LAWS6889 - Death Law
Objectives
- Interrogate the legal challenges arising from modern medical practices and changing social and ethical understandings about the meaning of ‘death’; ‘dying’ and ‘serious disability’.
- Examine the means by which law currently limits, regulates and investigates death and dying in Australia ( and, where relevant) selected comparator jurisdictions.
- Canvas contemporary debates about the proper role of law in determining when death occurs, the protection of dying and seriously disabled individuals, criminal responsibility for causing or assisting a person to die, the permissible uses of biological material after death occurs and the role of the Coroner.
- Assess the efficacy of current legal responses to issues around death and dying and reflect critically on possible future developments in this field.
Content
Death in contemporary Australia; the legal definition of life and death; the meaning and significance of fertility; discriminalisation of euthanasia and physician assisted suicide; withdrawing and refusing life-sustaining treatment in adults and children; the Shipman/Patel scandals; ownership of the corpse and body parts; dead donor organ transplantation; organ retention by hospitals, organ sale and theft; posthumous reproduction; ‘mercy’ killing outside medical settings and the jurisdiction of the Coroner.
Session
Semester 1 Intensive
3-4 & 17-18 April 2009
The timetable is subject to frequent changes. Please refer to the latest version of the Postgraduate Timetable.
Assessment
- 1 x Class Presentation (10%)
- 1 x 2,000 Word Presentation Paper (30%)
- 1 x 5,000 Word Research Essay or Take-Home Exam (60%)
Courses this unit is available in
Master of Laws | Graduate Diploma in Law | Master of Criminology | Graduate Diploma in Criminology | Master of Health Law | Graduate Diploma in Health Law