Law And Parenthood

In recent years, child law has increased in prominence, not only in the public eye and the courts, but also as a study option as a result of modularisation. This book discusses the substantive law, the procedural law, and all the main issues which are commonly raised in both undergraduate and postgraduate courses on the subject. With the implementation of the Children Act 1989 and the Child Support Act 1991, family law practitioners will also have much to gain from this text, as they find themselves increasingly specialising in child care law and private child law. The primary concern of family law tends to be the role and function of parents. This book addresses the key issues of parental rights and responsibilities: a vital approach lacking in most academic law books which instead look at the parent-child relationship from the position of the child. Barton and Douglas: Law and Parenthood pioneers the study of child law in context by examining the legal concepts of parentage and parenting within their historical, philosophical and sociological perspectives. Special attention is also given to the International Convention on the Rights of the Child, adopted at the United Nations in 1989, as it exemplifies the increasing pressure of international obligations upon states to acknowledge the rights of both parents and children.