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Is it better to keep children out of family law conflicts about parenting, or to give them a say? This book integrates the issues with empirical data on the views and experiences of children and other participants in such disputes, suggesting ways that children can better be heard without placing them at the centre of conflicts.
Over the past thirty years, there has been a dramatic shift in the way the legal system approaches and resolves family disputes. Traditionally, family law dispute resolution was based on an “adversary” system: two parties and their advocates stood before a judge who determined which party was at fault in a divorce and who would be awarded the rights in a custody dispute. Now, many family courts are opting for a “problem-solving” model in which courts attempt to resolve both legal and non-legal issues. At the same time, American families have changed dramatically. Divorce rates have leveled off and begun to drop, while the number of children born and raised outside of marriage has increased sharply. Fathers are more likely to seek an active role in their children’s lives. While this enhanced paternal involvement benefits children, it also increases the likelihood of disputes between parents. As a result, the families who seek legal dispute resolution have become more diverse and their legal situations more complex. In Divorced from Reality, Jane C. Murphy and Jana B. Singer argue that the current "problem solving" model fails to address the realities of today's families. The authors suggest that while today’s dispute resolution regime may represent an improvement over its more adversary predecessor, it is built largely around the model of a divorcing nuclear family with lawyers representing all parties—a model that fits poorly with the realities of today's disputing families. To serve the families it is meant to help, the legal system must adapt and reshape itself.
The Oxford Handbook of Children and the Law presents cutting-edge scholarship on a broad range of topics covering the life course of humans from before birth to adulthood, by leading scholars in law, medicine, social work, sociology, education, and philosophy, and by practitioners in law and medicine. An international collection of authors presents and analyzes the law and science pertaining to reproduction; prenatal life (including fetal exposure to toxic substances and abortion); parentage (including biology-based rights, background checks on birth parents, adoption, the status of gamete donors, and surrogacy); infant development and vulnerability; child maltreatment (including corporal punishment and religious defences to abuse and neglect); child protection policy and systems; foster care; child custody disputes between parents or between parents and other caregivers; schooling (including financing, resegregation, religious expression in public schools, at-risk students, special education, regulation of private schools, and homeschooling); delinquency; minimum-age laws; and child advocacy. Most chapters follow a format wherein they first describe the most debated or dynamic issues in each topical area, then explain in depth the law and/or science pertaining to the author's particular focus, and finally offer arguments and recommendations as to law and policy in that area. The normative component aims to advance discussions and debates in vital areas of contemporary child welfare law and policy. The Handbook is an essential resource for scholars and professionals interested in the intersection of children and the law.
In Family Law in Britain and America in the New Century: Essays in Honor of Sanford N. Katz nineteen leading family law scholars in the US and Britain pay tribute to Sanford Katz, Darald and Juliet Libby Millennium Professor Emeritus and Professor of Law, Boston College Law School by giving a critical account of developments in family law in their jurisdictions since 2000. Areas covered include the institution of marriage, financial and property issues, parents and children, the state and children, access to justice, and international issues as well as an overview by the Editor. The volume will provide a stimulating and accessible account of the state and current direction of travel of family law in those countries.
This handbook brings together the relevant literature on children and their developmental characteristics, the legal venues in which they may appear, and the systemic issues practitioners must consider to provide a thorough guide to working with children in the legal system. Featuring contributions from leading mental health and legal experts, chapters start with an overview and history of the juvenile justice system along with discussion of critical developmental areas imperative to consider for work with children, and idiosyncratic issues that arise. The book ends with a case presentation section that illustrates the varied roles and venues in which children appear in the legal system. An extended bibliography provides additional resources and literature to investigate specific topics in greater length. This accessible and useable guide is designed to appeal to a broad range of people encountering children in the legal system, including social workers, psychologists, psychiatrists, attorneys, and judges. It will also benefit professions such as law enforcement as well as probation officers, child protective workers, school personnel, and medical personnel.
There is growing enthusiasm for the use of mediation to seek to resolve cases arising under the Hague Convention of 25 October 1980 on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction (the Convention). However, despite being endorsed by the conclusions of meetings of experts, judicial comment and even legislative changes, there have been relatively few cases where mediation has played a significant role. It is suggested that the reason underlying this dichotomy between the widespread support for the use of mediation and the current limited practice is that there are several key questions regarding the use of mediation in the context of the Convention which remain to be answered. Specifically: what is meant by Convention mediation? How can a mediation process fit within the constraints of the Convention? And why offer mediation in Convention cases given the existing legal framework? This book addresses these questions and in so doing seeks to encourage a movement from enthusiasm about the use of mediation in the Convention context to greater practice. This title is included in Bloomsbury Professional's Family Law online service.
