Centre of Medical Law and Ethics MA in Medical Law and Ethics and MA in Medical Law LAW AND ETHICS TAUGHT MODULES GUIDE

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1 Centre of Medical Law and Ethics MA in Medical Law and Ethics and MA in Medical Law LAW AND ETHICS TAUGHT MODULES GUIDE Welcome to King s. We are very much looking forward to teaching you. Module Selection Information and Deadline for Selection: We would like you to start thinking about your module choices well before semester starts. We therefore invite you to study this Law and Ethics Taught Modules Guide before you attend the Law and Ethics Induction days sessions on Tuesday 18 th and Thursday 20 th September respectively. This is because you will have to choose your modules by the end of the induction week (10.00, Friday 21 st September). This list of taught Law and Ethics modules should be read in conjunction with the Programme Structure documents provided to you. One of these relates to the MA in Medical Law and Ethics and explains the number of Law and Ethics modules that you need to take: you must take 60 credits of Law modules, 60 credits of Ethics modules and write a dissertation (in Law and Ethics) worth 60 credits. A separate document explains the structure of the MA in Medical Law. The structure of the MA programmes will be further explained at the induction sessions. Further, all of this information should be supplemented by looking at the My Reading Lists for each module, either for the compulsory modules or for those optional modules of interest to you. The general link to this information is here: You can search for any module using the module name or code (see below); once you have found the module, the 2018/19 link is the one for your attention. NB: Further module information will be available to you once you have enrolled in September, when you will have access to the College s electronic learning platform KEATS. NB: For pre-requisites, co-requisites and prohibited combinations of modules, check also the Programme Structure documents. Law and Ethics Induction days: At the Law and Ethics Induction days (Tuesday 19 th and Thursday 20 th September respectively), we will be able to answer questions about the programmes or about individual modules. It is essential that you attend these sessions. Further details about those days will be available in early September. Advance Preparation for those without a Law Background (full-time or second-year part-time): There is a special Introduction to Law tutorial on the morning of Tuesday 18 th September. You must prepare for this in advance. See the section Week 1: Introduction to Law in the Medical Law 1 My Reading List with reading and questions to consider: Rosamund Scott (Law) and Pat Walsh (Ethics) Co-Programme Directors,

2 LAW MODULES CORE MODULE: Medical Law I: Consent, Refusal and Request (7FFLG912) Taught by: Penney Lewis and Rosamund Scott (one group each) Assessment: 2-hour exam in the first week of NB: This module is compulsory for all students, unless you have previously studied a sufficient amount of English medical law to be granted an exemption by Penney Lewis or Rosamund Scott. It is also a pre-requisite for various modules: see further below, and the Programme Structure documents. The patient s right to consent to or refuse medical treatment is protected by human rights law and common law principles. This right protects the patient's self-determination, bodily integrity and dignity. In this module you study the law governing consent to treatment for competent and incompetent patients of all ages; the constituent elements of the tort of battery; refusal of treatment; and requests for treatment including the allocation of scarce medical resources and the role of the public law (judicial review). The module aims to provide students with knowledge and a critical understanding of the structure, sources and content of the law relating to medicine in England and Wales, and the fundamental doctrines and principles which underpin it. In relation to competent and incompetent patients of all ages, to promote understanding of and reflection upon the law governing consent to treatment, including the constituent elements of the tort of battery; refusal of treatment; and requests for treatment including the allocation of scarce medical resources and the role of public law (judicial review). At the end of the module students will be able to demonstrate the following: a) a systematic understanding of the legal principles relating to consent to treatment, refusal of treatment and requests for treatment. b) a critical awareness of the legal and ethical principles which operate in this area and the relevance of human rights jurisprudence. c) the ability to critically analyse and interpret the Mental Capacity Act 2005, other relevant statutes and case law and to place them in the context of the developing debate about reform. OPTIONAL MODULES: Law at the End of Life I: Assisted Dying (7FFLG907) Taught by: Penney Lewis Assessment: 3500-word essay due in April 2

