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Regan, Francis --- "Making Law for Families edited by M. Mclean, and Disrupted Families: The Law by S. Charlesworth, J. Turner and L. Foreman" [2001] AltLawJl 114; (2001) 26(6) Alternative Law Journal 313

Reviews

Making Law For Families

edited by M. Mclean; Hart Publishing, 2000; 211 pp; £20.

Disrupted Families: The Law

by S. Charlesworth, J. Turner and L. Foreman; Federation Press, 2000; 360 pp; $49.50.

These two books reflect two very different and valuable approaches to the study of the legal regulation of families. The first book examines the broad range of laws that regulate families in Australian society. That is, the emphasis is on the legal content of the existing and mainstream laws in one society. By contrast, the second book examines the way in which attempts have been made in a number of societies to respond to changing family forms. In other words, the emphasis is more on the political struggles over the margins of family laws in many societies. The value of the two divergent approaches can be demonstrated by briefly examining the content of the books.

Disrupted Families is aimed squarely at the growing market for a relevant and targeted legal education for professions. In this case the target group is the social work profession and the content focuses specifically on laws as they relate to families. The current book builds on but significantly extends the previous work Lawyers, Social Workers and Families published in 1990. Importantly, the current book is not a dry rehash of the duty of care as it applies to social workers and the child protection legislation in different States. On the contrary, it represents the best of the 'legal education for professions' texts. It is, on the one hand, an interesting and informative discussion of legal principles, cases statutes and a wide variety of social science research material. On the other hand, it does not patronise the reader by constantly reminding them they cannot really understand the material because they are not trained as lawyers. The authors argue that social workers need a sound understanding of relevant law not just to protect themselves from litigious clients but also because '[s]tudy of the legal framework of practice and legal sources of help for their clients should produce a better understanding of constructive solutions to their client's problems'. The authors are pre­ pared to evaluate existing laws and at a number of points they also sketch options for law reform.

Disrupted Families has two sections. Instead of starting with a dry discussion of the sources of law, the first section examines a range of issues in law and social work. These include professional responsibilities including duty of care and accountability, a valuable overview of Australian family law including the problems and consequences of separation and divorce. This is all readable and engaging material that will not overwhelm the target audience. The second section examines a number of family law issues that are regulated under State jurisdiction including family violence, child welfare law, and professional training and roles. This last mentioned chapter also includes a discussion of the sources of law for those who might be worried that this is not covered! Finally, mediation is also considered in some detail in this section because it is offered by many State based organisations as well as the Family Court. The discussion includes the theory behind mediation, the reasons for its popularity, where and how it is used, and an examination of the critique of mediation in family law settings.

Making Law for Families, an edited collection, examines the way in which laws relating to families are made in a number of societies. The book is a collection of the papers from a conference at the Onati Institute for the Sociology of Law in 1999. The emphasis in this fascinating and readable book is not so much on the content of laws but more on how law makers and political groups in contemporary societies are responding to changing family forms. It is a series of case studies of cutting-edge family law reform processes. Together the case studies do not attempt to pro­ pose generalisations about reform pro­ cesses but they do remind us of a number of valuable lessons about con­ temporary law making in this area. We are reminded, for example, about the dangers of accepting dominant assumptions about societies. While we tend to assume that Catholic countries are unlikely to consider, let alone support, laws for same-sex partnerships, Encarna Roca's chapter examines the development of such law in Catalonia, Spain. The explanation for the law is not so much to do with religion but rather illustrates the Catalonian's desire to distinguish themselves from what they see as the oppressive regime in Madrid. Benoit Bastard's case study of the campaign to promote administrative divorce in France also challenges assumptions about the politics of family law reform and especially the latent and often misunderstood power of the judiciary. France came close to legalising administrative rather than judicial divorce for uncomplicated cases in the mid-1990s. Despite public support for divorce proceedings presided over by mayors, the reform stalled. In the end, the proposal failed due to the absence of an organised pro administrative divorce group and the strident opposition from judges and lawyers who did not want to lose their power and control of divorce.

Other chapters remind us of the increasingly politicised nature of family law reform in western societies. In many societies, highly organised political groups strive to promote their competing views about law reforms related to families. John Dewar's paper examines the politicised development of the recent property and superannuation reforms in Australia, and Makgorzata Fuszara and Beata Laciak's paper analyses the development of pro family constitutional and other law reforms in Poland in the 1990s. Other papers include a study of the attempt to develop a child Act in Bulgaria and an analysis of the complex interaction between human rights and family law in the United Kingdom. This book is important because it reminds us of the complex and highly political task of making law for families in all societies.

Australian audiences in many disciplines can benefit from reading these two very different books. In their own way, each book informs the reader about important developments in laws relating to families. Just as importantly, they also prompt the reader to think a little differently about those laws.

FRANCIS REGAN

Francis Regan teaches legal studies at Flinders University.


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