Family Law, Sex and Society

A Comparative Study of Family Law

Comparative in both approach and framework, Family Law, Sex and Society provides a critical exposition of key areas in family law, exploring their evolution and development within their historical, cultural, political and legal context.

Cross-referencing to English law throughout, this comparative textbook pays particular attention to the transformation of marriage; the development of divorce laws; matrimonial property; the legal recognition of unmarried heterosexual and same-sex cohabitants; the universal adoption of the best interests standard for children in domestic and international legislation; and the impact of the Human Rights Act 1998 on family law in a variety of jurisdictions.

Divided into different sections, Family Law, Sex and Society includes coverage of:

• a jurisdictional and historical survey of some of the main themes in Family Law, as well as consideration of the evolution of the Western family
• the English law relating to divorce, marital property and children and a comparison with the equivalent law in the civil law jurisdictions of France and Germany
• family law developments in other common law countries such as Australia and New Zealand, selected American jurisdictions, parts of Africa and some Far Eastern countries; and hybrid jurisdictions like Japan and Russia
• an analysis of the law relating to unmarried cohabitation and domestic partnerships in civil law jurisdictions such as France, Germany and Sweden in comparison to Anglo-American law
• a comparative analysis of the laws relating to domestic violence.

Family Law, Sex and Society offers valuable socio-legal and socio-cultural insights into the practice of family law, and is the only textbook that provides a unified, coherent and comparative approach to the study of family law as it operates in these particular jurisdictions.