In light of the Covid-19 pandemic, and in a departure from previous academic years and previously published information, the University has had to change the delivery (and in some cases the content) of its programmes, together with certain University services and facilities for the academic year 2020/21.
These changes include the implementation of a hybrid teaching approach during 2020/21. Detailed information on all changes is available at: . This webpage sets out information relating to general University changes, and will also direct you to consider additional specific information relating to your chosen programme.
The law relating to the family is of crucial importance to every individual whether adult or child. It is family law that regulates interpersonal relationships. Family law provides the legal framework for the establishment of marriage and civil partnerships, the dissolution of marriage and civil partnerships, the legal consequences of marriage, civil partnerships and cohabitation, the financial implications upon the dissolution of those relationships and the legal regulation of domestic violence.
School of Law
THANAPAL Vickie (Schl of Law)
Number of Credits: 15
ECTS Credits: 7.5
Framework: FHEQ Level 6
JACs code: M200
Module cap (Maximum number of students): N/A
Prerequisites / Co-requisites
Indicative content includes:
- History and development of family law: themes and trends
- The law of marriage (including same sex marriage) and civil partnership
- The law of nullity
- The law governing divorce and dissolution
- Financial provision upon separation, divorce and dissolution
- The role of child support
- The laws response to the problem of domestic violence
|Assessment type||Unit of assessment||Weighting|
|Examination||2 HOUR EXAM||100|
The assessment strategy is designed to provide students with the opportunity to demonstrate
Identification of Issues
students should demonstrate the ability to identify the legal issues raised by the questions
Analysis of the law and application
students should demonstrate the ability to analyse the relevant law, recognising gaps and inconsistencies, and should be able to apply that law to the issues raised by the questions
Evaluation and synthesis
the law should be subjected to critical analysis and, where appropriate, its wider context should be considered.
students should demonstrate the ability to draw appropriate conclusions, based upon their analysis of the issues raised by the questions
In particular, the assessment addresses all learning outcomes listed above.
Thus, the summative assessment for this module consists of:
1 x 2 hour exam where students are required to answer two questions. One essay question, and one problem question.
Formative assessment and feedback
Students will undertake 1 x formative mock exam where they will be required to answer one question in 1 hour.
‘The assessment method for each module has been selected to test a variety of key skills, competences and outcomes as required by QAA. As such, assessment method cannot be changed. Reasonable adjustment may be made on application subject to ALS approval AND only where such adjustment still allows for the required skills, key competences and outcomes to be assessed at an equivalent level.’
- To provide an understanding of the way in which family law operates in the UK and how it compares to other jurisdictions where appropriate
- To critically assess the sources of family law
- To identify and critically assess the law governing marriage, civil partnerships and cohabitation
- To understand the law concerning divorce, dissolution and separation
- To critically assess the ambit and nature of financial provision and child support
- To highlight the role of the law in dealing with the issue of domestic violence
|001||Demonstrate a critical understanding of the nature, operation and inherent values of English family law||KC|
|002||Demonstrate a critical knowledge of the doctrines and concepts which inform family law in the UK and in other jurisdictions||KC|
|003||Demonstrate a critical understanding of the nature of a family in law||KC|
|004||Identify and critically evaluate the rights (or lack thereof) of those co-habiting,||KCP|
|005||Explore and critically evaluate the status of the civil partnership in English law||KC|
|006||Critically analyse the rights of married persons upon separation and divorce||KC|
|007||Critically engage with the rights of civil partners upon dissolution of their partnership||KC|
|008||Critically assess and apply the law relating to divorce and dissolution||KCP|
|009||Critically evaluate and apply the law relating to financial provision upon separation, divorce and dissolution||KCP|
|010||Critically consider the current scope of child support and its strengths and weaknesses||KC|
|011||Critically explore and apply the current law regulating domestic violence||KCP|
|012||Critically engage in discussions regarding competing policy concerns and values which inform family law and its development, and the relationship between them, in order to be able to propose and defend solutions||KCPT|
|013||Critical engage in scholarly debate regarding family law, critically analysing the major tendencies within legal scholarship and the relationship between them||KCPT|
|014||Critically engage with and apply knowledge of the primary and secondary legal authorities to solve complex problems and answer complex essay questions which seek to resolve tensions in the competing goals and content of family law||CPT|
C - Cognitive/analytical
K - Subject knowledge
T - Transferable skills
P - Professional/Practical skills
Methods of Teaching / Learning
The learning and teaching strategy is designed to:
Introduce students to the subject areas and provide an overview to enable students to understand the basic principles and concepts. The tutorials will delve deeper into the complexities of the subject and consider key principles for the analysis of familial legal situations. Students will be provided with preliminary reading references but will be expected to undertake additional independent research into the subject. During tutorials students will be expected to demonstrate their ability to apply that research to discuss given legal problems, to demonstrate self-direction and originality in tackling and proposing solutions to such problems, and to evaluate, critically research and advance scholarship in relevant areas.
The learning and teaching methods include:
11 x 2 hour lectures and 6 x 1 hour tutorials
Indicated Lecture Hours (which may also include seminars, tutorials, workshops and other contact time) are approximate and may include in-class tests where one or more of these are an assessment on the module. In-class tests are scheduled/organised separately to taught content and will be published on to student personal timetables, where they apply to taken modules, as soon as they are finalised by central administration. This will usually be after the initial publication of the teaching timetable for the relevant semester.