Assessment item 4 - Diagnostic Study: Compliance with Legal Obligation
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Value: 40%
Due Date: 25-May-2020
Return Date: 17-Jun-2020
Length: 4000
Submission method options: EASTS (online)
TASK
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Another role of Legal Advisers in Customs is to examine whether or not your legislation and practice and procedure properly reflect international commitments which you have either accepted already or intend to accept. In this assignment, which is your major piece of work for the Subject, you will be asked to consider the extent to which your Customs law and procedure gives effect to one of the United Nations Conventions discussed in Module 9.

(Please note this means that the WTO and WCO Conventions which you have studied are not included in this assignment. Note too that as you are studying CITES in one of your Activities, it is preferable that you do a different Convention for this assignment unless you have strong reasons for doing CITES (e.g. it is related to your current workload.)
You may choose a Convention to which your country is already a party, or you may choose one to which you are not yet a party. This diagnostic study requires you to identify the specific obligations that your country has accepted or would be required to accept and which Customs would be required to implement, to assess the extent to which your existing domestic law and practice are compliant with those obligations (situation analysis) and propose measures to overcome those instances where you are not compliant (gap analysis). It should conclude with a summary of your recommendations and any next steps which you regard as necessary. You will be asked to explain both where it is compliant and where it is non-compliant and to propose suitable measures to ensure full compliance in future. This will require you to analyse carefully the interaction between international obligations accepted by your Government and implemented by Customs, and the domestic law and/or procedures under which Customs acts.
This assignment is to be prepared as an academic paper rather than a brief and of course requires due and appropriate referencing and bibliography. It should examine both law and practice and, where relevant, identify case studies which show the law in action. These case studies should support your argument as to whether you are compliant or non-compliant with the Convention in question. You may use tables and diagrams to assist in your analysis, but the body of the paper should be written as a narrative essay.

Your brief should be structured in 4 parts as follows:

Part 1 – Introduction – Up to 500 words
Outline the purpose of the report, the Convention which you have chosen, and the current state of your Government’s commitment to that Convention. Explain the purpose of the Convention, and those provisions which Customs would be expected to implement.

Part 2 – Situation analysis – Up to 1600 words
Analyse the extent to which your current law and practice give effect to those Customs-related obligations which you have identified in part 1. Show clearly where you think that the current law and practice are in accordance with the Convention and where you think that they are not in accordance. Draw on relevant case studies to support your conclusions.

Part 3 – Gap analysis – Up to 1400 words
Where you have identified non-compliance, explain what legislative or procedural change would be necessary to ensure compliance. Where legislative changes are proposed, indicate where in the legislation those changes should be made and what form they should take. Consider whether changes other than legislative change might achieve the required result. (If you have concluded in the situation analysis that there is full compliance, you should still consider whether legislative or procedural change might assist Customs to carry out its obligations more effectively.)

Part 4- Conclusions – up to 500 words
Conclude your paper by summarising your conclusions and making clear recommendations as to what steps should be taken next.
RATIONALE
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This assessment task will assess the following learning outcome/s:
• be able to identify and critically assess the sources of international customs law including key international instruments affecting Customs operations
• be able to apply the principles of international customs law to situations that they may face as customs officials
• be able to analyse critically issues that may arise in the customs environment in the context of international legal requirements
• be able to make advanced level, independent judgements concerning the administration of customs procedures in conformity with the rules of international law
• be able to demonstrate an ability to contribute to policy-making processes which impact on customs practice and procedure with appropriate reference to relevant international conventions
• be able to identify and evaluate critically customs law issues and their implications for regulatory practice.
• be able to formulate appropriate and well-developed approaches to policy, practice and procedure in accordance with international legal requirements and obligations and be able to communicate those approaches to others.
To assess your understanding and knowledge of the linkages between international law and domestic legislation and practice, to deepen your understanding of the particular Convention that you have analysed and to develop your skills to undertake a diagnostic study of this type.
This assignment will contribute to your progress towards achieving all the CSU graduate learning outcomes and in particular:
• Professional Practice, Academic Literacy & Numeracy and Information & Research Literacies