scholarly journals "Any evidence" in the Family Court

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Caroline Hickman

<p>This dissertation examines the origins and justification for the “any evidence” rule which has been a feature of New Zealand family law for many years. The rule provides judicial discretion to admit evidence in the Family Court which would be otherwise inadmissible. Its ongoing value has never been closely examined, although the rule has frequently been criticised.  Selected cases have been examined to determine if reliance on the Evidence Act without the “any evidence” rule would have the deleterious outcomes contemplated. Analysis has shown that the rule has very little use and conversely, that the detriment caused by the rule is greater than the harm it was designed to remedy.  Repeal and reform options are considered to better achieve the specific purposes of the various family law statutes as well as improve the integrity of the Family Court process overall.</p>

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Caroline Hickman

<p>This dissertation examines the origins and justification for the “any evidence” rule which has been a feature of New Zealand family law for many years. The rule provides judicial discretion to admit evidence in the Family Court which would be otherwise inadmissible. Its ongoing value has never been closely examined, although the rule has frequently been criticised.  Selected cases have been examined to determine if reliance on the Evidence Act without the “any evidence” rule would have the deleterious outcomes contemplated. Analysis has shown that the rule has very little use and conversely, that the detriment caused by the rule is greater than the harm it was designed to remedy.  Repeal and reform options are considered to better achieve the specific purposes of the various family law statutes as well as improve the integrity of the Family Court process overall.</p>


2017 ◽  
Vol 25 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 658-671 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicola Taylor

This article considers children’s right to participate in the context of private law disputes concerning their post-separation, day-to-day care and contact arrangements. In New Zealand the approach to ascertaining children’s views has been both long-standing and systematic for contested proceedings within the Family Court (via children’s legal representatives and judicial meetings with children). However, major reform of the family justice system in 2014 shifted the emphasis to new out-of-court processes for resolving post-separation parenting arrangements. The reforms were disappointingly silent on the issue of children’s participation in the new Family Dispute Resolution services, particularly mediation. A disparity has thus arisen between opportunities for children’s engagement in New Zealand’s in-court and out-of-court dispute resolution processes. Research evidence and international developments in Australia and England and Wales are reviewed for the guidance they can offer in remedying this in New Zealand and elsewhere.


Author(s):  
Susan Heenan ◽  
Anna Heenan

Each Concentrate revision guide is packed with essential information, key cases, revision tips, exam Q&As, and more. Concentrates show you what to expect in a law exam, what examiners are looking for, and how to achieve extra marks. This chapter focuses on divorce, dissolution, and judicial separation as means of ending marriage or civil partnership. It first considers the grounds for divorce/dissolution and highlights five facts that can be used to prove a marriage has irretrievably broken down: adultery, behaviour, desertion, two years’ separation with consent, and five years’ separation. The chapter then compares no-fault divorce with divorce based on fault and provides an overview of the Family Law Act 1996 and considers mediation as a way to resolve these sorts of disputes. Finally, it examines mediation as an alternative to the court process when dealing with divorce, dissolution, and judicial separation.


1981 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 281-307
Author(s):  
Owen Jessep ◽  
Richard Chisholm*

Considerable confusion and difference of opinion exists as to the precise boundaries of jurisdiction in custody matters between Federal and State courts. This Article examines the main cases in which the scope of the Family Court's custody jurisdiction has been in issue, and reviews suggestions made to remedy the problems resulting from the division of jurisdiction. The authors argue for an interpretation of the relevant provisions of the Family Law Act 1975 (Cth) which is consistent with the trend of High Court authority as to the scope of the marriage power (section 51(xxi) of the Constitution), and which would remove much of the uncertainty concerning the Family Court's jurisdiction.


2015 ◽  
Vol 46 (3) ◽  
pp. 591
Author(s):  
Mark Henaghan ◽  
Ruth Ballantyne

This article illustrates the different ways in which Professor Bill Atkin has shown where family law legislative reforms have fallen short in making the rights and well-being of children the paramount consideration in family law disputes, and properly taking account of children's views on matters that affect them. It examines Atkin's thought-provoking analysis of the introduction of the Care of Children Act 2004 and the changes made in recent years to the Child Support Act 1991, the Property (Relationships) Act 1976 and the Family Court system as a whole. The article also explores Atkin's approval of the amendments to the Crimes Act 1961 preventing parents from using physical discipline against their children for the purposes of correction. Overall, the article highlights Atkin's extensive contribution to family law and demonstrates what needs to be changed to ensure New Zealand family law and society becomes more child-focused in the future.


2014 ◽  
Vol 19 ◽  
pp. 413 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard Foster

<p>The Monash-Oakleigh Legal Service (MOLS) is a community legal service auspiced by Monash University, Melbourne Australia, and partly funded by Victoria Legal Aid. MOLS was principally established to provide practical legal education to Monash law students over 30 years ago, but has since evolved to focus also on serving community legal needs. Incorporated within MOLS is the Family Law Assistance Program (FLAP) which, as the name suggests, deals exclusively with family law matters. FLAP students attend the Family Court each week with lawyers who provide assistance to clients in a duty lawyer capacity, as well as operating four clinical sessions each week within MOLS.</p><p>Like many community legal services, most MOLS clients experience a form of disadvantage and resultant financial difficulty. Consequently, MOLS deals with a range of legal matters including: criminal law, family law, tenancy and neighbourhood disputes, and a number of credit, debt, and<br />bankruptcy issues.</p><p>In July 2010, the Multi-Disciplinary Clinic (MDC) was established at MOLS to provide a holistic service to clients by involving students from three academic disciplines to deal with client issues. Later, in December 2010 (the commencement of the university’s summer semester), students from one other discipline were included in FLAP and a third discipline was also adopted in the following semester.</p>


Author(s):  
Sonia Harris-Short ◽  
Joanna Miles ◽  
Rob George

All books in this flagship series contain carefully selected substantial extracts from key cases, legislation, and academic debate, providing able students with a stand-alone resource. This chapter begins with an overview of families and family law in England and Wales today. It then discusses themes and issues in contemporary family law, covering rules versus discretion; women’s and men’s perspectives on family law; sex and gender identity; sexual orientation; cultural diversity; and state intervention versus private ordering, including the role of the family court and of non-court dispute resolution in family cases.


Hawwa ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 18 (2-3) ◽  
pp. 265-294
Author(s):  
Monika Lindbekk

Abstract This article aims to contribute to the growing scholarly literature on the implementation of shariʿa-based family law codes by describing and analyzing the gender implications of religiously inspired judicial activism in relation to judicial divorce through khulʿ. The article highlights two functions played by family court judges and other legal professionals. First, I argue that Egyptian family court judges and other court personnel, such as court experts and court-appointed arbiters from al-Azhar, enjoy considerable discretion in interpreting and implementing the personal status codes. Second, the article argues that legal professionals sometimes use the court and other legal spaces as a platform to articulate alternative visions of family and marriage, as well as to voice anxieties over a perceived increase in female-initiated divorce. The article situates these contradictory practices against the background of the contestation of early twenty-first-century reforms, which challenged male authority in the family, in particular the 2000 law of judicial khulʿ.


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