2nd Edition

Routledge Handbook of Family Law and Policy

Edited By John Eekelaar, Rob George Copyright 2021
    464 Pages 13 B/W Illustrations
    by Routledge

    464 Pages 13 B/W Illustrations
    by Routledge

    Changes in family structures, demographics, social attitudes and economic policies over the last 60 years have had a large impact on family lives and correspondingly on family law.

    The Second Edition of this Handbook draws upon recent developments to provide a comprehensive and up-to-date global perspective on the policy challenges facing family law and policy round the world. The chapters apply legal, sociological, demographic and social work research to explore the most significant issues that have been commanding the attention of family law policymakers in recent years. Featuring contributions from renowned global experts, the book draws on multiple jurisdictions and offers comparative analysis across a range of countries. The book addresses a range of issues, including the role of the state in supporting families and protecting the vulnerable, children’s rights and parental authority, sexual orientation, same-sex unions and gender in family law, and the status of marriage and other forms of adult relationships. It also focuses on divorce and separation and their consequences, the relationship between civil law and the law of minority groups, refugees and migrants and the movement of family members between jurisdictions along with assisted conception, surrogacy and adoption.

    This advanced-level reference work will be essential reading for students, researchers and scholars of family law and social policy as well as policymakers in the field.

    Part 1: Marriage and Alternative Relationships

    1.1 The Changing Face of Marriage

    Marsha Garrison

    1.2 Marriage and Alternative Status Relationships in the Netherlands

    Wendy Schrama

    1.3 The Recognition of Religious and Customary Marriages and Non-Marital Domestic Partnerships in South Africa

    Waheeda Amien

    1.4 Family, Same-Sex Unions and the Law

    Mark Strasser

    1.5 Unmarried Cohabitation

    Elaine E. Sutherland

    Part 2: Dissolution of Status, Death and their Consequences

    2.1 Dissolution of Marriage in Westernized Countries

    Masha Antokolskaia

    2.2 Divorce Trends and Patterns: An Overview

    Tony Fahey

    2.3 Divorce Procedure Reform in China

    Lei Shi

    2.4 Dissolution of Marriage in Japan

    Satoshi Minamikata

    2.5 Relaxation and Dissolution of Marriage in Latin America

    Fabiola Lathrop-Gómez

    2.6 The Legal Consequences of Dissolution: Property and Financial Support between Spouses

    Joanna Miles and Jens M. Scherpe

    2.7 Child Support, Spousal Support and the Turn to Guidelines

    Carol Rogerson

    2.8 Inheritance and Death: Legal Strategies in the United States and England

    Ray D. Madoff

    Part 3: Parenting and Parenthood

    3.1 Assisted Conception and Surrogacy in the United Kingdom

    Emily Jackson

    3.2 Regulation of Assisted Reproductive Technology and Surrogacy in Australia

    Isabel Karpin and Jenni Millbank

    3.3 Parenting Issues after Separation: Recent Developments in Common Law Countries

    Belinda Fehlberg and Bruce Smyth, with Liz Trinder

    3.4 The Development of ‘Shared Custody’ in Spain and Southern Europe

    Teresa Picontó Novales

    3.5 Parenting Issues after Separation: A Scandinavian Perspective

    Anna Singer

    Part 4: Child Welfare, Child Protection and Children’s Rights

    4.1 Crisis in Child Welfare and Protection in England: Causes, Consequences and Solutions?

    Karen Broadhurst and Judith Harwin

    4.2 Child Protection: Promoting Permanency without Adoption

    Allan Cooke

    4.3 Adoption of Children in the United States and England and Wales

    Sanford N. Katz and John Eekelaar

    4.4 The Moral Basis of Children’s Relational Rights

    James G. Dwyer

    4.5 Children’s Rights and Parental Authority: African Perspectives

    Julia Sloth-Nielsen

    4.6 Children’s Rights: The Wider Context

    John Eekelaar and Rob George

    Part 5: Discrimination and Personal Safety

    5.1 Gender and Human Rights

    Fareda Banda

    5.2 Domestic Abuse: A UK Perspective

    Rosemary Hunter

    Part 6: The Role of the State and its Institutions

    6.1 State Support for Families in Europe: A Comparative Overview

    Kirsten Scheiwe

    6.2 State Support for Families in the United States

    Maxine Eichner

    6.3 Law and Policy Concerning Older People

    Jonathan Herring

    6.4 Support and Care among Family Members and State Provision for the Elderly in Japan

    Emiko Kubono and Harumi Ishiwata

    6.5 Access to Family Justice

    Mavis Maclean and John Eekelaar

    Part 7: Globalization

    7.1 International Child Abduction, Intercountry Adoption and International Commercial Surrogacy

    Mark Henaghan and Ruth Ballantyne

    7.2 Children in Cross-Border Situations: Relocation, the 1996 Hague Convention and the Brussels IIa Regulation

    Rob George

    7.3 Divided and United Across Borders: A Global Overview of Family Migration

    Jacqueline Bhabha

     

     

    Biography

    John Eekelaar is Emeritus Fellow of Pembroke College, Oxford University, UK.

    Rob George is Associate Professor of Family Law at University College London, UK and a barrister at Harcourt Chambers, Temple, London.