Study-Unit Description

Study-Unit Description


CODE CVL2015

 
TITLE Law of Persons

 
UM LEVEL 02 - Years 2, 3 in Modular Undergraduate Course

 
MQF LEVEL 5

 
ECTS CREDITS 4

 
DEPARTMENT Civil Law

 
DESCRIPTION This study-unit seeks to provide students with a basic understanding of the institutes relating to Family Law embodied in the Civil Code under the title “Of Persons”, to the exclusion of issues relating to marital breakdown which will be dealt with in other study-units. The topic will include notions of "family" highlighting the legal obligations between persons.

These include parental authority, acknowledgment and repudiation of children, adoption, foster care, tutorship, interdiction and incapacitation, guardianship, and acts of civil status.

Study-unit Aims

- to inform students of the law relating to persons and their relationship with other persons and the State;
- to equip students to understand the main elements of the law in practice, particularly relating to persons individually and in a relationship.

Learning Outcomes

1. Knowledge & Understanding:
By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to:

- Identify the main pertinent legislation on topics relating to law of persons;
- Establish the principle judgments dealing with law of persons;
- Better understand the legal systems historically and currently applicable in the field, taking a comparative perspective;
- Locate different legal relationships within their appropriate context;
- Assign legal rights and responsibilities to persons in keeping with their legal relationship;
- Appreciate the links between law of persons in the civil context and human rights.

2. Skills:
By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to:

- Locate and apply pertinent law relating to persons;
- Critically analyse court judgments;
- Adopt effective solutions to case law scenarios taken from practice;
- Resolve case studies relating to legal issues affecting persons;
- Extrapolate recommendations useful to the development of legal and policy measures in the law relating to persons;
- Contextualise local jurisprudence in the context of European Human Court of Human Rights case law.

Main Text/s and any supplementary readings

Laws of Malta
Chapter 12
Chapter 16
Chapter 285
Chapter 287
Chapter 410
Chapter 491

French Civil Code
Borgetto M and Lafore R., Code de l’Action Sociale et Des Familles ( 1st Ed.) Dalloz, 2005
Italian Civil Code
Civil Code of Quebec
Civil Code of Louisiana

UN Convention on the Rights of the Child

2013, Solidarity between generations, Fulchiron H. (ed) Bruylant, (ISBN 9782802739982)
2012, Farrugia R., The advent of a Divorce Law for Malta, International Family Law, (2012) IFL135-256, June 2012
2012, Farrugia R., Challenges In Balancing Parental Rights and the Child's Best Interests: A Preliminary Analysis of the Malta Divorce Referendum, International Journal of the Jurisprudence of the Family, Vol.2, pp.387-406, Hein publishing
2011, Farrugia R., The Rights of the Child whose Parent is in Prison, Children's Legal Rights Journal, Vol. 31, No. 3, pgs. 11-21 (Fall 2011).
2011, Jane Mair, Esin Örücü (eds), The Place of Religion in Family Law: A Comparative Search, Intersentia
2011, Patrick Parkinson, Family Law and the Indissolubility of Parenthood, Cambridge, ISBN 9780521116107
2010, Juxtaposing Legal Systems and the Principles of European on Parental Responsibilities, Mair J., and Örücü E. (eds.), Intersentia [ISBN ISBN 978-90-5095-979-7]
2009, Cretney and Probert's Family Law (9781847035530) London: Sweet and Maxwell
2009, Fortin J., Law In Context: Children's Rights and the Developing Law 3rd ed, ISBN 9780521698016
2009, Compilation of Texts related to Child-Friendly Justice, Council of Europe, Access of Children to Civil Justice , pp 48-64 http://www.coe.int/t/dghl/standardsetting/childjustice/childfriendly_EN.pdf
2009, Family Finance, Verschraegen B. (ed), [ISBN 978-3-902638-10-6]
2009, The continuing evolution of family law, Editors: Lowe, N. and Douglas, G. (9781846611698) Bristol: Family Law
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]
2007, Brussels II BIS - Its Impact and Application in EU Member States. Boele-Woelki, K. and Gonzalez Beilfuss, C. (Eds), Intersentia pub. [ISBN978-90-5095-644-4]
2007, Juxtaposing Legal Systems and the Principles of European Family Law: Divorce and Maintenance. E. Örücü and J. Mair (eds), Malta Chapter, Intersentia pub. [ISBN 90-5095-577-0]
2007, ALEN A. et al (eds) Children’s Rights and the Family: Children’s Rights in Family Court Proceedings, Intersentia pub. [ISBN 90-5095-640-8]
2007, Family Law – Balancing Interests and Pursuing Priorities, Wardle L. (ed.) [ISBN: 0-8377-3834-2]
2007, 100 Years of Child Protection, Meuwese S., Detrick S. and Sjaak J. (eds) Wolf Legal Publishers, [ISBN 978-90-5850-294-0]

Selected papers from journals to be advised at the start of each year and made available on the VLE

All books available or on order

 
ADDITIONAL NOTES Students taking this study-unit need to have a background in law.

 
STUDY-UNIT TYPE Lecture and Seminar

 
METHOD OF ASSESSMENT
Assessment Component/s Assessment Due Sept. Asst Session Weighting
Examination (2 Hours) SEM1 Yes 100%

 
LECTURER/S Jeanise Dalli
Lawrence Quintano
Robert Thake

 

 
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 2024/5. It may be subject to change in subsequent years.

https://www.um.edu.mt/course/studyunit