The ''Melbourne University Law Review'' is a triannual law journal published by a student group at

Melbourne Law School Melbourne Law School is one of the professional graduate schools of the University of Melbourne. Located in Carlton, Victoria, Melbourne Law School is Australia's oldest law school, and offers Juris Doctor, J.D., Master of Laws, LL.M, Doctor of P ...

covering all areas of law. It is one of two student-run law journals at the

University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne is a public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in Victoria. Its main campus is located in Parkville, an inner suburb ...

, the other being the ''

Melbourne Journal of International Law The ''Melbourne Journal of International Law'' (MJIL) is a biannual peer-reviewed law review associated with Melbourne Law School which covers all areas of public and private international law. It was established in 2000 and is one of two stu ...

''. 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 2022 editors-in-chief are Daniel Beratis, Danielle Feng and Deylan Kilic-Aidani. Occasionally, the journal produces a symposium issue devoted to a particular aspect of law. Past symposium issues have focused on the centenary of the

federation of Australia The Federation of Australia was the process by which the six separate British self-governing colonies of Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania, South Australia (which also governed what is now the Northern Territory), and Western ...

, contemporary human rights in Australia, and tort law. The Review's alumni include two High Court Justices, three Solicitors-General, five Federal Court judges and at least six Supreme Court judges.

Rankings

The journal has been awarded an A* ranking by the Australian Business Law Deans Council.

History

''The Summons''

The first periodical published at the Melbourne Law School 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 A magazine is a periodical publication, generally published on a regular schedule (often weekly or monthly), containing a variety of content. They are generally financed by advertising, purchase price, prepaid subscriptions, or by a combinatio ...

than an

academic journal An academic journal or scholarly journal is a periodical publication in which scholarship relating to a particular academic discipline is published. Academic journals serve as permanent and transparent forums for the presentation, scrutiny, and ...

, 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. Notable publications include C S Lewis on 'The Humanitarian Theory of Punishment', (1954) 6 Res Judicatae 224.

Owen Dixon Sir Owen Dixon (28 April 1886 – 7 July 1972) was an Australian judge and diplomat who served as the sixth Chief Justice of Australia. A judge of the High Court for thirty-five years, Dixon was one of the leading jurists in the English-s ...

on 'De Facto Officers', (1938) 1 Res Judicatae 285.

H V Evatt Herbert Vere Evatt, (30 April 1894 – 2 November 1965) was an Australian politician and judge. He served as a judge of the High Court of Australia from 1930 to 1940, Attorney-General of Australia, Attorney-General and Minister for Foreign Aff ...

on 'Amending the Constitution', (1938) 1 Res Judicatae 264. John Latham on 'The Law Student', (1938) 1 Res Judicatae 253. and the re-printing of

Frank Gavan Duffy Sir Frank Gavan Duffy, KCMG, KC (29 February 1852 – 29 July 1936) was an Australian judge who served as the fourth Chief Justice of Australia, in office from 1931 to 1935. His total service on the High Court of Australia was from 1913 t ...

's poem, 'A Dream of Fair Judges' (originally published in ''The Summons''). (1938) 1 Res Judicatae 183.

''Melbourne University Law Review''

In 1957,

Zelman Cowen Sir Zelman Cowen, (7 October 1919 – 8 December 2011) was an Australian legal scholar and university administrator who served as the 19th Governor-General of Australia, in office from 1977 to 1982. Cowen was born in Melbourne, and attended ...

(then dean of the faculty and later

governor-general of Australia The governor-general of Australia is the representative of the monarch, currently King Charles III, in Australia.Harvard Law Review The ''Harvard Law Review'' is a law review published by an independent student group at Harvard Law School. According to the ''Journal Citation Reports'', the ''Harvard Law Review''s 2015 impact factor of 4.979 placed the journal first out of 143 ...

'' and renamed it the ''Melbourne University Law Review''. In line with prevailing American practice, 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:

''Australian Guide to Legal Citation''

In collaboration with the ''Melbourne Journal of International Law'', the journal publishes the '' Australian Guide to Legal Citation''.

References

External links

* {{Official website, http://law.unimelb.edu.au/mulr Australian law journals University of Melbourne Triannual journals Publications established in 1957 English-language journals Open access journals