2. Relationships between Adults: Marriage, Civil Partnerships, and Cohabitation

This chapter explores the historical development and modern statutory framework applicable to adult formalised and non-formalised relationships. It attempts to instil a thorough understanding of the key principles applicable to the formation and subsequent regulation of these relationships. Owing to the rapid change in family forms and the growing legal recognition of same-sex relationships, the statutory framework has evolved. The chapter assess how far these frameworks have successfully accommodated modern family forms and whether further reform is required. Topics discussed include the evolution of marriage; the formal recognition of same-sex relationships; legal consequences and formalities for entry into marriage; the legal consequences of nullity; civil partnerships; and cohabitation.

12. Adoption

This chapter explains the law of adoption. When an adoption order is made by a court in England and Wales, the legal connection between a child and her birth family is completely and permanently ended and she is transferred in to a new family. Changes in society during the second half of the twentieth century created a new model of adoption, reflected in the legislative framework of the Adoption and Children Act 2002. However, there are ongoing complex questions about what the purpose of adoption should be. The idea that a court order can overcome biological and social relationships can seem artificial, imposing a fictitious narrative that might be difficult to sustain throughout a lifetime. The chapter also discusses special guardianship in the context of alternatives to adoption.

10. The Medical Treatment of Children

This chapter discusses who can consent to or refuse medical treatment for a child, and considers in what circumstances the child themselves can make this decision. This involves discussion of Gillick competence, which refers to circumstances where a child is viewed as having the required maturity and understanding to make these decisions. It also examines the role that parents play in the decision-making process. It explores cases where parents and doctors disagree on the treatment proposed and consider how these disputes are resolved. The chapter concludes by considering an alternative route to settle disputes concerning the medical treatment of children and examines the role that mediation can take in this context. It considers whether this has the potential to avoid extreme situations, such as that seen with Ashya King's parents removing him from the hospital and fleeing the country to avoid the treatment proposed by the doctors and receive alternative treatment abroad.

8. Legal Parenthood and Parental Responsibility

This chapter focuses on legal parenthood. It first considers how legal parenthood is determined when children are born following ‘natural’ conception. It then considers developments in assisted reproductive technologies, which often leave a wider pool of people who might potentially be parents, due to the separation of the biological processes of parenting as well as the social ones. The final part of the chapter looks at the legal concept of parental responsibility. This is different from and potentially wider than legal parenthood, which defines a relationship between children and their parents. Parental responsibility creates certain responsibilities in respect of the child, such as to provide a home for the child, and to protect and maintain them. Aspects of a child's life, such as choices in relation to education and medical care, also fall within the ambit of parental responsibility.

7. Domestic Violence and Abuse

The chapter examines how, historically, domestic violence was considered to be a private matter that was none of the law's concern. While domestic violence is now recognised to be an important social issue, the historical acceptance of such abuse provides a context to understand some of the difficulties that victims face today. A key focus of the chapter is the family law remedies available for domestic abuse victims. Three key remedies are examined: non-molestation orders, occupation orders, and forced marriage protection orders. The chapter also explores some of the wider factors pertaining to the family justice system's response to domestic violence. It is important to recognise the impact of the changes to legal aid as introduced by the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012, and the extent to which victims of domestic violence may feel threatened during family law proceedings, particularly in cases involving the arrangements for children after separation.

1. Family Life and the Law

This chapter explores the nature of family life and the role of the law in family relationships to identify the particular challenges facing family lawyers. In particular, it considers how the law interacts with family life, how family relationships are identified in law, and what role the law plays in regulating family behaviour. The diversity and personalised experience of ‘family’ means that the role of the law in these processes is complex. There are two central issues facing family lawyers. First, the identification of a relationship as being one of ‘family’ for the purposes of the law is an important label, and may give rise to specific rights and obligations, even if the particular relationship bears no significance for the individual. Secondly, identifying the nature of the rights and obligations arising from a family relationship is central to determining the significance of the relationship.

13. Human Rights, Children’s Rights, and Family Law

This chapter explores children's rights in the context of family law and family life. It aims to look at family law through the lens of the human rights of children and the associated theoretical, doctrinal, and empirical scholarship. It begins with a brief overview of the international children's rights framework underpinning this area, including the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and the European Convention on Human Rights. It then points to some of the cultural, legal, and practical obstacles to the protection of children's rights in the context of family law. It also discusses the issue of corporal punishment.

11. Public Law Protection

Public law protection of children challenges one of the fundamental principles of England and Wales that children are best brought up by their parents. Unlimited state intervention in the family is not permitted and the courts have to strike a balance between maintaining stability for children within their family, and protecting them from harm. This chapter considers the statutory duties of the local authority towards children as well as emergency action to protect a child. It examines what has to be proven to obtain a care order and the evidential difficulties connected with this; in particular, the difficulties posed for the courts where harm is caused to a child by an unknown perpetrator. The chapter ends by exploring the options available to the court at the welfare assessment once the threshold criteria have been met.

5. Property Division on the Breakdown of Non-Matrimonial Relationships

The family home is the key property asset that most family members will own in their lifetimes. However, many people living together in a home do not give any real thought to whether the property is owned between them, or what would happen if they separated. This chapter explores the reasons why cohabitants do not often think through their entitlements to the property, and why the law has been slow to provide redress to them. It considers the rules applicable to the application of trusts and proprietary estoppel to aid cohabitants, as well as critiques them. It also examines the practical impact of the remedies provided by outlining what happens when property is to be sold. Finally, it considers the many attempts at law reform and why they have, to date, failed to reach the statute books.

3. Seeking a Divorce

This chapter considers the law and process for seeking a divorce in England and Wales. It examines the current legal framework and the gap between the ‘law in books’ and the practical reality. It looks at the current legal provisions, the criticisms that have been made of them, and whether there are any strengths to the current law. The discussion is placed in the context of divorce statistics in order to determine the link between the divorce law and the divorce rate, and whether this matters. In so doing, the chapter considers how much of a role the state should play in regulating divorce and the place of ‘fault’ in a modern divorce law. It also considers matters of process and procedure, and whether reform of process rather than substantive law is the right focus.