3 This module seeks to provide students with knowledge and a critical understanding of the legal regulation of assisted dying in England and Wales and in a wide range of other jurisdictions, particularly those which permit some form(s) of assisted dying. At the end of the module students will be able to demonstrate the following: a) a systematic understanding of the law relating to assisted dying in both prohibitive and permissive jurisdictions b) a critical awareness of the legal and ethical principles which operate in this area and the relevance of human rights jurisprudence c) the ability to critically analyse and interpret the relevant case-law of the English courts, the European Court of Human Rights, the Supreme Courts of Canada and the US, statutory provisions, guidance issued by government, regulatory and professional bodies, and academic literature in the field. Law at the End of Life II: End of Life Decision-Making (7FFLG908) Taught by: Penney Lewis Assessment: 3500-word essay due in April NB: Medical Law 1: Consent, Refusal and Request is a pre-requisite for this module for all students who have not already studied Medical Law in England and Wales. This module aims to provide students with knowledge and a critical understanding of the legal regulation of end of life decision-making in England and Wales and in a wide range of other jurisdictions. At the end of the module students will be able to demonstrate the following: a) a systematic understanding of the law relating to end of life decision-making for both competent and incompetent patients of all ages including advance decisions, proxy decision-making, palliative care, quality of life and the definition of death b) a critical awareness of the legal and ethical principles which operate in this area and the relevance of human rights jurisprudence c) and the ability to critically analyse and interpret the relevant case-law of the English courts, the European Court of Human Rights, the Supreme Courts of Canada and the US, statutory provisions, guidance issued by government, regulatory and professional bodies, and academic literature in the field. Law and Reproduction (7FFLG914) Taught by: Rosamund Scott 3

4 Assessment: 3500-word essay due in April This module aims to provide students with comprehensive knowledge and a critical understanding of the law relating to reproduction in England and Wales, and in selected other jurisdictions, and also with an understanding of some of the key ethical issues underlying the law. The first part of the module addresses aspects of the law relating to avoiding reproduction, or deciding about the kind of child one may have, focusing on abortion, both in the England and in selected other jurisdictions, the possibility of English abortion law reform, and selective abortion. The second part covers key aspects of assisted reproduction, focusing on issues such as access to treatment, the welfare of the child, consent, donor conception, preimplantation genetic diagnosis and mitochondrial replacement therapy. At the end of the module students will be enabled to demonstrate the following: a) a systematic understanding of the legal issues relating to the themes of the module, which include a selection of the following: abortion (generally), selective abortion, prenatal diagnosis (consent issues), prenatal diagnosis (the wrongful birth cases); medically assisted reproduction (access to treatment, the welfare of the child, consent, parentage, issues of access to and disclosure of information, preimplantation genetic diagnosis, mitochondrial replacement therapy) b) a critical awareness of the legal and ethical principles which operate in this area and the relevance of human rights jurisprudence c) the ability critically to analyse and interpret the relevant case-law of the English courts, the European Court of Human Rights, the Supreme Court of the United States, relevant case law from continental Europe, statutory provisions, guidance issued by government, regulatory and professional bodies, and academic literature in the field. Mental Health Law: the Civil Context (7FFLG547) Taught by: Alex Ruck-Keene Assessment: 2-hour exam in May This module will introduce students to the principles underpinning the law relating to people with mental disabilities, of whatever nature, and will consider the rationale and possible justification for these special legal provisions. It will examine the relationship between mental health law and the law relating to those who lack mental capacity and will set the discussion in the context of developments in both European and international human rights law. It will provide students with an overview of the evolution and structure of the relevant legal provisions in England and Wales, and will equip them with the background necessary to understand the human rights, policy and clinical dilemmas raised. 4

5 Criminal Law and Mental Disorder (7FFLG920) Taught by: John Stanton-Ife and others Assessment: 2-hour exam in May This module examines various issues at the interface of mental disorder and criminal law from the perspective of the substantive criminal law and consider the philosophical and theoretical foundations of the legal doctrines with a view to evaluating those doctrines. We also consider various reform proposals, this being an area in which the Law Commission has been very active in recent years, and on occasion consider comparisons from the law of other jurisdictions. The main focus will be on the doctrine of the substantive criminal law and its theoretical foundations, though we also touch more briefly on questions of sentencing and fitness to plead. Among the topics covered will be the insanity defence, automatism, the defence of diminished responsibility and its relation to other criminal law defences such as loss of control and intoxication. We also consider some questions relating to mentally disordered persons as victim, rather than as defendant, for example we consider offences against mentally disordered persons under The Sexual Offences Act, and some of the issues that have arisen under The Theft Act, where the alleged victim is a learning-disabled person. Negligence and Misadventure (7FFLG913) Taught by: Laura Giachardi Assessment: 2-hour exam in May NB: 7FFLG912 is a pre-requisite unless exempted. In this module you will study the nature of liability in tort; the constituent elements of the tort of negligence; the general principles of tort law, such as vicarious liability and damages; the social context in which tort law operates; and possible directions of reform for compensation for medical misadventure including no-fault compensation schemes. The increasing role of the criminal law in cases of medical error is also examined, for example prosecutions for gross negligence manslaughter, corporate manslaughter and health and safety offences. Topics in Medical Law I (7FFLG921) / Topics in Medical Law II (7FFLG922) Taught by: various tutors (see below) each Semester length (two five-week topics, from either semester) combined to make one module) Assessment: For either module, students will choose two of the following topics and will be assessed in one of them by means of a 3500-word essay due in April. (See further below.) 5

