Bromley's Family Law provides an accurate, detailed account of family law. The text presents ... more Bromley's Family Law provides an accurate, detailed account of family law. The text presents a broad treatment of the key issues relating to adult and child law. This new edition has been edited and updated to take account of the latest case law and legislation, while also reflecting new debates and emerging issues in the area. Particular attention is also paid to the increasingly significant international dimension of family law, with a new chapter on this area. This edition has been updated to provide up-to-date coverage on cohabitation, the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act 2013 and Children and Families Act 2014. It also examines the proposals of the Family Justice Review. It considers in detail the Law Commission proposals for reform of the law on cohabitation, marital property agreements and needs, and non-matrimonial property on divorce.
In this article the authors examine the Law Commission's final report, Cohabitation: The Fina... more In this article the authors examine the Law Commission's final report, Cohabitation: The Financial Consequences of Relationship Breakdown (Law Com No 307 (TSO, 2007)). The government announced in March 2008 that it will delay implementation of the report until the implications of similar legal changes in Scotland have been evaluated. The article looks at how the Law Commissions final proposals might work in practice, by applying them to some real-life cases. The authors also consider how far the Law Commission's scheme would, in the end, achieve the objectives it set out in its final report for reform of the law.
The question whether religious norms and laws should be ‘accommodated’ by the state has become an... more The question whether religious norms and laws should be ‘accommodated’ by the state has become an important issue in civic society, with a particular focus on the working of religious courts. The debate has largely taken place without much reference to empirical evidence of their organisation or operation. An empirical case-study of three different religious tribunals, Muslim, Jewish and Catholic, which deal with religious annulments and divorces, sheds light on how religious tribunals may be run and how they view their purpose and relationship with the state. In the tribunals in the study, the main focus of operation was on the determination of parties’ status for the purposes of remarriage within the faith, rather than on handling the consequences of the termination of the marriage. They operated in full awareness of, and were influenced by, the wider social context in which their litigants live their lives. Furthermore they recognised very clearly the limits of their jurisdiction and the importance of compliance with the civil law.
The Court of Appeal has rejected the view that it is necessary for an applicant to establish a ‘g... more The Court of Appeal has rejected the view that it is necessary for an applicant to establish a ‘good arguable case’ before being granted leave under section 10(9) of the Children Act 1989 to seek a section 8 order. This comment discusses the courts’ approach to the position of grandparents in family proceedings as revealed by the Court of Appeal’s reasoning and assesses this in the light of research evidence on the role of grandparents whose children have divorced.
This article considers family solicitors' responses to recent initiatives intended to improve... more This article considers family solicitors' responses to recent initiatives intended to improve legal practice in handling family breakdown. It discusses solicitors' practice and views in relation to how children's needs are best taken into account as required by the two Protocols governing this area of work, and reports on their views on FAINs. It suggests that these developments are challenging solicitors' images of themselves as family lawyers, as distinct from family dispute managers.
... Catherine Williams, Garfield (Gary) Potter and Gillian ... Since pension plans and life insur... more ... Catherine Williams, Garfield (Gary) Potter and Gillian ... Since pension plans and life insurance invariably ask to whom the policy holder wishes payments to be made to upon their death, in reality the impact of the rules on intestacy may well depend on the true rates of joint ...
International Journal of Law, Policy and the Family, 2003
Abstract This article reports on the findings of an exploratory study of how grandparents, parent... more Abstract This article reports on the findings of an exploratory study of how grandparents, parents, and grandchildren view the role of grandparents in the divorced family, and what impact the divorce seems to have on that role. We analyse the findings in three ways. First, ...
Durable solutions: the collected papers of the 2005 …, 2006
‘When the question before the court is what is best for children, judges tend to insist that all ... more ‘When the question before the court is what is best for children, judges tend to insist that all of the parties (including the children) be subject to a battery of tests, interviews, and evaluations by psychologists, psychiatrists, or trained court personnel. ... Perhaps the least necessary member of this new group of costly professionals is the lawyer for the child. ... It is useful to wonder why this is the only country in the world that even takes seriously the importance of providing three lawyers in a custody dispute. 1
Much family law scholarship in recent years has been focused on the recognition of different type... more Much family law scholarship in recent years has been focused on the recognition of different types of family relationship. Often, the rationale for the grant of rights and duties to new forms of relationship is said to be because the parties have shown commitment, or the same degree of commitment, as those in formally recognised unions, such as marriage. But there has been relatively little consideration of why or how commitment can provide an adequate rationale for the imposition of legal consequences, in particular, legal obligations, especially when such commitment may be lacking on the part of one of the parties, or comes to an end. This paper explores the meanings of obligation and commitment within the family and questions whether commitment provides a necessary or sufficient justification for the imposition of legal obligations in family relationships.
