23. Financial Remedies:

Most of the legislation governing the financial arrangements on the ending of a marriage dates back over 40 years, when attitudes and economic and social factors affecting marriage were very different. This chapter examines courts' attempts to keep the law in step with societal changes through case-law. It considers how the orders made by the courts are enforced or altered in the light of subsequent events, and what provision can be made for spouses who are divorced abroad and may have been unable to receive appropriate financial protection in those proceedings. It concludes by discussing proposals for thoroughgoing reform of this area of law.

9. The Legal Position of Children

This chapter discusses the legal position of children. It first considers the relatively simple issues of who the law regards as a child and the meaning of ‘child of the family’. It then discusses the child's legal status; the changing nature of the parent-child relationship; and the still developing notion of the child's independent or autonomy rights.

1. Introduction

This introductory chapter begins with a discussion of the nature and scope of family law, covering the meaning of ‘family’ and the functions of family law. It then describes trends in family law; the family justice system; and the internationalisation of family law.

18. Children and Local Authorities:

This chapter discusses the position of children in local authority care. It begins by considering the issue of contact with children in care. It then looks more broadly at local authorities' duties to all children looked after by them, which includes those who are accommodated as well as those who are subject to care orders. Finally, it describes the means by which local authority decisions with respect to children being looked after by them can be challenged.

4. The Personal and Property Consequences of Marriage and Civil Partnership

This chapter discusses the key personal legal consequences of marriage and civil partnership. These include the use of surname, sexual intercourse, evidence in legal proceedings, contracts, torts, criminal law, and citizenship and right to live in the UK. It then turns to the implications of marriage on general property law, covering the modern law and reform proposals.

26. International Aspects of Child Law

This chapter begins by discussing the revised Brussels II Regulation, which has become the preeminent instrument within the EU and provides the basic rules of jurisdiction for hearing cases concerning children. It then examines the international aspects of adoption and, in that context, the 1993 Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoption. Next, it turns to the most developed area of international child law, namely international parental child abduction, and in respect of which a number of international instruments come into play. Finally, it discusses the international protection of children as governed by the 1996 Hague Convention on the Protection of Children which the UK ratified in 2012.

14. The Court’s Powers to Make Orders Under Part II of the Children Act 1989

This chapter considers the courts' powers under Part II of the Children Act 1989 to make orders, other than financial orders, in what are termed ‘family proceedings’. It first discusses the original scheme of Part II; changes made by the Children and Adoption Act 2006; and changes made by the Children and Families Act 2014. It then considers section 8 orders; family assistance orders; and section 37 directions.

22. Financial Remedies on Divorce, Dissolution, Nullity and Separation:

This chapter discusses the law governing financial remedies in the context of a divorce, dissolution of a civil partnership, nullity, and separation. It deals with the court's powers and the procedures under which these are exercised.

5. The Family Home

This chapter addresses two distinct but interrelated problems regarding the family home: ownership and occupation. The first is concerned with the question, in whom are the legal and beneficial interests in the property vested? The second is concerned with the question, what rights of occupation does each party have in the home irrespective of ownership? After discussing the current law governing ownership, the chapter considers the proposals for reform, and compares the English approach with that taken in other jurisdictions. It then turns to occupation rights and the impact of insolvency on the family home.

12. The Welfare Principle

This chapter is concerned with the welfare principle, which the courts are called upon to apply when determining any question concerning a child's upbringing or the administration of his property. This is governed by Section 1 of the Children Act 1989. The discussions cover the paramountcy of the child's welfare; criticisms of the welfare principle; the importance of an ongoing relationship with both parents after family separation; delay prima facie prejudicial to the child's welfare; and the provision that the court ‘shall not make the order or any of the orders unless it considers that doing so would be better for the child than making no order at all’.