Introduction 1
1 Family Law and Family Justice 5
The World of Family Law 6
Arguments Against Family Law 13
Family Law and Family Justice 16
Conclusions 22
2 Rights and Responsibilities 23
Rights and Obligations 24
Responsibilities and Expectations 26
Connecting Rights to Responsibilities 29
Analysing Family Law Using Responsibilities and Expectations 32
Conclusions 35
3 International Family Law 37
International Family Law: What Is It, and Where Did It Come From? 38
The 'Forum' Approach 41
The 'Mutual Recognition' Approach 45
The 'Harmonisation' Approach 47
Conclusions 52
4 Regulating Adult Relationships 53
Regulating Relationships 55
what Counts as an Intimate Adult Relationship? 58
Why Marry? why Not? 68
Conclusions 73
5 The Meanings of Marriage 75
The Idea of Marriage 76
The Contract of Marriage? 77
The Sunset Clause Marriage 81
Conclusions 86
6 Fairness in Family Finances 88
The Meanings of Fairness 90
The Application of Fairness to Divorcing Spouses 92
The Application of Fairness to Separating Cohabitants 102
Is Fairness A Helpful Standard? 108
7 The Values of Welfare 112
The Welfare Checklist 114
Understanding the Welfare Principle 117
Applying the Welfare Principle: The Role of Context 119
Valuing Welfare 126
8 Parental Responsibility, Parenting and Status 129
Parental Responsibility 130
Day-to-Day Parenting: The Example of Shared Residence 135
Family Law As Justice 142
Bibliography 147
Index 155