6 NB: For prohibited combinations, see also the Programme Structure documents. NB: Each of these modules require that students choose two of the five-week topics below. Students who wish to take only two topics should enrol in Topics in Medical Law I 7FFLG921. This will be assessed by one 3500-word essay on one of your two chosen topics. Students who wish to take four topics should, in addition, enrol in Topics in Medical Law II 7FFLG922. If you are enrolled in both Topics in Medical Law I and Topics in Medical Law II, you will be assessed by two 3500-word essays, on any two of your four chosen topics. These modules provide students with a knowledge and critical understanding of a range of key topics in medical law. The topics from which selection can be made are as follows: Assisted Dying (5 sessions of 7FFLG907 Law at the End of Life I: Assisted Dying) Taught by: Penney Lewis NB: This module cannot be taken with Law at the End of Life I: Assisted Dying (7FFLG907). This topic will provide students with knowledge and a critical understanding of the legal regulation of assisted dying (euthanasia and assisted suicide) across a range of jurisdictions in which it is legally permissible on the basis of suffering (the Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg) or terminal illness (Oregon, Washington, Vermont, California, Colorado, Canada, Québec, and Colombia). The special case of Switzerland will also be considered. Clinical Negligence (first 5 sessions of 7FFLG913 Medical Law II: Negligence and Misadventure) Taught by: Laura Giachardi NB: This module cannot be taken with Medical Law II: Negligence and Misadventure (7FFLG913). This topic focuses on clinical negligence. It aims to provide students with knowledge and a critical understanding of the law relating to clinical negligence in England and Wales, and the fundamental doctrines and principles which underpin it. The module aims to promote understanding of and reflection upon the nature of tortious liability, with a particular focus on the central constituent elements of the tort of negligence in the context of clinical negligence. It focuses on a detailed consideration of the issues of duty, breach and causation. It also addresses the extent of institutional liability in this context. 6

7 Coroners and Inquests Taught by: Peter Thornton This topic focuses on the law and procedure of coroners, covering a comprehensive range of topics from reporting deaths, investigating cases, conducting inquests and reports to prevent future deaths. The topic will consider the importance of the role played by coroners in the administration of justice: Who are they? What do they do? And what is the purpose of their work? Law and Reproduction (5 sessions, taught separately, from 7FFLG914 Law and Reproduction) Taught by: Rosamund Scott NB: This module cannot be taken with Law and Reproduction (7FFLG914). The first part addresses aspects of the law relating to avoiding reproduction, or deciding about the kind of child one may have, focusing on abortion, primarily in the UK. The second part addresses key aspects of the law and regulation of assisted reproduction, focusing on issues such as access to treatment, the welfare of the future child, consent, preimplantation genetic diagnosis and mitochondrial replacement techniques. Mental Capacity: The Civil Context (5 sessions, taught separately, from 7FFLG547 Mental Health Law: The Civil Context (7FFLG547) Taught by: Alex Ruck-Keene NB: This module cannot be taken with Mental Health Law: The Civil Context (7FFLG547). The aim of the topic is to introduce students to the principles underpinning the law relating to mental capacity in the civil context. The topic will consider the background to, the statutory provisions relating to, and the application of the law relating to mental capacity in practice by the Court of Protection. There will be a special focus on the relationship between mental health law and the law relating to those who with impaired capacity, including consideration of whether and how the current distinction between the two frameworks can be maintained and justified. ONLY AVAILABLE TO MA IN MEDICAL LAW STUDENTS: (See further the Programme Structure document. This module is taught by Law School staff outside the CMLE.) Human Rights Law: International and Transnational Perspectives (7FFLA023) Taught by: Eva Pils and Octavio Ferraz 40 credits 7

