Family law Books

Book SynopsisHow do courts reconcile protecting family life with immigration control in human rights cases? This book addresses that question through an analysis of 11 UK Supreme Court decisions on immigration and family life, mostly focusing on Article 8 ECHR, the right to respect for family life, and starting with Huang v SSHD in 2007. The analysis is set against a national context that includes the Human Rights Act 1998 and regular controversies over immigration. The book explains how the European Court of Human Rights jurisprudence has developed in recent years, but, particularly in the absence of children, it often still awards little weight to claims by citizens and residents to be joined by family when immigration status is an issue. This reflects governments’ resistance to encroachment on their control over borders. The Supreme Court decisions show that, despite powers conferred by the Human Rights Act, a more nuanced position in domestic law was difficult to articulate and sustain. The book explores the way in which these problems were reflected in the changing language, argumentation, and structure of judgments. These problems revealed judges to be strategic actors drawing on personal and institutional values and responding to the shifting political context. A more generous reading of Article 8 would be legally coherent but needs wider societal support to be realisable. The book ends with a discussion of how, if such support were present, the jurisprudence could give more weight to the needs of families. It is vital reading for anyone interested in families and immigration, and in the problems and potential of human rights adjudication.Table of Contents1. Introduction: Family Reunification, Human Rights and Judges I. About the Book II. Chapter Outline III. Family Reunification IV. Human Rights and Family Life V. Judges VI. Methodology 2. Introduction to the UK’s Constitutional, Court and Immigration System I. Introduction II. The UK’s Legal and Constitutional Framework III. The Human Rights Act 1998 IV. Regulating Family Reunification in the UK V. The Immigration Control Framework in the UK VI. Appeals and the Court System VII. Conclusion 3. The European Court of Human Rights: Strait is the Gate I. Introduction II. Why is Family Reunification and Article 8 So Problematic? III. Article 8(1): Family Life IV. Article 8(2) Proportionality 1: Immigration Controls, Positive Obligations and the Margin of Appreciation V. Article 8(2) Proportionality 2: Fair Balance VI. Conclusion 4. Huang: Breathing Life into Article 8 I. Introduction II. The Immigration Battleground III. A Sense of Judicial Purpose IV. The Legal Problem Addressed by Huang V. The Legal Findings in Huang VI. ‘Human Beings are Social Animals’ VII. The Aftermath of Huang VIII. The Signifi cance of Huang and its Limits IX. Conclusion 5. ‘Good News from on High’: The First Post-Huang Phase I. Introduction II. Beoku-Betts: Including All the Family III. Chikwamba: Applying In-Country or Abroad IV. EB (Kosovo): Delay, Proportionality and Reinforcing Huang V. Reflections on the First Phase Decisions VI. Conclusion 6. Still Family First: The Second Post-Huang Phase I. Introduction II. Baiai: The Right to Marry III. Mahad: Third Party Support IV. ZH (Tanzania): The Best Interests of Children V. Quila: Forced Marriage and the Minimum Age for Sponsorship or Entry VI. A Complex Relationship with Article 8 VII. Conclusion 7. The Supreme Court Rolls Back: The Third Post-Huang Phase I. Introduction II. A New Background III. Ali and Bibi: Pre-entry Language Testing 0 IV. MM (Lebanon): The Minimum Income Requirement V. Agyarko: Regularisation and Precariousness VI. Reflections on the Third Phase Decisions VII. Reflections on Huang and the Three Phases VIII. Conclusion 8. A Better Article 8 is Possible I. Introduction II. Why Human Rights? III. Stick or Twist? The Case for Treating Family Reunification as a Positive Obligation IV. Family Life Beyond the ‘Core’ Family V. The Public Interest 1: The ‘General Interest’ and Family Life VI. The Public Interest 2: Immigration Control VII. Precarious Residence and Exceptionality VIII. Sponsors and Citizenship IX. Family Life and Immigration: The New Approach in Practice X. Conclusion 9. Concluding Remarks I. Introduction II. The Impact of Article 8 on Immigration Policy III. The Supreme Court as a Moral and Political Actor IV. A Coherent Legal Interpretation of Article 8 V. Final Words: Making Family Matter

