Description
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC Family Justice: The Work of Family Judges in Uncertain Times by Professor John Eekelaar Mavis MacLean
This book is about the delivery of family justice in England and Wales and in particular the work of the family judiciary in the lower courts. However the authors go beyond their empirical findings to offer a broader consideration of the nature and role of the family justice system at a time when the system itself is under threat from reform proposals. The book begins with an historical and comparative examination of assumptions about family justice offering a defence of the role of legal rights in family life and the importance of good policy-making based on evidence. The US and Australia are given as examples of how new approaches to family justice can be successfully deployed. Then comes the empirical part including a typology of the roles and tasks addressed by judges emphasising the extent to which judges integrate legal and mediatory approaches to family justice. The authors conclude that there is a trend across jurisdictions driven by technological innovation and economic constraints to reduce the role of courts in favour of individual choice based on information sources. While this development can be beneficial the authors argue that any move to privatised forms of dispute resolution nevertheless requires a sound judicial structure underpinning it.