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Semester 2

Issues in Child Law (LAWS10160)

Subject

Law

College

CAHSS

Credits

20

Normal Year Taken

3

Delivery Session Year

2023/2024

Pre-requisites

Visiting students must have completed 3 Law courses at grade B or above, including a course equivalent to Family Law Ordinary (LAWS08126). We will only consider University/College level courses. This course is only open to visiting students who are nominated to study with us on a Law exchange agreement. Exchange students outside of Law and study abroad students are not eligible to enrol on this course before teaching begins, with no exceptions, and spaces cannot be guaranteed to those students at any time. **Please see Additional Restrictions**

Course Summary

This course will examine contemporary issues in child law, namely: childrens rights in Scotland and the UNCRC incorporation; the voice of the child; child protection in relation to online activity; the Children's Hearing System; and adoption and permanence orders. For each issue, students will be expected to carry out detailed reading and research in preparation for seminars. As the semester progresses, the issues will be drawn together to allow for wider consideration of how children's rights in Scotland have developed, and the how the status of children as rights holders now features as an enshrined principle in Scots law.

Course Description

Indicative teaching programme will consist of: 1. A general introduction and background to the issues that will be explored during the course. 2. The development of children's rights, the European influence and comparisons with other jurisdictions. 3. The status of children as rights holders and consequences of incorporation of the UNCRC into Scots law. 4. The importance of taking the views of children in decisions affecting them; the importance of developing a skillset for interviewing children as victims or witnesses in the criminal justice system. 5. The protection of children from online sexual abuse -- law and education. 6. The Children's Hearings System -- the principles, the process and the ways in which children are included at all stages. 7. The system of adoption and permanence in Scotland -- how the processes work, the involvement of children and the influence of the welfare principle on decisions. 8. Attachment Theory -- the importance of child-parent bonding, the consequences of a break in the bonding process for the developing child, and the effect into adulthood of ACEs (Adverse Childhood Experiences).

Assessment Information

Written Exam 0%, Coursework 100%, Practical Exam 0%

Additional Restrictions

This course cannot be taken alongside Family Law Ordinary (LAWS08126). **All 3rd year Law courses are ONLY open to visiting students nominated on an exchange agreement within the School of Law (including Erasmus students on a Law-specific exchange). Exchange students outside of Law, and independent study abroad students, are not eligible to enrol in these courses, with no exceptions.** Please note that 3rd year Law courses are high-demand, meaning that they have a very high number of students wishing to enrol in a very limited number of spaces. These enrolments are managed strictly by the CAHSS Visiting Student Office, in line with the quotas allocated by the department, and all enquiries to enrol in these courses must be made through the CAHSS Visiting Student Office. It is not appropriate for students to contact the Law School directly to request additional spaces. If there is sufficient space for other visiting students to enrol at the start of the semester (which cannot be guaranteed at all), visiting students must meet the pre-requisites listed above.

view the timetable and further details for this course