| CODE | PBL1014 | |||||||||
| TITLE | Legal Aspects for Social Work and Social Policy | |||||||||
| UM LEVEL | 01 - Year 1 in Modular Undergraduate Course | |||||||||
| MQF LEVEL | 5 | |||||||||
| ECTS CREDITS | 5 | |||||||||
| DEPARTMENT | Public Law | |||||||||
| DESCRIPTION | The philosophical and constitutional notions of law set the background to the reason and scope of all other legislation. The applicability of the law and what remedies are available within the law necessitates a working knowledge of the set-up of the courts with special reference to those cases that touch on social issues like general notions of criminal law (arrest, prosecution, sanctions) as well as general Civil law considerations. Subsequently a deeper exercise in understanding the reflection of social policy in Maltese social law is undertaken. The study unit intends to cover the key aspects of legislation related to social work practice and social policy within the broader context of principles of social welfare of the individual in society; hence education, health, social security, housing and employment, amongst others. The main contents of the study-unit are the following: (a) Philosophy of Law and Constitutional Law; (b) The Legal Order and the Justice system; (c) Employment & Industrial Relations Legislation; (d) Social Security and the Welfare State; (e) Education Policy and Legislation; (f) Health Policy and Legislation; (g) Housing Policy and Legislation. Study-unit Aims The aim of the study-unit is to expose Social Work and Social Policy students to (i) the general provisions of the Maltese legal order, and (ii) the main and most important social legislation in Malta particularly legislation on which the welfare state is based and other legislation deriving from social policy considerations. Specifically the study-unit aims to: • provide an overview of the Constitution of the Republic; • expose students to the the main penal provisions at law and reformative justice; • assure that students recognize the roles of the judiciary and other institutions; • ensure that students appreciate the link between social policy and the law; • offer students the opportunity to familiarise themselves with social legislation particularly welfare benefits, regulation of employment, education and housing; • ensure knowledge of the legal provisions pertaining to the social work profession. Learning Outcomes 1. Knowledge & Understanding: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - Understand, know and appreciate the importance of the law in society and how this relates to the profession of a social worker or a social policy expert; - Demonstrate that they understand the objectives of the law particularly in regulating the relationships between institutions and citizens as well as private relations; - Explain the link between social policy and the law; - apply the legislative framework covered in their work; - Demonstrate that they are knowledgeable in social legislation relating to areas of social policy and social work. 2. Skills: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - Demonstrate that they are able to discuss and debate legal provisions relating to their careers and general legal provisions relating to issues encountered by their future clients and employers; - Ensure their full compliance with legal provisions required particularly in the social work profession and the applicable warrant and obligations; - Ensure they able to guide at first instance their clients as to their rights and obligations in the Maltese legal orders and refer such clients to legal experts; - Keep up to date with the evolving social legislation and the deriving main benefits and entitlements due to citizens and the general public. Main Text/s and any supplementary readings • Constitution of the Republic of Malta • Criminal Code (Chapter 9) • Employment and Industrial Relations Act (Chapter 452) • Employment and Industrial Relations Act (Chapter 452) • MCESD Act (Chapter 431). • Pensions Ordinance (Chapter 93) • Social Security Act (Chapter 318) • Department of Health (Constitution) Ordinance (Chapter 94) • Mental Health Act (Chapter 262) • Civil Code (Chapter 16) • OHSA Act (Chapter 424) • Public Health Act (Chapter 465) • Public Curator Act (Chapter 299) • Housing Act (Chapter 125) • Education Act (Chapter 327) Legislation is to be downloaded from www.justiceservices.gov.mt Ashworth, A. (1991). Principles of Criminal Law. United Kingdom: Clarendon Press. Colling, T. & Terry, M. (2010). Industrial Relations: Theory and Practice. USA: Wiley-Blackwell. Cutajar, M. (2002). ‘Representation in Parliament and Governmental Stability’, LL.D. thesis, Faculty of Laws, University of Malta. Finnis, J. (2011). Natural Law and Natural Rights. United Kingdom: Oxford. Greenland, C. (2012). The Collective Agreement in Maltese Industrial Relations. Malta: Union Press. Lister, Ruth (2010). Understanding theories and concepts in Social Policy. Policy Press. Neergard, U, et. (2012) Social services of a general interest in the EU. United Kingdom: Springer. Selwyn, N. (2010). Selwyn’s Employment Law. UK: Oxford University Press. Watson, P. (2009). EU Social and Employment Law. United Kingdom: Oxford. |
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| ADDITIONAL NOTES | This study-unit is only offered to students following the B.A. (Hons) in Social Work/Social Policy course. | |||||||||
| STUDY-UNIT TYPE | Blended Learning | |||||||||
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| LECTURER/S | William Azzopardi |
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The University makes every effort to ensure that the published Courses Plans, Programmes of Study and Study-Unit information are complete and up-to-date at the time of publication. The University reserves the right to make changes in case errors are detected after publication.
The availability of optional units may be subject to timetabling constraints. Units not attracting a sufficient number of registrations may be withdrawn without notice. It should be noted that all the information in the description above applies to study-units available during the academic year 2023/4. It may be subject to change in subsequent years. |
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