Course Catalogue

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This course is designed to provide students with an overview of legal approaches to specific issues concerning the human rights of children across a range of jurisdictions. The course will evaluate the influence of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) and the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) on children's rights jurisprudence in the UK and comparative European and international systems of law.

Weekly two-hour seminars (with a reading week) throughout semester 2.

This course is only available to LLB students.

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At the end of the semester, students will take a two-hour exam worth 100% of the overall mark. (Note: an opportunity will be given in week 6 or 7 of the semester for students to sit a formative exam question, which will be marked and returned with personal written feedback).

Reassessments are normally available for all courses, except those which contribute to the Honours classification. Where, exceptionally, reassessment on Honours courses is required to satisfy professional/accreditation requirements, only the overall course grade achieved at the first attempt will contribute to the Honours classification. For non-Honours courses, students are offered reassessment in all or any of the components of assessment if the satisfactory (threshold) grade for the overall course is not achieved at the first attempt. This is normally grade D3 for undergraduate students and grade C3 for postgraduate students. Exceptionally it may not be possible to offer reassessment of some coursework items, in which case the mark achieved at the first attempt will be counted towards the final course grade. Any such exceptions for this course are described below. 

This course is designed to provide students with an overview of legal approaches to specific issues concerning the human rights of children across a range of jurisdictions. This will allow students to critically engage with children's rights jurisprudence in the UK and comparative European and international systems of law.

Further aims are:

(i) to enhance the analytical and critical skills of students by detailed examination of the relevant international, domestic and comparative legal instruments, bodies, case law and related literature.

(ii) to develop students' ability to constructively criticise comparative legal developments on a breadth of comparative issues concerning the human rights of children, including the child's identity, family life, interactions with civil and criminal law.

(iii) to provide students with a critical understanding of contemporary issues and ongoing debates in the context of children's rights in the UK and across comparative European and international systems of law.

(iv) to give the students an opportunity to undertake independent research on Issues of contemporary significance in the field.

By the end of this course students will be able to:

(i) identify and appraise significant issues relating to law and legal policy concerning the human rights of children in the UK and comparative European and international systems of law.

(ii) evaluate the role international instruments, such as the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child and the European Convention on Human Rights, play upon developing children's-rights based law and jurisprudence.

(iii) critically assess contemporary legal approaches on key issues impacting upon children and their rights in Scots and UK law and in other jurisdictions.

(iv) identify and comment upon areas of discussion and debate in the context of the developing children's rights law, commentary and literature.

Completion of the summative assessment.