| Unit name | Advanced Family Law |
|---|---|
| Unit code | LAWD30002 |
| Credit points | 20 |
| Level of study | H/6 |
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 4 (weeks 1-24) |
| Unit director | Professor. Hitchings |
| Open unit status | Not open |
| Pre-requisites |
LAWD20036 Family Law |
| Co-requisites |
None |
| School/department | University of Bristol Law School |
| Faculty | Faculty of Social Sciences and Law |
The unit will build on and extend students' knowledge by exploring key themes in family law relating to children and adults, which are subject to the competing pressures of paternalism and autonomy. In particular, in child law it will examine state support for families in need; state intervention for child protection including and the provision of substitute families by adoption. Relating to adults it will examine the extent to which individuals are able to make their own financial arrangements for themselves or their children when entering or leaving formal or informal relationships (marriage/ civil partnership/ cohabitation). It will develop students' knowledge and understanding of the role and limits of law and the state in regulating relationships between adults, and parents and children.
By the end of this unit a successful student will be able to:
• Give a clear account of case and statute law relating to: financial / property allocation on divorce/dissolution and on the breakdown of informal relationships; Public child law – the law relating to family support, child protection, state care and adoption, and the implications of arts 3,6 and 8 of the ECHR for these areas of law.
• Describe the current application of the law through familiarity with empirical research literature and case studies.
• Summarize the law, processes and practices in legal and non-legal language.
• Analyse legal problems and issues to identify potential strategies and solutions.
• Develop realistic solutions to problems through a synthesis of case law and research/ practice evidence on the operation of the law.
• Assess the application of the law and reform proposals in terms of their ability to respond to the competing rights and interests.
• Find and use primary legal materials to answer questions and extend/update their knowledge of the subjects studied through analysis/synthesis, critical judgment and evaluation.
10 lectures (including enhancement sessions) and 10 two-hour seminars
1 x formative assessment (submitted for marking), plus additional informal formative feedback opportunities as indicated by the unit coordinator.
Formative assessments do not count towards final mark and can be optional.
2 x summative assessments (50% weighting each): 2 x 2,000 word coursework. Summative assessments do count towards final mark.
The assessments will assess all of the intended learning outcomes for this unit.
