Studying at York
Disability Street Law Clinic - LAW00091H
- Department: The York Law School
- Credit value: 20 ECTS
- Credit level: H
- Academic year of delivery: 2024-25
Module summary
This course will provide a unique opportunity for YLS students to gain knowledge, experience and skills in applied legal advocacy. In an experiential legal framework, students will work directly with grass roots disabled people's organisations ('DPOs') in jurisdictions where human rights protections are routinely repressed, including China and Hong Kong. Students will have the opportunity to engage in capacity building by drafting advices, presenting workshops, and making policy submissions to local, national and international law organisations on a broad range of disability rights issues. Students will develop transferable skills and experience in working directly with clients. Students will engage in capacity building, to foster partnerships between YLS and the wider community, including in an international context.
This module will operate as a pilot programme, to be rolled out across other human rights thematic topics. The data across these modules will be collated, and provide the basis for a project which seeks to understand how human rights may be protected in jurisdictions which repress human rights. It is envisaged that building on the success of this pilot, YLS will develop links with community partners from minority groups across a range of comparable authoritarian jurisdictions. Analysis of the ways that capacity building can strengthen human rights protections within repressive regimes will form the basis of a qualitative and / or quantitative project. This project will have high impact potential to serve as a model that brings about human rights protections and meaningful change in communities where rights are ordinarily repressed.
Professional requirements
N/A
Module will run
| Occurrence | Teaching period |
|---|---|
| A | Semester 2 2024-25 |
Module aims
- To give students an opportunity of developing further a broad range of intellectual, analytical and transferable skills to be applied in a practical way in domestic, regional and international human rights legal frameworks.
- To introduce students to more advanced methods of legal research and its practical application in an experiential learning framework.
- To deepen students use of a variety of teaching and learning styles including:
- problem-based learning.
- reflective learning.
- collaborative learning.
- To increase students capacity for self-reflection and self-improvement through the reflective learning diary.
- To build students confidence and capabilities of working on real cases for Community Partners.
- To give students an understanding how disabled people's human rights are implemented in practice, examining the intersection of domestic, regional and international human rights frameworks, to uncover the ways that disability rights are protected (or not).
Module learning outcomes
At the end of this module students should be able to
- Apply experiential learning practices by actively reflecting on a range of advanced legal skills, and identifying and implementing practicable actions for improvement. (MLO 1)
- Through a critical analysis of at least one aspect of disability law, demonstrate a clear understanding of the legal principles involved, as evidenced by documented research and legal advice. (MLO 1)
- Identify and evaluate the application of group collaboration to a student's own legal studies. (MLO 2)
- Identify the challenges and opportunities posed by the implementation of international, regional, and domestic legal instruments which govern the rights of disabled people. (MLO3)
- Demonstrate and evaluate the effectiveness of legal research practices through critical reflection on the identification of research questions, steps undertaken to gain legal knowledge, and use of that knowledge in preparing for, and performing applied legal tasks (MLO 4)
- Demonstrate and evaluate the use of effective factual and legal preparation and the implementation of a range of oral and written communication skills and techniques to achieve effective performance of a range of legal tasks. (MLO5)
- Demonstrate a positive contribution to the learning and development of your own legal skills and those of others by regular attendance and active participation in the learning activities on the DSL module (MLO6)
Module content
Week 1: Introduction to the human rights of disabled people in an international law framework.
This week, students will be introduced to the theories, history and politics of the disability human rights movement. This will be contextualised in current human rights legal frameworks, including the UN Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities. This seminar will provide context for later sessions which will focus on the application and enforcement of disabled people’s human rights.
Week 2: The application and enforcement of disabled people’s rights in a domestic context.
Students will consider the various domestic legal frameworks which are designed to protect the rights of disabled people. Students will look at mechanisms of enforcement, both in the UK, and also by reference to the foreign jurisdictions where their Community Partners (CPs) operate. Students will also consider alternative mechanisms beyond the law of rights protection, for example, the role of advocacy, NGOs, and soft law.
Week 3: Community Partner workshop 1.
This week students will meet with their CPs. They will have an opportunity to build rapport and develop the relationship as a ‘safe space’ for trust and collaboration. In small groups, students and CPs will work together to design the scope of the research / advocacy / advice that will form the basis of the group project.
Week 4: Project Mapping workshop.
With the direction of the module leader, students will work in their small groups to map and design their group project. With an emphasis on collaboration, students will identify a) key legal issues, b) relevant sources for research, c) project design, d) timelines for delivery and so on.
Week 5: Analysis of legal issues and sources.
Supported by the module leader, students will have the opportunity to more deeply consider relevant sources of law and how they will apply in their Group Projects.
Week 6: Community Partner Workshop 2.
In this workshop, students will meet with CPs and discuss progress to date on the group project. This will be a chance to check-in to ensure that students are working to produce outputs that will be useful for their CPs, and a chance to reflect on how these projects could be improved.
Week 7: Group project reflection, summative essay planning.
Taking account of CP feedback, in this week’s seminar, students will work with the module leader to fill any gaps in their group project. This may include identifying gaps in research, further refinement of legal issues, editing, writing, reviewing, etc.
Students will also bring their proposed essay topics. These will be shared with classmates for feedback and refinement.
Week 8: Formative assessment.
Students will have the chance to present their Group Projects to their classmates. In this session peer feedback will be offered and students will have an opportunity for self-reflection and improvement. Students will also have the opportunity to offer their peers constructive feedback and gain skills in communication in a collaborative, supportive environment.
Week 9: Revision of Group Project.
This will be the final chance for students to prepare their Group Projects in class. Based on formative feedback and self-reflection, students will have the opportunity to make final improvements on their work.