8 Semesters 1 and 2 Assessment: Coursework: 100% (70% - Essay, 30% - Mock Submission) due April This module aims to provide students with a solid foundation in international and transnational human rights law widely conceived as one of the most important legal fields in a global context today. We cover the core of human rights protected under international law, including civil and political rights such as freedom of speech and religion, political participation, fair trial and the right not to be tortured, and social and economic rights such as health, education, housing and an adequate standard of living. The objective is to develop, over the course of the academic year, an analytical framework for understanding and critically analysing the international and transnational institutions and mechanisms in place for the protection of human rights, and to provide an effective preparation for the real-world challenges of transnational human rights practice. We begin by offering an overview of the development of the idea of human rights and the international legal institutional framework for its protection, as well as its philosophical and political underpinnings and challenges to the idea of universal human rights. We then cover the practical functioning of selected human rights monitoring mechanisms with particular emphasis on their effectiveness and the political and institutional challenges and obstacles they face. This segment will constitute the core of the course and allow students to explore the foundations of human rights and their significance in concrete interpretive contexts. PTO for Ethics modules 8

9 ETHICS MODULES All students on the MA in Medical Ethics and Law must take a total of 60 credits in medical ethics. Each 20-credit module will be assessed by a 3500-word essay. CORE MODULE: Moral Theory and Medical Ethics (7FFLG911) Taught by: Pat Walsh and Jillian Craigie (one group each) Assessment: 3500-word essay due at the start of NB: This module is compulsory for all students on the MA in Medical Ethics and Law. It is also offered to MA in Medical Law students. It is a pre-requisite for all other ethics modules. For anyone interested in the moral issues which arise in the context of medical practice and medical law, this is an important module. You will be introduced to the major theories in ethics, which will provide you with a theoretical framework for analysing a range of complex problems in medical ethics. You will develop a critical awareness of the principles and doctrines operating in this area and learn to apply them in a systematic and creative way to some of the most difficult issues facing healthcare professionals and policy-makers today. OPTIONAL MODULES: Analytic Skills for Medical Ethics Taught by: Jillian Craigie Not for credit, no assessment, no formal enrolment. This optional set of five seminars will introduce you to the basics of philosophical analysis, with the aim of developing skills that will be particularly useful in the ethics component of your programme. Topics include: reconstructing arguments; identifying standard argumentative strategies; logical fallacies; the role of thought experiments in philosophy; and special features of moral arguments. Ethics at the End of Life (7FFLG904) Taught by: Pat Walsh Credits: 20 Assessment: 3500-word essay due in April 9

10 NB: 7FFLG911 is a co-requisite unless exempted. This optional module covers a broad range of the diverse and difficult ethical issues that arise when a life is coming to an end for whatever reason. Topics include euthanasia and assisted suicide, the persistent vegetative state, the sale of organs for transplantation, dying with dignity, the care of the demented, clinical research on terminally ill patients and ageism in resource allocation. The module draws on and reinforces the theoretical background provided by the module Moral Theory and Medical Ethics by applying the different moral viewpoints analysed there to these critical issues of life and death. Disability and Enhancement (7FFLG917) Taught by: Pat Walsh Credits: 20 Assessment: 3500-word essay due in April NB: 7FFLG911 is a pre-requisite unless exempted. This module is for students who wish to increase their knowledge and develop a critical understanding of the complex moral issues arising in the context of disability. The notion of disability is one of the most contested in medical ethics. This module explores different conceptions of disability and how these differences affect both how we think about individuals with disability, and public policy. Using the examples of autism and bi-polarity it will also explore the idea of neurodiversity and cultural identity. It will also consider the concept of enhancement and moral problems raised by potential developments in enhancement technologies, particularly in the areas of cognitive improvements, and even morality. Mental Health Ethics (7FFLG918) Taught by Jillian Craigie Credits: 20 Assessment: 3500-word essay due in May Psychiatric practitioners and other mental health professionals face a set of distinctive ethical questions that link into deep philosophical issues to do with the mind and the self. This module addresses a range of central issues in the area: how to draw the boundaries of mental disorder and corresponding issues concerning diagnosis and the relevance of neuroscience; authenticity and treatment; ethical dilemmas concerning autonomy and psychopathology, particularly in relation to substituted decisions and advance directives; and the question of why mental disorder is taken to be relevant to moral and criminal responsibility. Topics in Medical Ethics I (7FFLG905) / Topics in Medical Ethics II (7FFLG906) Taught by: various tutors (see below) each 10

