2436.15 - Child Law


Course number
2436.15
Title
Child Law
ECTS
10
Prerequisites
Bachelor degree or equivalent with adequate component of law
Purpose
To give insight into the laws and legal principles governing the legal position of children, both in relation to child-parent relationships, including parental authority, access to the child etc., and parents in their relation to child protection agencies, including measures to insure the health and development of the child. Emphasis will be on the main legal rules and laws of the field, i.a. the Child Protection Act (Barnaverndarlógin), the Act on Parental Authority and access to the child (Lov om forældremyndighed og samvær), and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and the implementation of this convention in internal Faroese law. The role of the different administrative and law-making institutions will also be described, including the Faroese Parliament, the regular courts, the child protection agencies and the General Board of Child Protection (Høvuðsbarnaverndarnevndin), the institutions of the Realm (Rigsombudet), administrative boards of appeal, and the Parliamentary Ombudsman in his role as ombudsman for children.
Content
Child protection law The course starts with child protection law. Main topics in this part will be i.a.: - Basic principles in child protection law, including the purpose of the Child Protection Act, summed up in § 1. - The provisions on measures in accordance with chap. 4 of the Child Protection Act, such as - Preventive measures, including psychological assistance, support in the home, or relief parents - The competence to forcibly place children in foster care - How to choose foster parents - Visiting rights for parents after placement in foster care - Following-up on measures, including when foster care arrangements are terminated and children might be sent home again. - Investigations according to § 45 of the Child Protection Act. - Special measures for children with behavioral disorders - The authority structure with respect to child protection. - Special administrative procedures with respect to child protection, i.a. provisions on professional secrecy. Child-parent relations The course continues with the regulation on child-parent relations, including: - Deciding on parental authority, for instance in relation to divorce, joint custody agreements etc. - The content of the parental authority and how to exercise that authority, i.e. related to the co-determination and self-determination of the child. - Parental access when child and parent are separated - Decisions on the residence of the child - Rules on the responsibility of the support of the child The Convention on the Rights of the Child The course will also go through parts of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, especially - Art. 3 on the best interests of the child - Art. 12 about the right of the child to be heard in judicial and administrative proceedings - Art. 7 and 8 on the right to name and identity - Art. 9 and 16 on protection against i.a. arbitrary and illegitimate intervention in the family life of the child - Art. 19 about protecting the child from violence, negligent treatment, abuse etc. - Art. 20 and 25 on the rights of the child in relation to placement in foster care. The course will also focus on how Faroese law is complying with the provisions and duties following from the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
Learning and teaching approaches
36 hours. The main classes will consist of presentations from teacher and exercises in addition to student presentations.
Learning outcomes
The students shall be able to: - Explain the basic and particular rights of the child. - Identify questions relevant to child law in spesific cases - Find and describe the legal sources and competences in this legal field with the purpose to determine applicable law. -Explain the challenges of interpretation and the values in interpretation particularly relevant to child law. -Explain the powers and the practises of the various conflict resolution bodies and the opportunities for the parties to use these bodies. - Describe and analyse the rules of the field in light of basic human rights and basic principles relevant to child law - Draft statutes, agreements and other legal instruments in this legal area - Present and formulate knowledge and arguments in child law correctly and succinctly in eloquent and correct written language as well as oral.
Assessment method
External examiners (together with teachers) Written submissions shall count 1/3 of the mark, oral exam 2/3. Preparing for the oral exam the student will have half an hour and will be allowed to bring all the course material and other materials from the classes. The exam question will be on particular subjects raised in the course material.
Examination
External
Marking scale
7-
Contact
Bárður Larsen