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Book SynopsisThis book tells the untold story of the Married Women’s Association. Unlike more conventional histories of family law, which focus on legal actors, it highlights the little-known yet indispensable work of a dedicated group of life-long activists. Formed in 1938, the Married Women’s Association took reform of family property law as its chief focus. The name is deceptively innocuous, suggesting tea parties and charity fundraisers, but in fact the MWA was often involved in dramatic confrontations with politicians, civil servants, and Law Commissioners. The Association boasted powerful public figures, including MP Edith Summerskill, authors Vera Brittain and Dora Russell, and barrister Helena Normanton. They campaigned on matters that are still being debated in family law today. Quiet Revolutionaries sheds new light upon legal reform then and now by challenging longstanding assumptions, showing that piecemeal legislation can be an effective stepping stone to comprehensive reform and highlighting how unsuccessful bills, though often now forgotten, can still be important triggers for change. Drawing upon interviews with members’ friends and family, and thousands of archival documents, the book is compulsory reading for lawyers, legal historians, and anyone who wishes to explore histories of law reform from the ground up. Winner of the SLSA Socio-Legal Theory and History Book Prize 2023. To listen to podcast episodes about the Married Women’s Association, featuring interviews and archival research, visit quietrevolutionaries.podbean.com.Trade ReviewI believe this book to be of central importance to scholars studying the history of women and feminist movements, and family law in the twentieth century. It is so rare for a legal history book to truly convey how and why the law developed in the way it did, and the significance of these developments to the people subject to the legislation. In Quiet Revolutionaries, Sharon Thompson has raised the bar for those of us working in the field. -- Jennifer Aston * Feminist Legal Studies *Sharon Thompson is to be thanked and congratulated for giving us this detailed and perceptive account of the activities of a previously little-known group of quiet but determined activists … A treasure trove, offering newly accessible detail and contributing across so many areas to the understanding of the process of law reform and to the history of feminist thought and strategies for reformers. -- Mavis Maclean * Journal of Law and Society *Quiet Revolutionaries is a fantastic book that should be read by legal historians, practitioners and anyone interested in how legal change is achieved … Drawing upon rich insights from archival and empirical research, this book reveals that ‘the MWA’s story is a microcosm of feminist legal activism’ … Quiet Revolutionaries provides a new way of thinking about that activism and how ‘success’ might be measured for reform projects in family law today. -- Andy Hayward * Financial Remedies Journal *The book is beautifully written, providing the reader with a real sense of what it was like for women (and men) in previous decades, for Thompson has done her research in archives and from interviews and knows the period thoroughly. What it also offers is a properly accurate and nuanced examination of the law and the proposed reforms that one could only get from an experienced teacher of both family law and property law. Quiet Revolutionaries takes feminist legal history – and legal history generally – to a new level. -- Rosemary Auchmuty * Frontiers of Socio-Legal Studies *The influence and importance of the Married Women’s Association and its visionary leading lights ... ought to be much better known, not only among family lawyers but also among everyone who is interested in the movement for women’s equality. Sharon Thompson has enriched our knowledge and understanding by shining a light upon these quiet revolutionaries. * Brenda Hale, Baroness Hale of Richmond, former President of the Supreme Court of the UK [from the foreword] *Quiet Revolutionaries brilliantly illustrates the value of taking a feminist approach to legal history. Meticulously researched and engaging, it shines a light on an overlooked but vitally important campaign for substantive equality within marriage and on the challenges of reforming the law. * Rebecca Probert, Professor of Law, University of Exeter, UK *Economic dependence in marriage was an abiding concern for twentieth-century feminists, but until now we have known too little about how activists used the law as a tool for change. Deeply researched and highly readable, Sharon Thompson’s book recovers the dogged campaigning of the Married Women’s Association, revealing its steely efforts to reshape norms about gender, power and the value of women’s labour in the family. * Helen McCarthy, Professor of Modern and Contemporary British History, University of Cambridge, UK *Table of ContentsForeword by Brenda Hale, Baroness Hale of Richmond Acknowledgments Timeline Archive References List of Abbreviations Prologue: After the Vote 1. Quiet Revolutionaries 2. Housewives: ‘That Vast Army of the Great Unpaid’ Interlude: Juanita Frances 3. A Composite Portrait 4. A New Marriage Law 5. Mrs Blackwell Interlude: A Note About Lord Denning 6. The Split Interlude: Reform Movements Are Like Builders 7. One Step at a Time 8. Resistance as a Reform Strategy Interlude: Poor Reggie 9. Two Steps Forward, One Step Back 10. A Subterranean Influence Afterword Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisThis book presents a socio-legal examination of national and devolved-level developments