Family law is an extremely sensitive and controversial topic. One of the most serious topics in family law are disputes regarding children. The child’s best interest should be paramount but this is difficult to determine and creates conflict as it is different for every case and the best for the child might not be the child’s wishes if they are not old enough. In this response, the interest of the child in family disputes will be explored, its effect on stakeholders and their interests, the effectiveness of the current process in the protection and the best interests of the child and recommendations for future legislations.
The Family Law Act 1975 made the child’s interests principal in family cases that involved children as they are greatly affected by divorces, breakups and other major family changes. Divorce is a main cause of distress in a child’s life so that is why the child’s interests are paramount in such cases. Later in 2006 an amendment was issued and it was determined that having both parents involved in the child’s life in equal or at least substantial amounts of time provided that it does not interfere with the child’s best interests is in the
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Some major stakeholders are; parents, children, grandparents, step parents or new partners and the extended families on both sides. In most cases both parents wish to spend time with their child after divorce and may not wish for the child to associate with the other parent. Step parents or new partners may or may not want the child which may conflict with the parent of the child they are in a relationship with. The grandparents of both parties would like to stay in contact with the child as well as the extended family. Most importantly, the child may prefer to stay with one parent and not the other, but the wellbeing and the best interests of the child may come before its wishes. It may also restrict the capability
...l now be given the power to interfere in cases where parents have failed in their duties towards the child. This is extremely important as it allows the State to intervene in cases where there has been a failure, which was difficult to do in the past. This new role of protecting children's rights is favourable as it will, hopefully, prevent any failure by the State to children in unacceptable circumstances/situation.
When a court is dealing with proceedings relating to a child, section 1 of the Children Act 1989 (CA 1989) governs that the court’s paramount consideration shall lie with the child’s welfare. The term paramount was explained by Lord Macdermott in J v C which means ‘that the child’s welfare is to be treated as the top item in a list of items relevant to the matter of question’. His Lordship went on to explain that when all the relevant facts and circumstances are taken into account and weighed, the outcome chosen by the court is based on the interests of the relevant child. Therefore any other party’s interest is only considered as far as it contributes to promote the child’s best interest.
The NSW Criminal Justice System is adequate when dealing with young offenders; however, like any legal system it does have its limitations. The NSW Criminal justice system does uphold the rights of the young offender by providing juveniles with special courts under the Childrens Court Act 1987 (NSW) by providing special protections under the UN’s Convention on the Rights of the Child; the recognising of culpability in regards to the age of the young offender by implementing doli incapax and by arranging a variety of diversionary programs and alternative punishments. However, the limitations of the NSW Criminal justice system in relation to young offenders is Doli Incapax in the The Childrens (Criminal Proceedings Act 1987) NSW which fails to recognise more serious offenders and The Young Offenders Act allowance for youth justice conferencing is not being cultivated for a wide enough range of offenders, leading the exclusion of some young offenders from the benefits that conferencing can offer.
The Amendment Act has followed the research and recommendations that were provided by the Australian Law Reform Commission in 2010. There has been a large move away from providing parents with more rights in terms of parenting orders and access to their children, and has emphasised that there are a large amount of risks when going through these processes. The Amendment Act has provided women and children with more protection from violence and abuse, by assessing potential risks in a larger context and by expanding definitions to include different categories that are considered acceptable within modern society.
With the increase of divorce and the number of children being born out of wedlock, parental alienation continues to grow. With custody laws changing, allowing for equal opportunities for both parents to raise their children, and fathers beginning to fight for their right to be involved, not just every other weekend fathers, custody battles have become increasingly fierce. Another factor contributing to this is the fact that many courts consider who will be more willing to encourage the child to have a heathly and continuing relationship with the other parent.
In this day and age there are many variations of what constitutes a couple or family in comparison to many years ago. Long ago the idea of a ‘nuclear family’ was considered the norm; it consisted of the conventional husband, wife and children . But as our society progressed through the years this definition became less conventional and criticisms were made, this definition of ‘family’ did not account for gay unions, soul parents nor did it acknowledge the prevalence of extended family. The definition of family has changed over time, as have the socially defined roles of mothers and fathers. Within these varied family units, situations occur in which divorces and separations take place and a lot of the times these tricky situations may involve children, which can make an already tricky situation even more problematic. There are pieces of legislation which are in place which aim to protect the best interests of a child during the time their parents are going through divorce but sometimes these avenues can be more problematic and ultimately destroy unions whereas other avenues of dispute resolution such as mediation, albeit with its own criticisms, helps to keep relationships afoot in that it provides an opportunity for peaceful and mutual agreements to be made in a more laid back environment.
