Short Course Description
Genealogy (study of family history or tracing family lineages) is an important tool in legal proceedings for deciding in inheritance disputes, issues involving restitution of property looted by the Nazis, restitution of absentee property held by the State, and is a tool frequently used by the Courts in estate and inheritance cases.
Genealogy aims to answer the question what is the deceased's family lineage and the order of death of relatives, so the Court can determine which relatives are entitled to receive a share of the estate and what their share will be.
In this course, we will examine the applicable and desirable laws and rules together with a critical examination of the forensic applications of genealogical research. This will be in light of inheritance laws (the circle of individuals entitled to inherit and the order of priority among them), personal status laws (rights of adopted children, illegitimate children's rights), ownership laws and rights to community records worldwide (archive laws), restitution of property, use of genetic information (DNA) and ethical questions.
We will also deal, among other things, with the right to privacy (including post-mortem privacy) and the conflict between this right and other rights, including the right to be forgotten.
Full syllabus is to be published
