Same worksheet approach as Youth Parliament
 Process:
 Is there a real issue in society that needs to be addressed?
(Context analysis)
 Is a legal response appropriate for the issue? (Goal
definition, context analysis, impact analysis)
 Does particular wording of Bill address issue appropriately?
(impact analysis, legal analysis)
TLAC influence
 Writing style
 American K12 Argumentative Standard
 Opinion writing vs
 persuasive writing vs
 argumentative writing
Student responses
 Position paper 1 done very badly
 New way of looking/thinking/expressing
 Position paper 1 could be resubmitted
 Almost all groups took this chance
 Position paper 2 done better
 No groups chose to find and respond to a real Bill or LRC
discussion paper
 Student feedback overwhelmingly positive
For 2016
 Same approach (making cognitive processes
transparent)
 Position paper 1 can do a mock Bill with worksheet
OR an issue from Vanuatu Constitution
Amendment Bill
 Position paper 2 can choose another issue from
Vanuatu Constitution Amendment Bill or any other
Bill/LRC paper
Transferable?
 Model being used by Public Intl Law lecturer in
2016 s 2 (easy pre-designed activity)
 In NZ/Australia
 Parliament has constant Select Committee calls for
submissions (and material on how to write a submission)
 Law Reform discussion papers are frequent & common
 Also extendable
 Get NGOs, political parties… involved as clients
What else to build practical policy skills?
 Example authentic policy practitioner assessments
(in a non clinical setting & without linking with
external actors)

Briefing paper from detailed policy report

Council of Ministers paper

LRC-style discussion papers

LRC-style recommendations papers