Module LAW47330: CONTEMPORARY ISSUES IN BIOLAW AND BIOETHICS

Department: Law

LAW47330: CONTEMPORARY ISSUES IN BIOLAW AND BIOETHICS

Prerequisites

• None

Corequisites

• None

Excluded Combination of Modules

• None

Aims

• The general aim of this module is to cultivate a critical appreciation of the legal and ethical issues raised by the life sciences, particularly relating to health, the environment and biotechnology. Its focus is upon the law and ethics relating to human health and wellbeing within a concept of law aimed at conserving the world’s capacity to preserve life;
• It will provide a solid foundation in the key concepts, principles and theories of biolaw and bioethics. More specifically, the aims and objectives include the following:
• To examine the law's involvement with the life sciences;
• To explore how legal principles might be most effectively used in the biolaw sphere;
• To develop ethical and contextual awareness of selected biolaw topics

Content

• This module explores the ability of the law to adequately respond to ethical, social, regulatory and policy challenges raised by the life sciences;
• It is research led (reflecting the current research strengths within the Biolaw staff in Durham Law School) and will focus upon contemporary issues of biolaw and bioethics;
• Topics will include:
• An introduction to biolaw – the evolution of biolaw at the national and international level;
• An introduction to bioethics;
• The following is an indicative list of topics relating to health, the environment and biotechnology, a selection of which will be covered:
• Responding to risk;
• Health, children and parents;
• Reproductive ethics and the law;
• Health, aging and dying well;
• Human cloning and heritable genome editing;
• Clinical trials;
• Pandethics;
• Nanotechnology and nanomedicine;
• Air pollution;
• Sustainable development;
• Climate change;
• Renewable energy;
• Food law;
• Biodiversity law;
• Biotechnology patent law.

Learning Outcomes

• Demonstrate a thorough knowledge and understanding of key biolaw law themes and concepts;
• Demonstrate a detailed knowledge and understanding of the key issues of ethical controversy in biolaw;
• Demonstrate a familiarity with the relevant literature and key debates surrounding specialised areas of biolaw such as responding to risk, climate change, health throughout the life span and genome editing;
• Demonstrate a critical knowledge and understanding of how the law in England and Wales regulates health, the environment and biotechnology;
• Demonstrate a critical knowledge and understanding of how international law impacts on domestic law relating to health, the environment and biotechnology;
• Demonstrate a critical awareness of the relationship between law, ethics and medicine.

• On completion of the module, students will have the ability to:
• Articulate an advanced knowledge and understanding of a range of issues relating to how law is utilised to regulate health, the environment and biotechnology;
• Demonstrate a critical awareness and understanding of the significance of biolaw in its wider socio-economic-political context;
• Identify, analyse, evaluate and interpret the primary and secondary sources relevant to a given legal issue, and to be able to use them to reach informed and reasoned conclusions on points of law relating to health, the environment and biotechnology;
• Research cases and engage with the case law critically;
• Analyse and evaluate the existing law in the light of the legal, social, political and ethical issues raised and identify areas that may be reformed.

• Information skills – finding, interpreting and evaluating information, critical reading;
• Critical thinking and problem solving skills – critical analysis, evaluation and problem identification;
• Communication skills – academic writing, oral skills;
• Independent learning and research skills.

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

• This module will use lectures to impart information and to guide students through the material they will have to research and analyse. Through discussion-led lectures and seminars the students will be invited to draw on their existing legal knowledge and engage with domestic, international, comparative and European legal materials, as appropriate;
• Where appropriate, a flipped classroom model will be used. The module will be delivered through a range of in-person and online activities;
• Additionally students will attend three CELLS seminars (2 hours each, recorded live, but students will be invited to attend in person if possible) throughout the year, writing a blog about each for publication on the module pages, but with the best blogs being posted on the CELLS website as well. At the end of the module a workshop will reflect upon the CELLS seminars and upon the blogs written about the seminars, providing the opportunity for forward facing feedback. Students will select one of their three blogs for submission for the assessment. The blog will assess all learning outcomes;
• The second assessment will be an essay on one of the three topics with a choice of titles. The summative essay will assess all learning outcomes.

Teaching Methods and Learning Hours

Summative Assessment

Formative Assessment:

Discussion of blogs within the final seminar

■ 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