in social protection in the UK, through the eyes of politicians and officials at the heart of this process. Since its inception in 1998, devolution has altered the character of the UK welfare state, with dramatic change in the 10 years since 2010. A decade of austerity at national level has exposed diverging view in how governments in London, Edinburgh and Belfast view the social rights of citizenship. This political divide has implications for both social security law, as the devolved countries begin to flex their muscles in this key area for citizens’ economic welfare, and the constitutional settlement. The book reflects on the impact of austerity, the referendum on Scottish independence and subsequent changes to the devolution settlement, Northern Ireland’s hesitant moves away from parity with Westminster in social protection, withdrawal from the European Union (Brexit), and the possible retreat from austerity during the COVID-19 pandemic. The social union may or may not be weakening; its character is unquestionably changing, and the book lays bare the ideological and pragmatic considerations driving legal developments. TH Marshall’s theory of citizenship provides the lens through which these processes are viewed, while itself being reinterpreted in light of the national government’s increasing delegation of responsibility for social rights – whether to individuals, the voluntary sector or lower tiers of government.Trade ReviewWhatever the outcome of current constitutional debates, the questions raised by devolution for social citizenship in general and social security in particular are likely to grow increasingly pertinent. This book provides a valuable signpost to the theoretical and policy issues it poses. -- Ruth Lister * Journal of Social Security Law *This is a path-breaking book that makes an important contribution to our understanding of recent developments in social security. * Journal of Law and Society *Table of Contents1. Introduction: Social Citizenship in an Age of Welfare Regionalism Introduction Social Citizenship Social Security and Multi-level Governance The Social Union and Welfare Regionalism Enter Coronavirus A Socio-legal Study of Social Citizenship Structure of the Book 2. A Socio-legal Perspective on Social Citizenship Introduction Marshall’s Theory of Citizenship: From Civil Rights to a ‘Right to Welfare’ Sources of Rights: Why Citizenship? On the Nature and Enforceability of Social Rights Conclusion 3. Social Citizenship and Multi-level Governance Introduction Social Citizenship and Multi-level Governance The Welfare State in the UK’s Devolution Settlement Towards Devolved Approaches to Social Security Conclusion 4. Twenty-first-century Welfare and the UK Model of Social Citizenship Introduction The Legislative Development of the Twenty-first-century Welfare State Implications for Social Citizenship Social Citizenship in a Pandemic Conclusion 5. Constructing Devolved Social Citizenships: Divergence from the UK Model of Social Security Introduction A Devolved-level Vision for Social Citizenship? Developing Social Security Policy and Systems Divergence in Devolved Social Security Benefits Administration, Service Delivery and Culture Conclusion 6. Rights and ‘Fairness’ in UK and Devolved Social Citizenships Introduction Human Rights and UK Social Security Human Rights in Devolved Social Security Fairness – To Whom? Conclusion 7. The Foundations of Devolved Social Citizenships Introduction Socio-economic Factors Ideological Factors Institutional Factors Conclusion 8. Social Citizenship and the Constitutional Future of the UK: Welfare Unionism, Nationalism and Regionalism Introduction Which Nation? National Identity as Ideological Identity Welfare Unionism, Nationalism and Regionalism An ‘Enduring Settlement’ Achieved? Conclusion 9. Towards Devolved Social Citizenships: How Far Have We Come and Where Are We Going? Introduction Scotland: From Principles to Practice Northern Ireland: Commitment to Parity Wanes, the Practice of Parity Remains Forces for Parity Policy Learning between Northern Ireland and Scotland Conclusion 10. Conclusion: The State of the Social Union Introduction Trajectories in Social Citizenship(s) A Vision for Social Citizenship – Or Visions for Social Citizenships? Still a UK Social Security System? The Social Union and the Political Union Marshall’s Theory of Citizenship in a Regionalised Welfare State Reflections

