Reforming Family Law

Implementation of Islamic family law varies widely across North Africa and the Middle East, here Dörthe Engelcke explores the reasons for this.

The law governing family relationships has changed dramatically in the course of the 20th century and this book - drawing extensively on both published and archival material and on legal as well as other sources - gives an account of the processes and problems of reform.

This collection provides a snapshot of big ideas in family law reform. The book asks: If you could change one part of family law, what would it be? This deceptively simple question is answered by 10 family law experts and debated within the volume by expert respondents. The book puts the proposal first, forcing authors (and their respondents) to critically engage with what family law should look like, and where the development of law is needed to address the changing landscape of family life. Globalisation, cultural and religious diversity, the use of technology and changes in societal attitudes towards marriage and parenthood have all had an impact on the continuing evolution of families. As a consequence, the law has some very complex challenges to address in its attempt to regulate the diversity of family life. This book is an invaluable resource for scholars of family law and serves as a pair to Hart Publishing's landmark Criminal Law Reform Now.

The fifth edition of this work on family law includes extensive rewriting of the section on child law to reflect the changes of the Children Act 1989. This book is designed to be used by all those involved in the practice of family law and by students and teachers of the subject.

There are few areas of public policy in the Western world where there is as much turbulence as in family law. Often the disputes are seen in terms of an endless war between the genders. Reviewing developments over the last 30 years in North America, Europe and Australasia, Patrick Parkinson argues that, rather than just being about gender, the conflicts in family law derive from the breakdown of the model on which divorce reform was predicated in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Experience has shown that although marriage may be freely dissoluble, parenthood is not. Dealing with the most difficult issues in family law, this book charts a path for law reform that recognizes that the family endures despite the separation of parents, while allowing room for people to make a fresh start and prioritizing the safety of all concerned when making decisions about parenting after separation.

Over three years ago, Collectif 95 Magheb-Egalité began an ambitious project to develop and disseminate to human rights activists a guide to equality in both the family and the private sector in the Maghreb. The result is a handbook that contributes to the debate about women's rights and Islamic law, citing, in particular, that Islam is not chiefly responsible for the current status of women and the discriminatory laws under which they suffer. This book provides tools in the effective construction of arguments and communication techniques designed to establish a dialogue. Women’s Learning Partnership (WLP) for Rights, Development, and Peace empowers women and girls in the Global South to re-imagine and restructure their roles in their families, communities, and societies.