Practice Makes Perfect: Building Statutory Research Skills for Students

Statute law is of “huge and growing importance” to the study and practice of law, with very few areas of law that are not significantly regulated by statutes. This places statutory interpretation at the forefront of the law degree, prompting law schools in their curricula to lay a solid foundation and build ongoing skills around the interpretation of statutes. The Council of Australian Law Deans (CALD) defines statutory interpretation as referring to “the body of law governing the determination of the legal meaning and effect of legislation”. So, what role can law library professionals play in this space? At Monash University, the interpretation of statutory provisions is taught in law units such as Foundations of Law, Public Law and Statutory Interpretation, Criminal Law, Corporations Law, amongst others. Librarians and learning skills advisers teach research and writing skills, so are well placed to ensure that law students acquire and practice skills relevant to legislative research and writing. This works in tandem with the law units taught, so establishing a partnership with the relevant lecturers is a key to success.