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Book SynopsisThis book explores the specialist area of cryptocurrency in the context of matrimonial finance proceedings. The work is split into two parts. The first part provides a comprehensive primer on cryptocurrency and blockchain technology. It explains what cryptocurrencies are, how they are held by their owners, and how blockchain technology works. This part also considers the legal status and current regulatory treatment of cryptocurrency in England and Wales. The second part provides an overview of financial remedies and the distributive principles applied by the Family Court in matrimonial finance cases. It analyses the current case law on cryptocurrencies as a variety of ‘property’, before exploring issues that practitioners may face when encountering crypto-assets in litigation. This includes the challenges of valuing, tracing, and freezing cryptocurrency, as well as disclosure considerations. The work includes an overview of the principles relating to ‘self-help’ disclosure and associated criminal offences pursuant to the Computer Misuse Act 1990 and the Data Protection Act 2018. It also contains a summary of HMRC’s current guidance on the taxation of crypto-assets for individuals. This title is included in Bloomsbury Professional's Family Law and Cyber Law online services.Table of Contents1. Introduction 2. An Introduction to Cryptocurrency a. Introduction b. Types of cryptoassets c. What is cryptocurrency? d. Comparing transaction systems: ‘traditional’ finance v cryptocurrency e. The legal status of cryptocurrency in the United Kingdom f. Case study: the evolution of Bitcoin 3. Blockchain a. Introduction b. What is blockchain? c. How blockchain works d. The consensus mechanism e. Advantages and disadvantages of blockchain f. Applications of blockchain technology g. Smart contracts h. Non-Fungible Tokens 4. The Cryptocurrency Ecosystem a. Introduction b. Key players and key terms c. Top 10 cryptocurrencies by market capitalisation: Bitcoin, Ethereum, Tether, USD Coin, BNB, Cardano, XRP, Binance USD, Solana, Dogecoin 5. Regulation of cryptocurrency in the United Kingdom a. Introduction b. The FCA regulatory perimeter c. Financial regulation by category: security tokens, e-money tokens, exchange tokens, utility tokens, stablecoins d. AML / CTF financing e. Regulatory developments in the UK 6. Overview of financial remedies in matrimonial finance a. Introduction b. The Court’s powers and statutory discretion c. The distributive principles d. Matrimonial and non-matrimonial property e. Special contributions f. Income g. Summary 7. Cryptocurrency as a matrimonial asset a. Are cryptocurrencies ‘property’ and why does it matter? b. Are cryptocurrencies divisible? c. Disclosure on Form E 8. Practical considerations in litigation a. Introduction b. Identifying and tracing cryptocurrency c. Valuation of cryptocurrency d. Disclosure, freezing orders, and preservation of devices e. Self-help disclosure and associated criminal offences f. Taxation

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Book SynopsisThis court practice guide enables you to avoid the most common pitfalls encountered across the spectrum of family proceedings, thereby speeding up litigation and avoiding unnecessary work and wasted costs orders. It covers every aspect of the court process across family proceedings, from divorce and financial remedies to private law and public law children, injunctions and committals and appeals. The guidance is set out with clear references to source materials and is supplemented by forms and other practical information. The work is a key staple widely referred to within the Family Court, Principal Registry of the Family Division, other district registries and county courts. The 7th edition includes the following: - Divorce reform - Changes to Committal proceedings - Domestic Abuse Act 2021 (inc PD 12J and Rule 3A) - Presumption of diminished evidence and vulnerability of witnesses (PD 3AA) - Jurisdiction issues - Parental alienation This title is included in Bloomsbury Professional's Family Law online service.Table of ContentsChapter 1: The Divorce Petition Chapter 2: Requirements on Issue of Divorce Application Chapter 3: Procedure – From Issue of Divorce Application for Issue of Conditional Order Chapter 4: Procedure - Amended, Supplemental and Further Applications Chapter 5: Judicial Involvement Leading to a Conditional Order Chapter 6: Final Order of Divorce Chapter 7: Concluding Applications Other than by Final Order Chapter 8: Other Matrimonial Decrees Chapter 9: Declaratory Decrees Chapter 10: Civil Partnership Chapter 11: Applications for a Financial Order with Proceedings under the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 and the Civil Partnership Act 2004 Chapter 12: Other Financial Applications Chapter 13: Children and Financial Applications Chapter 14: Financial Applications Governed by the Civil Procedure Rules 1998 Chapter 15: Procedures for the Enforcement of Financial and Costs Orders Chapter 16: Reciprocal Enforcement of Maintenance Orders Chapter 17: Jurisdiction in Child Proceedings Chapter 18: Children – Private Law Issues Chapter 19: Enforcement of Children Act Orders Chapter 20: Locating the Whereabouts of a Child Chapter 21: Wardship and Child Abduction Chapter 22: Public Law for the Private Law Practitioner Chapter 23: Family Homes and Domestic Violence Chapter 24: Emergency Applications Chapter 25: Penal Notices, Undertakings and Committal Applications Chapter 26: Court Bundles Chapter 27: Expert Witnesses in Family Proceedings Chapter 28: Vulnerable Witnesses in Family Proceedings Chapter 29: Appeals Chapter 30: The Court Record Appendices

