Ideas and Debates in Family Law is written for the student of family law, at undergraduate level and beyond, who is looking for less orthodox ideas about family law.
The book is divided into three sections. The first looks at themes in family law, addressing challenges facing the family justice system, the inter-relationship between rights and responsibilities, and the increasing internationalisation of the law regulating families.
The second section is focused on adult relationships: it suggests new ways for the law to allocate legal consequences for families, asks whether the 'contractualisation' marriage will open up the possibility of all the marriage 'terms' being negotiable by the parties, and explores the value of 'fairness' in family finances.
The third section is about children. It starts with a defence of the welfare principle, suggesting that some criticism of the paramountcy approach may be based on a parody of the law, and then addresses the importance of keeping parental responsibility and practical parenting connected to one another.
Useful as a teaching tool by itself or alongside a textbook, Ideas and Debates in Family Law offers new and thought-provoking perspectives on family law issues.