UCL FACULTY OF LAWS

LLM Programme

The taught modules offered on the LLM programme vary from year to year. Please check the full list of taught modules list for details of modules running in specific academic years. We make every effort to ensure that every module will be offered, but modules are subject to change and cancellation. You are therefore advised to check this site regularly for further updates throughout the year preceding entry to the LLM programme.


CHILDREN AND THEIR RIGHTS (LAWSG037)
Credit value: 30 credits (12 ECTS)
Module Convenor:
Noam Peleg
Intercollegiate teaching: No
Teaching Method: 20 x two-hour seminars
Who may enrol: LLM students, SIL students
Prerequisites: None
Barred module combinations: None
Core module for specialism: Criminal Justice, Family and Social Welfare, Human Rights Law
Assessment
Practice Assessment: to be confirmed
Assessment method for Masters students: 3-hour unseen written examination
Assessment method for SIL students: 2-hour unseen written examination
Module Overview

Module summary

This Module will introduce and critically examine the concept of children’s rights in international human rights law, focusing on the 1989 UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. The module locates the debates about children’s rights within broader theoretical questions concerning childhood and society.

The module introduces classic and contemporary theories of childhood and covers the philosophical foundations that led to the recognition of children as human rights holders. The module covers a wide range of issues relating to children’s lives, including the child’s family, health, education, abuse and neglect, juvenile justice, citizenship and intersections of identities. A comparative analysis will be drawn between regional and domestic legal systems, in order to enable students to gain a understanding of current human rights regimes that protect children’s rights, and the different challenges of protecting children’s rights in practice.

Module syllabus

  1. Children, International Human Rights Law and Childhood Studies
  2. International Children’s Rights Law – Between Paternalism and Liberation, Empowerment and Agency
  3. The Right to Participation
  4. Children’s Citizenship Rights and the Optional Protocol of Communication
  5. The Rights to Life, Survival and Development
  6. The Principle of the Best Interests of the Child
  7. The Child’s Family – Rights and Responsibilities
  8. The Child’s Family – Adoption, Reproductive Technique and the Right to an Identity
  9. Corporal Punishment
  10. Street Children and Trafficking (optional protocol)
  11. Children’s Welfare Rights
  12. Schools’ environment and the Right to Education
  13. Children’s Health
  14. Juvenile Justice
  15. Children at the Margins
  16. Regional Mechanisms Part One – Europe
  17. Regional Mechanisms Part Two – Africa
  18. Regional Mechanisms Part Three – Americas
  19. Children’s Rights in Practice
  20. Revision

Recommended materials

There is no set text book. Seminars will be based on a series of articles and texts, which will be provided via Moodle (virtual learning environment) at the start of the academic year. Moodle cannot be accessed until enrolment in September

Preliminary reading: N/A
Other information: N/A
Prizes for this module: There are currently no prizes available for this module.


APPLICATION NOTICES

The application process for the 2013-14 academic session is open.
The deadline for applications to be received has been extended to Monday 1 July 2013

Please refer to the How to apply section for information on the application process.