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Book SynopsisTransparency describes openness, accessibility and public understanding of the family justice system.The principle of open justice has long been limited by the need for privacy to protect the interests of vulnerable parties, and the balance between privacy and publicity is subject to a complex web of legislation and case law, especially in family courts.This book provides a detailed practical guide to the relevant legislation, case law, policy and procedure, and how the balance between privacy and publicity has changed over time.Written in the context of the outcome of the President's Transparency Review (2021), the Second Edition of this title covers recent case law and procedural changes. This includes:- Press attendance and reporting from pilot courts- Legal blogging developments- Privacy of financial applications - Updated judicial guidance on anonymisation and publication, including the transfer of primary publicatio

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Book SynopsisThe family is where legal rules presented as part of the Islamic shari`a are most widely applied in the Muslim world. This connection, often differently elaborated by particular social constituencies, can present difficulties to the advocates of law reform. At the same time, the resonance of the issues at which advocacy is targeted creates an opportunity for creative exchange in addressing practical strategies for change. This volume explores the present-day realities of Islamic family law, with particular emphasis on the rights of women, and focusing on law in its living social context as reflected in public opinion and personal experience. A concluding study ranges further afield in order to explore the challenges and potential of 'principles of shari`a' in advocacy on the question of violence against women. This book makes possible a detailed examination of possibilities of, and constraints on, legal reform in the area of Islamic family law in specific contemporary contexts.Trade Review'...a useful and coherent collection.' Journal of Middle East Women's StudiesTable of Contents Introduction - Lynn Welchman Part I: Muslim Personal Status Law in Egypt: The Current Situation and Possibilities of Reform through Internal Initiatives - Essam Fawzy 1. Introduction 2. Social Context 3. Personal Status Law in Egypt: Historical Overview 4. Understanding the Law, Egyptian Family and Social Attitudes 5. Law No.1 of 2000: A New Personal Status Law and a Limited Step on the Path to Reform 6. General Conclusions Part II: Islamic Law and the Transition to Palestinian Statehood: Constraints and Opportunities for Legal Reform - Rema Hammami, Penny Johnson, Fadwa Labadi, and Lynn Welchman 1. Introduction - Penny Johnson and Lynn Welchman 2. Legal Context: Shari`a Courts and Muslim Family Law in the Transitional Period - Lynn Welchmann 3. Palestinian Interim Governance: State Legislation, Legal Reform, and the Shari`a - Penny Johnson 4. Attitudes Towards Legal Reform of Personal Status Law in Palestine - Rema Hammami 5. Agents for Reform: The Women's Movement, Social Politics and Family Law Reform - Penny Johnson Part III: No Altars: A Survey of Islamic Family Law in the United States - Asifa Quraishi and Najeeba Syeed-Miller 1. Introduction 2. Islamic Family Law in American Muslim Hands 3. The Muslim Family in the US: Law in Practice 4. Islamic Family Law in US Courts

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Book SynopsisTopical and compelling, this volume provides an excellent re-evaluation of the ‘best interests’ test in the healthcare arena; the ways in which it has developed, the inherent difficulties in its use and its interpretation in legal cases concerning the medical care of children.Comprehensively covering both the English and Scottish position within the context of the European Convention of human Rights and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, the author examines a wide range of healthcare situations, from the commonly occurring to the unusual, offering a detailed analysis of legislation, case law, cases and their implications.It includes discussions on: the extent to which a child’s body can be examined, operated on and affected by medicines, devices or procedures intended to bring about medical change the appropriate scope of parental choice and authority and at what stage of their development children should be allowed to make their own decisions the response to situations where the interests of children may be in conflict – the cases of conjoined twins or the donation of organs to siblings. This work is a key resource for postgraduates and researchers working and studying in the fields of law, healthcare and medicine. Table of Contents1. Introduction 2. Standards in Decision Making Concerning Children 3. Best Interests and Consent 4. Best Interests and Refusal 5. Best Interests between Children 6. Best Interests and Withholding/Withdrawing Treatment 7. Best Interests and Medical Research 8. Conclusions

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