Law, Law Reform and the Family

This collection of essays examine the process and problems of law reform with special reference to the development of family law. The author, Stephen Cretney, who is one of the UK's most distinguished family lawyers, demonstrates the different pressures and influences that affect the development of the law, including the views of judges, the advice of civil servants and the requirements of Parliamentary drafting to an extent which has not previously been appreciated. Topics covered include the involvement of the Church in the 1969 divorce reforms; the struggle for power within the family from 1925 to 1975; approaches to the reform of intestacy; the Children Act of 1948; and the early days of marriage conciliation, amongst others.

Preface ; Table of Cases ; Table of UK Statutes ; Introduction ; 1. The Law Commission: New Dawns and False Dawns ; 2. Putting Asunder and Coming Together: Church, State and the 1969 divorce reforms ; 3. The Forfeiture Act 1982: A Case Study of the Private Member's Bill as an Instrument of Law Reform ; 4. 'Disgusted, Buckingham Palace ...': Divorce, Indecency and the Press, 1926 ; 5. Marriage Saving and the Early Days of Conciliation: the role of Claud Mullins ; 6. Tell me the old, old story - the Denning Report fifty years on ; 7. 'What will the women want next?' The struggle for power within the family, 1925-1975 ; 8. Adoption - From Contract to Status? ; 9. The State as a Parent: the Children Act 1948 ; 10. Dividing Family Property on Death: Approaches to Reform of Intestacy ; Index