Children and the Law - JURD7492
Faculty: Faculty of Law
School: Faculty of Law
Course Outline: See below
Campus: Sydney
Career: Postgraduate
Units of Credit: 6
EFTSL: 0.12500 (more info)
Indicative Contact Hours per Week: 3
Enrolment Requirements:
Pre-requisite: 36 UOC of JURD courses for students enrolled prior to 2013. For students enrolled after 2013, pre-requisite: 72 UOC of JURD courses.
Excluded: LAWS3392
CSS Contribution Charge: 1 (more info)
Tuition Fee: See Tuition Fee Schedule
Further Information: See Class Timetable
Description
The law affects the lives of children and families in myriad ways. This course is designed to give students exposure to a wide range of legal issues that affect children including:
- The role of law in the lives of children and families,
- Child development,
- Theories of children's rights,
- Care and protection,
- Legal representation of children,
- Domestic and inter-country adoption,
- Issues affecting indigenous children,
- International child abduction, and
- Consent to medical treatment.
Recommended Prior Knowledge
There is no pre-requisite for this course, however for students with an interest in Family Law, Human Rights, Indigenous Issues, Medical Law or International Law, this course allows further exploration of those areas with specific reference to children.
Course Objectives
Students are expected to achieve the following learning outcomes:
- Identify the ways in which law can affect children's lives.
- Think critically about different philosophical approaches to children's rights.
- Recognise the institutions and people who exert power or influence over children.
- Demonstrate an understanding of children's needs and development and the ways in which these are relevant to the legal practitioner.
- Evaluate the effectiveness of international treaties and domestic legislation designed to protect children.
- Demonstrate an ability to think critically and to justify ideas in a reasoned manner.
- Communicate effectively, in speaking and in writing.
- Gain an understanding of the possible career paths available for lawyers interested in working with children.
Main Topics
- Role of the law in the lives of children and families
- Constructions of childhood
- Child development
- Child rights
- Care and protection
- Adoption
- International child abduction
- Voice of the child and representation of children in court proceedings
- Medical treatment of children
- Indigenous children and the law
Assessment
Class participation (worth 20%, compulsory and non-maximisable)
In-class test (worth 20%)
Final exam or research essay (worth 60%)
In-class test (worth 20%)
Final exam or research essay (worth 60%)
Course Texts
There is no set textbook for this course. Compulsory reading material will be issued for each class via Moodle.