Lind, Craig and Barlow, Anne (1996) Family redefinition under Part III of the Family Law Bill 1996. Web Journal of Current Legal Issues (2). ISSN 1360-1326

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Abstract

We aim to assess the potentially wide-ranging effects of Part III of the Family Law Bill 1996 on the legal position of unmarried couples in domestic violence law, and on the jurisprudential scope of family law itself. We begin by considering the social reality of family structuring, noting the erosion of the dominance of the traditional married family. Then we consider the equivocal and, consequently, incohesive legal response to this social diversification (particularly in the context of heterosexual cohabitation). In the analysis of Part III of the 1996 Bill which follows we examine the implications of the proposed reforms for all unmarried cohabitants, and examine the adequacy of the new remedies available to expanded categories of victims of family violence. We conclude by arguing that the Bill significantly improves current law, but that by creating three tiers of legal regulation to distinguish the remedies available to spouses, unmarried heterosexual cohabitants, and other home sharers (notably homosexual cohabitants), it unnecessarily and inappropriately complicates the resolution of comparable disputes. The ideological importance of the superiority of the married state has prevented pragmatic and coherent reform.

Item Type:	Article
Schools and Departments:	School of Law, Politics and Sociology > Law
Depositing User:	Craig Lind
Date Deposited:	06 Feb 2012 21:00
Last Modified:	02 Apr 2012 11:36
URI:	http://sro.sussex.ac.uk/id/eprint/29052

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