Family Law: A Very Short Introduction

Very Short Introductions #379

by Jonathan Herring

What is a family? What makes someone a parent? What rights should children have? Family A Very Short Introduction gives the reader insight not only into what the law is, but why it is the way it is. It examines how laws have had to respond to social changes in family life, from rapidly rising divorce rates to surrogate mothers, and gives insight into family courts, which are required to deal with the chaos of family life and often struggle to keep up-to-date with social and scientific changes. It also looks to the what will families look like in the years ahead? What new dilemmas will the courts face?

About the
Oxford's Very Short Introductions series offers concise and original introductions to a wide range of subjects--from Islam to Sociology, Politics to Classics, Literary Theory to History, and Archaeology to the Bible. Not simply a textbook of definitions, each volume in this series provides trenchant and provocative--yet always balanced and complete--discussions of the central issues in a given discipline or field. Every Very Short Introduction gives a readable evolution of the subject in question, demonstrating how the subject has developed and how it has influenced society. Eventually, the series will encompass every major academic discipline, offering all students an accessible and abundant reference library. Whatever the area of study that one deems important or appealing, whatever the topic that fascinates the general reader, the Very Short Introductions series has a handy and affordable guide that will likely prove indispensable.

Genres: Law

144 pages, Paperback

First published January 10, 2014

Reviews

[Vishruth Chandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

A small and simple read for a general reader. A comparative study for a practicing family lawyer, as this book speaks about family law comparing laws of the United Stated and the United Kingdom in particular and western countries in general. Very well structured book which talks about Marriage, divorce, compensation, children's rights, domestic abuse and the fast changing concept of the institution of marriage with that the whole fabric of society.
Introduces readers to the difficulties the courts face to intervene into the private lives of couples, the inability of the law making bodies to draw a strict line to make laws on issues of family. The difficulty of courts to choose between protecting the relationship (family) and protecting the individual.

[Peter · Rating 3 out of 5]

The legal expert Jonathan Herring published Family Law: A Very Short Introduction in 2014. The book was published before Obergefell v. Hodges (2015), where the United States Supreme Court made same-sex marriage legal throughout the country. The examples in Herring’s book are mainly drawn from family law practice in the United Kingdom and the United States (Herring 1). The book is an introduction, but it also tries to be philosophical about concepts and terms involved in family law. Herring writes, "This book does not seek to explain the law in any particular country in detail. Rather, the book explains the issues that family law must address and discusses the factors that influence the development of family law (Herring 1). I was surprised that adoption did not receive its own longer chapter; instead, adoption is a section in a longer chapter on “child abuse” (Herring 79-91) (Herring 88-90). The book achieves its goal of being a short and thoughtful introduction to family law in the United States and the United Kingdom. The book has a section entitled “further reading” (Herring 113-116). The book has illustrations, including photographs. The book has a section on references and an index. Herring's book is a thoughtful but older introduction to family law.
Works Cited:
Beat, Matthew. 2017, June 16. “Same-Sex Marriage Becomes Legal | Obergefell v. Hodges.” Mr. Beat. YouTube. Video, 7:24 minutes. Same-Sex Marriage Becomes Legal | Obergefell v. Hodges (youtube.com)

[Kandachamy Vijayakumaran · Rating 4 out of 5]

When the concepts of family, relations, parenting, child rights etc. are changing, the family law has to cope up with the changing environment. The book give a adequate exposure to family law. Any one can launch further studies from here.

[Glenn Banks · Rating 4 out of 5]

if you want complexity and nuance then picking this book "very short introduction" is the wrong choice but it covers a lot of interesting topics