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The course aims to provide a sound academic grounding in key areas of Child and Family Law, including Dispute Resolution, Guardianship, Parenting Orders, Child Abduction, Child Abuse and Domestic Violence.
Child and Family Law is a core part of general legal practice, as well as being a speciality practice area. In general terms, this course will deal with the process and substantive law concerning the care of children, and will also cover issues of family violence. More specifically, the topics covered by this course will be:• Dispute Resolution (Family Dispute Resolution Service);• The Care of Children Act 2004 (guardianship, parenting orders and international child abduction);• The Adoption Act 1955;• The Children Young Persons and Their Families Act 1989;• The Domestic Violence Act 1995.
On successful completion of this course, students will be able to: Critically examine issues of principle and policy raised by New Zealand’s current child and family law framework and its operation in practice. locate, evaluate and synthesise information from a range of primary and secondary sources relevant to a given research topic. produce a written research essay that follows the conventions set out in the New Zealand Law Style Guide. identify and articulate issues arising in a multi-issue child and family law problem. apply legal reasoning to generate suitable responses to issues arising in a multi-issue child and family law problem and, if appropriate, make a reasoned choice amongst alternative responses and/or exercise professional judgment. work independently and manage their time in order to meet course deadlines.
This course will provide students with an opportunity to develop the Graduate Attributes specified below:
Critically competent in a core academic discipline of their award
Students know and can critically evaluate and, where applicable, apply this knowledge to topics/issues within their majoring subject.
(i) LAWS101; and (ii) LAWS110
LAWS317
LAWS202-LAWS206
John Caldwell
Assessment may be by way of a compulsory essay and a final examination. The assessment will be confirmed in the first week of lectures.
Henaghan, M. & Atkin, B; Family Law Policy in New Zealand ; 4th edition; LexisNexis, 2013.
Henaghan, M. et al; Family Law in New Zealand ; 18th edition; LexisNexis, 2017.
Henaghan, M. et al; Family Law in New Zealand ; 17th edition; LexisNexis, 2015.
There is no set text for this course. You will be expected to read relevant sections of statutes and the cases and articles listed on the reading list. However, to help with context, you may also like to review parts of the Recommended Reading texts which are available in the High Demand section of the Central Library.
Domestic fee $806.00
International fee $3,775.00
* All fees are inclusive of NZ GST or any equivalent overseas tax, and do not include any programme level discount or additional course-related expenses.
For further information see Faculty of Law .