Commentary

News, analysis, comment and updates from ICLR's case law and UK legislation platform

What next in family legislation? Part 1: Divorce

A number of changes in marriage and divorce law seem poised to be made by proposed legislation. In three linked posts, we take a quick tour round some of the bills awaiting consideration by Parliament. First, Paul Magrath discusses divorce reform. Continue reading

A visit to the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg

The European Court in Luxembourg enjoys a level of support and quality of facilities that domestic courts, with the possible exception of the UK Supreme Court, can only envy. Before issuing its multi-lingual judgments, the judges have the benefit, not only of a superb modern library, but also the intensively researched opinion of an Advocate General, the nature of whose role is perhaps not as well known as it could be. Continue reading

Disclosure and the family lawyer – Part 1

Disclosure: reliance of the family law on common law and civil proceedings rule “Disclosure” has had extensive press recently, mostly in relation to criminal proceedings. In the more narrow legal press, it is of concern to civil lawyers, especially in the burgeoning field of electronic disclosure and electronic access to documents and other material. Family Continue reading

Inheritance disputes and the media: making wishes come untrue

In this guest post, Barbara Rich explains how the Daily Mail missed an opportunity to explain the essential rights of a cohabitant to ask the court to make reasonable provision for her under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975, rather than describing the case as a judge simply overturning the deceased’s wishes Continue reading

Domestic abuse: a Government consultation and a short history

As the Home Office gets involved in the government’s plans to tackle domestic abuse, David Burrows considers the terms of the current consultation and looks back over the somewhat uneven history of dealing with the problem since the 1970s. Transforming society’s response to domestic abuse A domestic abuse Bill may finally be in prospect. A Continue reading