This collection, written by legal scholars from around the world, offers insights into a variety of topics from children’s rights to criminal law, jurisprudence, medical ethics and more. Its breadth reflects the fact that these are all elements of what can broadly be called ‘law and society’, that enterprise that is interested in law’s place or influence in diffferent aspects of real lives and understands law to be simultaneously symbol, philosophy and action. It is also testament to the broad range of vision of Professor Michael Freeman, in whose honour the volume was conceived. The contributions are divided into categories which reflect his distinguished career and publications, over 85 books and countless articles, including pioneering work on children’s rights, domestic violence, religious law, jurisprudence, law and culture, family law and medicine, ethics and the law, as well as his enduring commitment to interdisciplinarity. The volume begins with work on law in its philosophical, cultural or symbolic realm (Part I: Law and Stories: Culture, Religion and Philosophy), including its commitment to the normative ideal of ‘rights’ (Part II: Law and Rights), and then offfers work on law as coercive state action (Part III: Law and the Coercive State) and as regulator of personal relationships (Part IV: Law and Personal Living). It continues with reflections on the importance of globalisation, both of law and of ‘doing family’ in personal and public life (Part V: Law and International Living) before closing with two reflections on Michael Freeman’s body of work generally, including one from Michael himself (Part VI: Law and Michael Freeman).
This important edited collection is the culmination of research undertaken by the Children's Rights Judgments Project. This initiative involved academic experts revisiting existing case law, drawn from a range of legal sub-disciplines and jurisdictions, and redrafting the judgment from a children's rights perspective. The rewritten judgments shed light on the conceptual and practical challenges of securing children's rights within judicial decision-making and explore how developments in theory and practice can inform and (re-)invigorate the legal protection of children's rights. Collectively, the judgments point to five key factors that support a children's rights-based approach to judgment writing. These include: using children's rights law and principles; drawing on academic insights and evidence; endorsing child friendly procedures; adopting a children's rights focused narrative; and using child-friendly language. Each judgment is accompanied by a commentary explaining the historical and legal context of the original case and the rationale underpinning the revised judgment including the particular children's rights perspective adopted; the extent to which it addresses the children's rights deficiencies evident in the original judgment; and the potential impact the alternative version might have had on law, policy or practice. Presented thematically, with contributions from leading scholars in the field, this innovative collection offers a truly new and unique perspective on children's rights.
The 1989 UN Convention on the Rights of the Child has inspired advocates and policy makers across the globe, injecting children's rights terminology into various public and private arenas. Children's right to participate in decision-making processes affecting their lives is the acme of the Convention and its central contribution to the children's rights discourse. At the same time the participation right presents enormous challenges in its implementation. Laws, regulations and mechanisms addressing children's right to participate in decision-making processes affecting their lives have been established in many jurisdictions across the globe. Yet these worldwide developments have only rarely been accompanied with empirical investigations. The effectiveness of various policies in achieving meaningful participation for children of different ages, cultures and circumstances have remained largely unproven empirically. Therefore, with the growing awareness of the importance of evidence-based policies, it becomes clear that without empirical investigations on the implementation of children's right to participation it is difficult to promote their effective inclusion in decision making. This book provides a much-needed, first broad portrayal of how child participation is implemented in practice today. Bringing together 19 chapters written by prominent authors from the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland, New Zealand, Australia, and Israel, the book includes descriptions of programs that engage children and youth in decision-making processes, as well as insightful findings regarding what children, their families, and professionals think about these programs. Beyond their contribution to the empirical evidence on ways children engage in decision-making processes, the volume's chapters contribute to the theoretical development of the meaning of "participation," "citizenship," "inclusiveness," and "relational rights" in regards to children and youth. There is no matching to the book's scope both in terms of its breadth of subjects and the diversity of jurisdictions it covers. The book's chapters include experiences of child participation in special education, child protection, juvenile justice, restorative justice, family disputes, research, and policy making.
A CANADIAN BESTSELLER FULLY REVISED AND UPDATED For more than 30 years, Canadian Family Law has helped us to understand the legal issues surrounding marriage, separation and divorce, child custody and support. Now in its tenth edition, Canadian Family Law provides information on recent developments in family law, such as same-sex marriage, alternative dispute resolution and child support. Among the topics covered are: The rights and obligations of marriage The components of a separation agreement Spousal support Child support and the new guidelines Guiding principles regarding custody of children Property rights and division of property The divorce procedure Domestic contracts The enforcement of agreements Mediation and arbitration A comparative analysis of family law statutes. Illustrated with case studies, Canadian Family Law is the standard reference guide that people who are contemplating marriage, or separation and divorce, turn to for informative, readable and authoritative commentary.