| Unit name | Privacy Law: Theory and Practice |
|---|---|
| Unit code | LAWDM0092 |
| Credit points | 30 |
| Level of study | M/7 |
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 4 (weeks 1-24) |
| Unit director | Professor. Charlesworth |
| 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 |
This unit provides an opportunity for students to engage in an in-depth study of theories of privacy, based on discussion of key legal, philosophical and political writings on the subject. These will include writings by commentators critical of the value of privacy, such as communitarians (e.g. Amitai Etzioni), feminist legal scholars (e.g. Catharine McKinnon), and 'transparency' advocates (e.g. David Brin). Insights from such study will provide students, both during their studies and beyond, with the ability to examine critically the rationales for, and possible consequences of, accepting particular claims to 'privacy rights' within the legal sphere. Students will then undertake a comparative examination of the legal protection of privacy in a number of legal systems under the broad categories of: Physical privacy e.g. surveillance, CCTV, interception of communications; Informational privacy e.g. personal data collection, data mining, ID cards; Decisional privacy e.g. sexual autonomy, abortion.
By the end of the unit, a successful student will be able to explain:
a) basic competing theories of privacy
b) the relevance of these theories to legal studies
c) the application of these theories to specific topic areas studied In relation to c) students should be able to explain the ways in which legal systems balance privacy rights against competing rights, including freedom of speech, and public interests, such as national security, public order and prevention of crime; the treatment of privacy in different legal systems, and under the ECHR; the variety of contexts in which privacy rights may be claimed/upheld.
Students should be able to demonstrate a sound and generally accurate knowledge of a range of theoretical debates surrounding the concept of privacy; an understanding of the concepts, values, principles, rules, and procedures relating to particular examples of comparative privacy law; a critical comprehension of the political, socio-legal and economic factors that influence contemporary attitudes towards particular forms of legally-based ‘privacy claims’.
This unit is also intended to improve skills relating to research – in particular, the ability to research legal issues and areas of law.
The assessment essays provide a means of assessing:
a) what students have learned throughout the unit, in terms both of technical subject matter and modes of critical thought
b) whether students are themselves able to think critically about the law, to extract pertinent information and analysis from material gathered though desk research, and utilise these skills to create coherent and structured academic commentary.
8 x 2 hour seminars
3 x 3000 word essays
Wacks, R. (2010) Privacy: A Very Short Introduction, OUP; Schoeman, F. D. (Ed.). (1984). Philosophical Dimensions of Privacy: An Anthology. Cambridge University Press; Brin, D. (1998). The Transparent Society, Perseus Press; Etzioni, A. (1999). The Limits of Privacy, Basic Books; Solove, D. J. (2004). The Digital Person: Technology and Privacy in the Information Age, New York University Press; Nissenbaum, H. F. (2010) Privacy in context :technology, policy, and the integrity of social life, Stanford University Press