11 Semester length (two five-week topics, from either semester) combined to make one module) Assessment: For either module, students will choose two of the following topics and will be assessed in one of them by means of a 3500-word essay due in May. (See further below.) NB: 7FFLG911 is a pre- or co-requisite unless exempted. Each of these modules require that students choose two of the five-week topics below. Students who wish to take only two topics should enrol in Topics in Medical Ethics I 7FFLG905. This will be assessed by one 3500-word essay on one of your two chosen topics. Students who wish to take four topics should, in addition, enrol in Topics in Medical Ethics II 7FFLG906. If you are enrolled in both Topics in Medical Ethics I and Topics in Medical Ethics II, you will be assessed by two 3500-word essays, on any two of your four chosen topics. These modules provide students with a knowledge and critical understanding of a range of key topics in medical ethics. The topics from which selection can be made are as follows: Mental Disorder and Agency (five-week topic, drawn from Mental Health Ethics) Taught by: Jillian Craigie NB: This topic cannot be taken with Mental Health Ethics (7FFLG918) This topic is the second half of the full module Mental Health Ethics (see above). It covers a range of issues concerning the impact of mental ill health on agency: ethical dilemmas about autonomy and mental disorder, particularly in relation to substituted decisions and advance directives; and the question of why mental disorder is taken to be relevant to moral and criminal responsibility. These questions are explored in the context of conditions including personality disorder, dementia, depression and addiction. Justice and the Allocation of Health Care Resources (five-week topic) Taught by: Jillian Craigie In a situation of permanent scarcity of health care resources but with a National Health Service, many difficult moral problems arise about how the resources we have should be used. This course addresses these issues by examining what social justice requires and whether considerations of justice can give us a practical resolution to the problem of scarce resources. It looks at some of the decisions made by the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) and at the cost-benefit analysis behind its decision-making. 11

12 Reproductive Ethics (five-week topic) Taught by: Rosamund Scott This module addresses some of the main moral issues that arise from human reproduction. In it we will address some traditional topics within reproductive ethics, such as abortion, the beginning of life, the value of genetic ties and selection against disabilities. In addition to these topics we will also touch on novel or upcoming developments in reproductive medicine, such as mitochondrial replacement techniques and the creation of in-vitro derived gametes. Autonomy and Public Health (five-week topic) Taught by: Jillian Craigie Public health ethics is concerned with justifications for public health programmes, policies and law. Work in this area addresses population-level questions about the promotion and protection of health. This topic focuses on the core tension between individual autonomy and health. The appropriate limits of state action in promoting or preserving health are considered through the examination of: interventions that nudge ; the use of health incentives; supported decision-making and a relational understanding of autonomy; and what should be done in the context of contagious disease. Disability (five-week topic, drawn from Disability and Enhancement) Taught by: Pat Walsh NB: this topic cannot be taken with Disability and Enhancement (7FFLG917). If you do not wish to take the full 20 credit module Disability and Enhancement (see above) you may take the first half of this module as a 5-week topic on Disability, within the modules 7FFLG905/6 Topics in Medical Ethics I or II. For a description please see the entry under 7FFLG917: Disability and Enhancement. The Ethics of Clinical Research (7SSHM615) This module, offered by the Department of Global Health and Social Medicine, is also available to interested students on the MA in Medical Ethics and Law. Taught by: Silvia Camporesi 15 credits Dates: 7th-17 th May 2019 This module aims to offer students an introduction to the foundations of clinical research ethics, through the discussion of paradigmatic cases of research misconduct from post -WWII to the 12

13 present time, the analysis of national and international guidelines for clinical research, and a critical discussion of fundamental concepts in research ethics, such as autonomy, risk, benefit, clinical equipoise and exploitation. Where appropriate, case studies will be used to enhance the analysis of these concepts. Please note that this course is taught in a two-week intensive block from 7 th May to 17 th May Teaching will be each day of the week from and The course will be assessed by one 3000-word essay. If you are interested in this course you must contact the course convenor Dr Silvia Camporesi at silvia.camporesi@kcl.ac.uk. If you choose to take this module, the 15 credits gained will be in addition to the required 60 credits on the MA Medical Ethics and Law. Therefore, you should also consult your personal tutor. 13