School of
Law

LAW313 Law Review 

What is LAW313 Law Review?


LAW313 Law Review is a 4-point, full-year unit (commencing in either semester one or two) that provides an opportunity for students to learn about academic writing by editing the academic journals associated with the Murdoch Law School. (Please see Murdoch’s Handbook entry for this unit.) Academic journals publish leading articles, case-notes, case-comments and book reviews dealing with a wide range of legal issues including international trade and business law, private and public law, feminist jurisprudence, comparative law, maritime and transportation law. Enrolment is by permission of the Unit Co-ordinator;  students need to apply for enrolment in this unit by completing an application form and must nominate which journal they would like to work on. The journals published by the Law School include the International Trade and Business Law Review; the Murdoch University Law Review; The Western Australian Jurist; the Australian Journal of Gender and Law; and the Australian and New Zealand Maritime Law Journal.

What will you get out of it?


LAW313 Law Review aims to develop your research and writing skills, particularly writing for an academic legal audience. Specifically you will develop:

  • Critical reading and thinking skills; 
  • Ability to work in a collaborative fashion;
  • Professional skills and values; and
  • An eye for detail, consistency and thoroughness.

These are fundamental skills for any student who seeks to practice law. Developing these skills is also useful to students who wish to pursue a position as a judge’s associate. Experience as a student editor of a law review is seen as a prestigious accomplishment.

What do you need?

The units LAW120, LAW150, LAW152 and LAW260 are prerequisites for this unit (although can be waived at the discretion of the Unit Co-ordinator). Acceptance as a student editor is at the discretion of the Unit Co-ordinator and Academic Editor of the journal you are applying to. Academic Editors will often require students to have excellent written English skills and have a good academic record. Students must also have good computer skills and in particular be familiar with MS Word. Upon submitting your application to the Academic Editor of your chosen journal you may be required to meet with the editor or submit a sample of your written work to the editor.

What commitment is required?

  • The Unit Guide and assessment activities required in this unit is subject to change for each period of enrolment; however, they generally comprise of the following activities:
  • Editing component – This is component generally has a weighting of 50% of the marks for the unit. You are generally assessed on your ability to evaluate submissions received for publication and your ability to edit submissions accepted for publication.
  • Writing component – You are generally required to write work for potential publication in the journal. This might include one or more of the following; book review, case note or comment or an academic article or comment.
  • Activities report – You are generally required to produce an activities report logging and commenting on the activities you have undertaking in the unit. 
  • There is generally no examination in this unit. 

Although there is no formal class contact time, you are generally expected to:

  • Make yourself available to attend ‘Skills Seminars’ focusing on developing skills needed to complete the assessment activities. There are generally six weeks' worth of two-hour Skills Seminars.
  • Make yourself available to meet with the Editor of your journal or other Student Editors. The amount of meetings required varies from journal to journal – you should ask the Academic Editor of the journal you are interested in for more detail on this. 

What is the role of a student editor for the ITBLR? 

The Editor-in-Chief and creator of the International Trade and Business Law Review (ITBLR) is Prof Gabriel Moens (Pro Vice Chancellor Law, Business and IT). The Academic Editor and Associate Editor of the ITBLR is Sarah Withnall Howe.

The ITBLR is a prestigious journal and publishes leading articles, case notes and comments, as well as book reviews dealing with international trade and business law, arbitration law and comparative law. The ITBLR also devotes a section to the Willem C Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot. It provides the legal and business communities with information reflecting recent developments in international commercial arbitration, trade and business. The ITBLR contributes in a scholarly way to the discussion of these developments while being informative and of practical relevance to business people.

Students Editors of the ITBLR work under the direction of Sarah Withnall Howe as Academic Editor. While there are editorial deadlines which need to be met in order for the ITBLR to be published each January, there is some room for flexibility with due dates required for the submission of student editorial work. Besides attendance at Skills Seminars and one or two face to face meetings, work on the ITBLR can be done almost remotely. Submission and allocation of work for the ITBLR is done via email. While a knowledge of international trade and business law is certainly helpful to student editorial activities it is by no means mandatory.

If you have any further questions about being a Student Editor for the ITBLR and LAW313 Law Review in general you can contact:

Ms Sarah Withnall Howe
Associate Editor
s.howe@murdoch.edu.au
9360 6074


If you would like to talk to past Student Editors about their experiences, the following Student Editor Alumni would be happy to hear from you:

Ms Nicola Thomas-Evans
mailto:nicola.thomas.psychology@live.com

Ms Michelle Gaynor
michelle.gaynor@me.com


If you would like to apply to become a Student Editor for the ITBLR please complete the following application form.