Bromley's Family Law provides an accurate, detailed account of family law. The text presents ... more Bromley's Family Law provides an accurate, detailed account of family law. The text presents a broad treatment of the key issues relating to adult and child law. This new edition has been edited and updated to take account of the latest case law and legislation, while also reflecting new debates and emerging issues in the area. Particular attention is also paid to the increasingly significant international dimension of family law, with a new chapter on this area. This edition has been updated to provide up-to-date coverage on cohabitation, the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act 2013 and Children and Families Act 2014. It also examines the proposals of the Family Justice Review. It considers in detail the Law Commission proposals for reform of the law on cohabitation, marital property agreements and needs, and non-matrimonial property on divorce.
In this article the authors examine the Law Commission's final report, Cohabitation: The Fina... more In this article the authors examine the Law Commission's final report, Cohabitation: The Financial Consequences of Relationship Breakdown (Law Com No 307 (TSO, 2007)). The government announced in March 2008 that it will delay implementation of the report until the implications of similar legal changes in Scotland have been evaluated. The article looks at how the Law Commissions final proposals might work in practice, by applying them to some real-life cases. The authors also consider how far the Law Commission's scheme would, in the end, achieve the objectives it set out in its final report for reform of the law.
The question whether religious norms and laws should be ‘accommodated’ by the state has become an... more The question whether religious norms and laws should be ‘accommodated’ by the state has become an important issue in civic society, with a particular focus on the working of religious courts. The debate has largely taken place without much reference to empirical evidence of their organisation or operation. An empirical case-study of three different religious tribunals, Muslim, Jewish and Catholic, which deal with religious annulments and divorces, sheds light on how religious tribunals may be run and how they view their purpose and relationship with the state. In the tribunals in the study, the main focus of operation was on the determination of parties’ status for the purposes of remarriage within the faith, rather than on handling the consequences of the termination of the marriage. They operated in full awareness of, and were influenced by, the wider social context in which their litigants live their lives. Furthermore they recognised very clearly the limits of their jurisdiction and the importance of compliance with the civil law.
The Court of Appeal has rejected the view that it is necessary for an applicant to establish a ‘g... more The Court of Appeal has rejected the view that it is necessary for an applicant to establish a ‘good arguable case’ before being granted leave under section 10(9) of the Children Act 1989 to seek a section 8 order. This comment discusses the courts’ approach to the position of grandparents in family proceedings as revealed by the Court of Appeal’s reasoning and assesses this in the light of research evidence on the role of grandparents whose children have divorced.
This article considers family solicitors' responses to recent initiatives intended to improve... more This article considers family solicitors' responses to recent initiatives intended to improve legal practice in handling family breakdown. It discusses solicitors' practice and views in relation to how children's needs are best taken into account as required by the two Protocols governing this area of work, and reports on their views on FAINs. It suggests that these developments are challenging solicitors' images of themselves as family lawyers, as distinct from family dispute managers.
... Catherine Williams, Garfield (Gary) Potter and Gillian ... Since pension plans and life insur... more ... Catherine Williams, Garfield (Gary) Potter and Gillian ... Since pension plans and life insurance invariably ask to whom the policy holder wishes payments to be made to upon their death, in reality the impact of the rules on intestacy may well depend on the true rates of joint ...
International Journal of Law, Policy and the Family, 2003
Abstract This article reports on the findings of an exploratory study of how grandparents, parent... more Abstract This article reports on the findings of an exploratory study of how grandparents, parents, and grandchildren view the role of grandparents in the divorced family, and what impact the divorce seems to have on that role. We analyse the findings in three ways. First, ...
Durable solutions: the collected papers of the 2005 …, 2006
‘When the question before the court is what is best for children, judges tend to insist that all ... more ‘When the question before the court is what is best for children, judges tend to insist that all of the parties (including the children) be subject to a battery of tests, interviews, and evaluations by psychologists, psychiatrists, or trained court personnel. ... Perhaps the least necessary member of this new group of costly professionals is the lawyer for the child. ... It is useful to wonder why this is the only country in the world that even takes seriously the importance of providing three lawyers in a custody dispute. 1
Much family law scholarship in recent years has been focused on the recognition of different type... more Much family law scholarship in recent years has been focused on the recognition of different types of family relationship. Often, the rationale for the grant of rights and duties to new forms of relationship is said to be because the parties have shown commitment, or the same degree of commitment, as those in formally recognised unions, such as marriage. But there has been relatively little consideration of why or how commitment can provide an adequate rationale for the imposition of legal consequences, in particular, legal obligations, especially when such commitment may be lacking on the part of one of the parties, or comes to an end. This paper explores the meanings of obligation and commitment within the family and questions whether commitment provides a necessary or sufficient justification for the imposition of legal obligations in family relationships.
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Papers by Gillian Douglas