Module LAW2291: CONTEMPORARY ISSUES IN BIOLAW

Department: Law

LAW2291: CONTEMPORARY ISSUES IN BIOLAW

Prerequisites

• • Introduction to English Law and Legal Method (LAW 1121) [OR Legal Skills (LAW 1107) AND Legal System of England and Wales (LAW 1117); OR Legal Skills (LAW 1041)]; and Law of Torts (LAW1051)

Corequisites

• None

Excluded Combination of Modules

• None

Aims

• To provide a critical introduction to the relationship between law and bioscience/healthcare.
• To provide a critical introduction to major contemporary issues in healthcare and the life sciences.
• To develop critical awareness of regulatory options in relation to contemporary issues in biolaw.
• To develop research skills and contextual awareness of how law might be most effectively used in bioscience and healthcare.

Content

• This module explores the ability of the parliamentary and judicial process to adequately respond to the ethical, social and policy challenges presented by contemporary biomedicine, bioscience and healthcare.
• Knowledge will be developed and applied through engagement with four topics (two in Michaelmas term and two in Epiphany term). Topics will change annually and could address any four contemporary issues in bioscience and healthcare. Examples of the topics that could be covered include human cloning and mitochondrial replacement therapy, conscientious objection to medical activities, dignity and biolaw, medical devices, gene editing and health, surrogacy, access to medicines and patent law, free movement and access to medical services, stem cell research, and NHS redress.
• Two topics will be explored using a mock Parliamentary debate, usually in the Michaelmas term. Each of these topics will be introduced by two lectures and a seminar and then further explored using a mock parliamentary debate and a tutorial. The parliamentary debate will involve students role-playing a debate in fictional political parties over draft legislation in two sittings of the House of Commons. This will be followed by a tutorial in which students will use their acquired understanding of the topic to explore the extant law.
• Two further topics in biolaw will be explored, usually in the Epiphany term. Each topic will be introduced through two lectures and further explored in a two hour seminar led by student presentations, prepared in small groups.
• The module will provide a unique opportunity for students to become engaged with Durham CELLS (Centre for Ethics and Law in the Life Sciences), as well as to develop public advocacy and legal research skills to enhance student knowledge of legal sources and develop their ability to research the law.

Learning Outcomes

• Students should be able to:
• Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of bioscience/healthcare, legal processes and legal research.
• Demonstrate a familiarity with the relevant literature and the leading debates surrounding key issues across the four selected topics.
• Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of selected areas of substantive law.

• Students should be able to:
• Demonstrate a critical understanding of the relationships between bioscience/healthcare and legal processes.
• Demonstrate an awareness and understanding of the significance of law in its wider social context.
• Demonstrate an ability to perform legal work in a group setting.

• Students should be able to demonstrate developed research and writing skills, including the ability to work independently and to take responsibility for their own learning.

Modes of Teaching, Learning and Assessment and how these contribute to the learning outcomes of the module

• Students will be given the opportunity to consolidate, develop, present and apply the knowledge acquired through independent study. Students will be encouraged to utilise the wide range of learning resources, including electronic sources, available within the university in order to make a contribution to their learning and assessment as well as enable them to acquire key and subject-specific skills.
• A range of teaching methods will be used (lectures, one hour seminars, two hour debates, tutorials and two hour seminars), each making a distinct contribution to the module’s learning outcomes. Lectures will be used to impart knowledge and provide students with a framework for group and independent learning. One hour seminars will provide students with the opportunity to develop and assess knowledge and understanding relating to the lectures and expanded by their own research to prepare for the debates. Three hour debates will provide opportunities for students to explore the strengths and limitations of the Parliamentary process, and develop knowledge and understanding relating to the lectures and their independent research. Tutorials will provide opportunities for students to consolidate understanding and analyse and address issues not fully explored in the debates. Two hour seminars will provide students with opportunities to present and discuss the outcome of their individual and group-based research. All teaching outside of lectures will require students to display substantive knowledge, apply concepts learned, debate and develop a critical understanding of the subject.
• Students must submit summative essays that will assess knowledge and understanding relating to the lectures and their research.
• The formative assessment will be an essay relating to the first topic/parliamentary debate.
• Students will be assessed by two summative essays. The first summative essay will relate to the second topic/parliamentary debate. The second summative essay will provide students with a choice of focusing on topic three or on topic four, and may require students to write a proposal for law reform or an appeal court judgment.
• The assessments will test knowledge and understanding across the entire module. They will also test the ability to focus on the relevant legal issues and organise knowledge and argument appropriate to the topics raised. The summative essays will provide the means for students to demonstrate their acquisition of subject knowledge and the development of their problem-solving skills.

Teaching Methods and Learning Hours

Summative Assessment

Formative Assessment:

One essay of 2,000 words.

■ Attendance at all activities marked with this symbol will be monitored. Students who fail to attend these activities, or to complete the summative or formative assessment specified above, will be subject to the procedures defined in the University's General Regulation V, and may be required to leave the University