Changes in family structures, demographics, social attitudes and economic policies over the last sixty years have had a large impact on family lives and correspondingly on family law.
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, childrens 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 1.2 Marriage and Alternative Status Relationships in the Netherlands
1.3 The Recognition of Religious and Customary Marriages and Non-Marital
Domestic Partnerships in South Africa 1.4 Family, Same-Sex Unions and the Law
1.5 Unmarried Cohabitation Part 2: Dissolution of Status, Death and their
Consequences 2.1 Dissolution of Marriage in Westernized Countries 2.2 Divorce
Trends and Patterns: An Overview 2.3 Divorce Procedure Reform in China 2.4
Dissolution of Marriage in Japan 2.5 Relaxation and Dissolution of Marriage
in Latin America 2.6 The Legal Consequences of Dissolution: Property and
Financial Support between Spouses 2.7 Child Support, Spousal Support and the
Turn to Guidelines 2.8 Inheritance and Death: Legal Strategies in the United
States and England Part 3: Parenting and Parenthood 3.1 Assisted Conception
and Surrogacy in the United Kingdom 3.2 Regulation of Assisted Reproductive
Technology and Surrogacy in Australia 3.3 Parenting Issues after Separation:
Recent Developments in Common Law Countries 3.4 The Development of Shared
Custody in Spain and Southern Europe 3.5 Parenting Issues after Separation:
A Scandinavian Perspective Part 4: Child Welfare, Child Protection and
Childrens Rights 4.1 Crisis in Child Welfare and Protection in England:
Causes, Consequences and Solutions? 4.2 Child Protection: Promoting
Permanency without Adoption 4.3 Adoption of Children in the United States and
England and Wales 4.4 The Moral Basis of Childrens Relational Rights 4.5
Childrens Rights and Parental Authority: African Perspectives 4.6 Childrens
Rights: The Wider Context Part 5: Discrimination and Personal Safety 5.1
Gender and Human Rights 5.2 Domestic Abuse: A UK Perspective Part 6: The Role
of the State and its Institutions 6.1 State Support for Families in Europe:
A Comparative Overview 6.2 State Support for Families in the United States
6.3 Law and Policy Concerning Older People 6.4 Support and Care among Family
Members and State Provision for the Elderly in Japan 6.5 Access to Family
Justice Part 7: Globalization 7.1 International Child Abduction,
Intercountry Adoption and International Commercial Surrogacy 7.2 Children in
Cross-Border Situations: Relocation, the 1996 Hague Convention and the
Brussels IIa Regulation 7.3 Divided and United Across Borders: A Global
Overview of Family Migration
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.
