| CODE | CVL5030 | |||||||||
| TITLE | Advanced Studies in Family Law | |||||||||
| UM LEVEL | 05 - Postgraduate Modular Diploma or Degree Course | |||||||||
| MQF LEVEL | Not Applicable | |||||||||
| ECTS CREDITS | 5 | |||||||||
| DEPARTMENT | Civil Law | |||||||||
| DESCRIPTION | This study-unit aims to augment the information provided in the Family Law (CVL2010) study-unit and provide students with a deeper understanding of the institutes relating to Family Law. Students will have the opportunity to take a closer look at contemporary notions of family within family law by focusing on a number of issues including marriage, separation, annulment, parental responsibility, adoption, alternative care for children, and civil status matters. The study-unit will draw its sources from current and proposed legal provison and will emphasise the impact of court judgements on the interpretation of the law making particular reference to the decisions of the European Court of Human Rights in cases regarding Articles 8 and 14 of the European Convention on Human Rights. Students will also be encouraged to explore the links between family law and other disciplines which impact directly on the application and interpretation of issues relating to family. A reading list highlighting contemporary papers in legal journals and/or texts will be made available prior to each lecture and students will have the opportunity to share their critique in a seminar context. Experts who have written on a particular area of family law may be invited to share their expertise and respond to students’ queries. Learning Outcomes On completion of the study-unit students should have: - have enhanced their knowledge of specific topics in Family Law; - be able to critically analyse related legal practice and court judgments; - be able to apply comparative and contemporary legal developments to case studies set for their consideration. As the study-unit is seminar based students will also improve their oral and written presentation skills which will contribute to their professional formation. Reading List [Readings set for each seminar session to be advised according to schedule] Amato P., Children’s Adjustment to divorce: Theories, hypotheses, and empirical support, Journal of Marriage and the Family, 1994 Boele-Woelki K., The principles of European family law: its aims and prospects, http://www.utrechtlawreview.org/ Volume 1, Issue 2 (December) 2005 Dey I. and Wasoff F., Mixed Messages: Parental Responsibilities, Public Opinion and the Reforms of Family Law, International Journal of Law, Policy and the Family, 20 (2006) 225-248 Diduck A., Family Law and Family Responsibility, in Bridgeman J., Keating H. and Lind C. (eds), Responsibility, Law and the Family, pp 252, 2008, Ashgate Edwards R. and Gillies V, Support in Parenting: Values and Consensus Concerning Who to Turn To, Journal of Social Policy 2004 Farrugia R., in T Asser Institute, Comparative study on enforcement procedures of family rights, JLS/C4/2005/06, Annex 21 National Report Malta, http://ec.europa.eu/civiljustice/publications/docs/family_rights/malta_en.pdf Farrugia R., 2008, Impact of EU Legislation on Maltese Family Law – National Family Commission, Malta, Research on the Family Series No.2 [ISBN 978-99932-0-591-3] Farrugia R., 2002, Council of Europe, “Legal Problems relating to Parentage” XXVIIth Colloquy on European Law, Foundation for International Studies, ISBN 92-871-3852-4 Fiorini A., Rome III – Choice of Law in Divorce, Is the Europeanisation of Family Law going too Far?, International Journal of Law, Policy and the Family, 22, (2008)178-2005 Jacobs M., Why Just Two? Disaggregating Traditional Parental Rights and Responsibilities to Recognize Multiple Parents, Michigan State University, Research Paper No. 05 - 04 http://ssrn.com/abstract=1012333 McGlynn C., Families and the European Union, Cambridge, 2006 McEleavey P., The new child abduction scheme in the EU, Journal of Private International Law, April 2005 Willoughby Stone T., Margin of Appreciation Gone Awry: The European Court of Human Rights’ Implicit Use of the Precautionary Principle in Fretté v. France to Backtrack on Protection from Discrimination on the Basis of Sexual Orientation, Conn. Pub. Int. L. J. [Vol. 3, No. 1] Selected Case Law: Wallova and Walla v Czech Republic, (App. 23848/04), Judgment of the 26/03/07. Halpern v Attorney General of Canada [2003] O.J. No.2268 Hatton and others v. UK (App. 36022/97), Judgment of the Grand Chamber of 8 July 2003 Johnston and others v. Ireland, Judgment 18 December 1986, Ser. A, No. 112 Marckx v. Belgium, Judgment of 13 June 1979, Ser. A, No. 31 Rees v. United Kingdom, Judgment of 17 October 1986, Ser. A, No. 106. Cossey v. United Kingdom, Judgment of 27 September 1990, Ser. A, No 184 Goodwin v. United Kingdom (App. 28957/95), Judgment of 11 July 2002 I. v United Kingdom (App. 25680/94), Judgment of 11 July 2002 Frette v France, (App. 36515/97), Judgment of 13 June 1997) Keegan v. Ireland, Judgment of 26 May 1994, Ser. A, No. 290 E.B. v France, (App. 43546/02), Judgement of 22 January 2008 |
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| ADDITIONAL NOTES | This study-unit is only offered to Law students and erasmus students who take law as one of their areas of study. | |||||||||
| STUDY-UNIT TYPE | Lecture | |||||||||
| METHOD OF ASSESSMENT |
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| LECTURER/S | Ruth Farrugia |
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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 2025/6. It may be subject to change in subsequent years. |
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