Week 10: Group Project Presentation to Community Partners
Students will present their Group Projects to their CPs. CPs will have the chance to ask questions and offer feedback. An aim of the module is to develop lasting relationships between YLS and the CPs. This will also be a chance to celebrate the students achievements and deepen those relationships with the CPs.
Indicative assessment
| Task | % of module mark |
|---|---|
| Essay/coursework | 20 |
| Essay/coursework | 40 |
| Groupwork | 20 |
| Groupwork | 20 |
Special assessment rules
None
Additional assessment information
1. Formative asesment
Students will have an opportunity in class to present a mock of their Group Presentation in week 8. Feedback will be offered verbally both by the module leader and peers. The timing of the formative will give the students time to make any changes to the final Group Project before presentation to CPs in week 10. Oral feedback will be provided during the seminar in week 8. Additional written feedback will be provided before the seminar in week 9 to facilitate students incorporation of feedback into their Group presentation in week 10.
In addition, formative feedback will be offered on an ongoing basis during seminar discussions and workshops with module leader. Students will receive formative feedback from CPs in their second group meeting in week 6 during the second CP workshop.
2. Summative: Group Project 40% total.
This assessment will take the form of a group project, designed in collaboration with client. The grade will be broken into two parts.
The first part will be a mark for individual contribution. This will constitute 20% of the overall grade.
In this part of the assessment, students will be assessed on
a) contribution to group effort
b) communication with client, including responsiveness to client's request and ability to follow instructions
c) participation and active engagement
Written feedback based on participation and contribution in seminars will be provided in compliance with the University's guidelines, 25 working days after the end of teaching term. The module leader will keep contemporaneous notes throughout teaching term, to ensure the accuracy of feedback provided.
The second part of the group project will be a mark awarded for the group. This will constitute 20% of the overall grade. The 1500 words project outputs are to be written as part of a collaborative joint effort. The project output is to be designed collaboration with the CP client. For example, it may take the form of a legal analysis, advocacy document, literature analysis, resource database, etc.
Students will be assessed on
a) suitability of project output to client's request for advice
b) identification of legal issues and application of law
c) application of research to skills based assessment
d) quality of legal analysis
The grade awarded will be accompanied by written feedback, in compliance with the University's guidelines, 25 working days after the conclusion of the teaching term in week 10.
3. Reflective diary 20%
In addition to developing substantive knowledge of the law, students will be required to reflect upon the advocacy skills they are developing, and the transferability of these skills. Students will be required to make 5 diary entries of around 250 words each. Each entry must be created in a different week, at the student's discretion. The aim of this assessment is to provide students with the opportunity to reflect and improve on their developing skills and capabilities.
A grade awarded will be accompanied by written feedback, in compliance with the University's guidelines, 25 working days after the submission of the reflective diary in week 11.
4. Essay 40%
Students will be required to write a research essay designed around the question posed by the client. This research essay will form the bulk of the substantive knowledge to be communicated to the client in the group project. For example, if the client made a request to understand how the right to legal capacity is to be protected in domestic law, the student might choose to write an essay on this topic. Essay topic will be workshopped and finalised in week 7 and due in assessment period. Students will be assessed on a) development of research question, b) quality of research and legal analysis, c) demonstrated understanding of substantive legal issues, and d) application of law to legal issues.
A mark and written feedback will be provided by assessment team in compliance with the University's guidelines, 25 working days after submission of the assessment.
Students will be made aware that different marking criteria applies for each of the different assessments.
Resits:
Group Work, Individual Contribution:
Students will be required to submit a 750 word submission on the benefits of individual and group learning in the context of the a experiential learning framework which takes account of substantive issues in disability law.
Group Work, Group Presentation:
A mock group project on comparable legal issues as presented by the CP will be designed by the module leader. Students will be required to write a legal analysis, comparable to those submitted as part of the Group Project in the main assessment period.
Reflective Diary:
Because students have 10 opportunities to come up with 5 diary entries, it is not envisaged that this will require a resit. In the event that more than 5 weeks of classes are missed, the module leader will design additional topics for additional reflective diary entries.
Essay:
A resit essay on a substantive area of disability law will be set by module leader during the resit period.
Indicative reassessment
| Task | % of module mark |
|---|---|
| Essay/coursework | 40 |
| Essay/coursework | 20 |
| Groupwork | 20 |
| Groupwork | 20 |
Module feedback
Students will receive feedback in the following ways:
1. Individual Contribution to Group Activities in Seminars: Assessment by way of observation will be conducted on an ongoing basis, based on participation and contribution to seminars and practicals and individual contribution in the final group presentation. A mark and written feedback will be provided.
2. Group Work for Group Presentation Output: A mark will be awarded for each group's project output, accompanied with written feedback.
3. Reflective diary: A mark and written feedback will be provided.
4. Essay: A mark and written feedback will be provided.
Indicative reading
- UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (2006)
- Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, General Comments, Concluding Observations and jurisprudence.
- Domestic Legislation, such as Equality Act 2010.
- Theresia Degener, “Disability in a Human Rights Context”, Laws, (2016) 5 (3), 35
- Amita Dhanda, Legal capacity in the disability rights convention: stranglehold of the past or lodestar for the future, 34 SYRACUSE J. INT'L L. & COM. (2006).
- Rosemary Kayess & Phillip French, Out of darkness into light? Introducing the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, HUMAN RIGHTS LAW REVIEW (2008).
- Anna Lawson and Angharad E. Beckett, “The social and human rights models of disability: towards a complementarity thesis”, The International Journal of Human Rights, (2020) 1-32
- Frances Ridout, Linden Thomas, Street Law: Theory and Practice, Bloomsbury, 2023
The lecturer will also design weekly readings appropriate to the substantive projects.