Unit information: Family Law in 2018/19

Unit name	Family Law
Unit code	LAWD20036
Credit points	20
Level of study	I/5
Teaching block(s)	Teaching Block 4 (weeks 1-24)
Unit director	Professor. Hitchings
Open unit status	Not open
Pre-requisites	None
Co-requisites	None
School/department	University of Bristol Law School
Faculty	Faculty of Social Sciences and Law

Description including Unit Aims

The Unit aims to develop students’ understanding of Family Law i.e. how the law regulates family relationships and the use of law to resolve disputes within families. The particular topics included relate to the creation and dissolution of family relationships (marriage, civil partnership and divorce) and parenthood (parentage, parental responsibility and children's rights). The unit will also address issues relating to the role of courts in family disputes such as contact after parental separation and protection of family members from violence. The unit will develop students’ skills in analysing and evaluating legal developments and policy initiatives relating to families.

Intended Learning Outcomes

By the end of this unit a successful student will be able to:

• Describe the legal provisions for the creation of family relationships, including relationships between parents, carers and children, and for the dissolution of marriage

• Summarise the way family law operates to resolve disputes about the care of children and relationships between adults, and to protect against domestic abuse.

• Describe the respective roles of solicitors, mediators and the courts in assisting the resolution of family disputes, by reference to case law, procedural guidance and empirical research literature

• Apply problem solving skills to issues in family law through analysis/synthesis, critical judgment and evaluation

Teaching Information

23 lectures, including two enhancement lectures and a revision lecture, plus 7 tutorials

Assessment Information

1x formative assessment of up to 1,250 words and 7 x 'mini' formatives of up to 150 words each. Formative assessments do not count towards the final mark and can be optional.

1x summative assessment: 1 x 3 hour exam in the Summer Exam Period. Summative assessments do count towards the final mark.

The assessments will assess all of the intended learning outcomes for this unit.

Reading and References

Because Family Law is a fast moving subject you should only use the latest edition. Page references will be given for the texts listed below.

• Rebecca Probert, Cretney and Probert’s Family Law (9^th ed, Sweet and Maxwell, 2015)
• Jonathan Herring, Family Law (7th ed, Longman, 2015)
• Gillian Douglas and Nigel Lowe, Bromley’s Family Law (11^th ed Oxford 2015)

Other books you may be referred to from time to time or otherwise wish to consult include:

• Herring, Probert and Gilmore, Great Debates in Family Law (Palgrave Macmillan, 2015)
• George, Ideas and Debates in Family Law (Hart, 2012)
• Cretney, Family Law in the Twentieth Century (OUP, 2005)
• Kanagas and Diduck, Family Law, Gender and the State (Hart, 2012)
• Fortin, Children’s Rights and the Developing Law (LexisNexis, 3rd ed 2009)
• Harris-Short, Miles and George, Family Law (3rd OUP 2015) (a text and materials book)
• Bainham and Gilmore, Children the modern law (Jordans 4th ed 2013)
• Eekelaar et al, Family Lawyers (Hart, 2000)
• Maclean and Eekelaar, Family Law Advocacy (Hart 2009)
• Eekelaar and Maclean, Family Justice (Hart 2013)