Divorce is a heavy concept that has many implications for those involved. The situation becomes even more consequential when children are considered. As divorce has become more commonplace in society, millions of children are affected by the separation of the nuclear family. How far-reaching are these effects? And is there a time when divorce is beneficial to the lives of the children? This paper will examine some of the major research and several different perspectives regarding the outcomes of divorce for the children involved, and whether it can actually be in the best interest of the kids.
Divorce is a process that many people in America go through. The divorce rate continues to escalate over the years. Divorce is a serious problem, it is a gradual process that ultimately results in families breaking up. There are various factors in which a marriage can fail and end up in divorce. Some skip the step of trying to reconcile things and make it work. In some cases it is easy for a divorce to take place. For instance, in cases where both parties are in agreement and have no children it is easier to handle a divorce. But in the cases where children are present, what happens to the kids? Both parents are at each others throats or one is devastated from the rejection, what role does the child play? It is a hard thing to cope with as an adult imagine as a little one or even a teenager, it affects them in more ways than anyone can imagine. It can affect them both physically and emotionally. The effects of divorce are immense, it permanently weakens the bond or relationship between a child and his parents. Can lead to them reaching out or looking to others for attention, causing poor attitudes, low self esteem, dropping grades, loss of virginity, use of drugs and or weapons, or in some cases mutilation of the body. There are various effects that children have to deal with that maybe extremely hard to cope with. One parent may say one thing yet the other disagrees and makes it impossible for the child to have a stable relationship with both of them. Children need both biological parents at their side to be guardians and counselors in their lives, to be examples of what they need to do to become outstanding citizens in our community.
Single Parent Struggle For many years, children growing up in a single parent family have been viewed as different. Being raised by only one parent seems impossible to many yet over the decades it has become more prevalent. In today’s society many children have grown up to become emotionally stable and successful whether they had one or two parents to show them the rocky path that life bestows upon all human beings. The problem lies in the difference of children raised by single parents versus children raised by both a mother and a father.
...ion of Australia. This campaign aims at promoting rights for shared equal parenting, with amendments to the Family Law Act 1975 (Cth) in 2006; of which dealing with family matters and relationship strains in non-court-based services to ensure that children are able to maintain an earnest relationship with both of their parents subsequent to a divorce. Thus, the role of such pressure groups are aimed at community empowerment and taking action in the area of law reform as the values of society continue to change.
Children will be suffered conflict with the interaction with their parents and siblings, and other aspects in their family life by cause of the divorce (Berk, 2010). Some parents who decide to get divorced that they were waiting the time on arguments and fights. Also, these parents use their children to punishment to one to each other. For this situation, children have a lot of conflicts on their emotions, and they have issues in their security. For instance, the custody’s fights are the biggest battle during the separation, and parents develop a lot of stress during this process. In the majority of the cases, mothers have the custody of their children, and they have to raise as a single mother. Also, the children tend to develop a lot of fears and about what they want to do. The divorce brings several negatives on children, and children live with a lot of stress during the divorce process. As well as, each child is different, and they
Family Law (Law Express) 2th edition, by Jonathon Herring, published by Pearson Education Limited 2009
Family is the important base to the entire of human in their life. There are several principles of moral and ethics that should be applied in family. Firstly, it’s all about love among the family members. Love is an emotion that felt by an individual which is unconditionally given by one individual to another individual. Secondly, giving and receiving among the family members. Giving and receiving make the love flows highly in family whereas giving is an ethics that should been applied among family members. Giving something without expect anything shows the unselfishness of love. Third principle is thoughts, words and deeds. Thoughts, words and deeds should consider carefully because it has its own consequences. The action must be ethical because it could hurt other family members if it’s unethical which could destroy the relationship among each of the family members. Another principle is present reality and future potential. Every of the family members work should be in progress because it’s important to them to help their family members to be safe and supportive.
A family is a social foundation found in all societies. It unites people in supportive system as they care for one another. In many countries, including the U.S., families form around marriage and are seen as a legal relationship. Patterns of marriage and relationship vary around the world. There are four general marriage patterns around the world endogamy, exogamy, polygamy, and monogamy. Family support is a system involving two married individuals providing care and stability for their children. How the family support is in the household leave the impact on the children as they grow up. Present day how a family is formed has changed from traditional view now with single parents, divorced parent and gay marriage.
The New South Wales Criminal trial and sentencing process is adequate in balancing the rights of the victims, offenders and society however like any legal system is does have its faults. The options in the trial and sentencing process are stipulated in the Criminal Procedure Act 1986, the Crimes (Sentencing Legislation) Amendment (Intensive Correction Orders) Act 2010 and the Crimes (sentencing procedure) Act 1999 which features the use of charge negotiation, rehabilitation, mitigating factors and intensive corrective orders.