To mark the Family Court Reports’ birthday, Jonathan Herring reviews family law cases from the past 20 years
The Family Court Reports (FCR) series, produced fortnightly, has gained an excellent reputation as a reliable, authoritative and up-to-date set of reports of family law cases. Inevitably, on such an anniversary one looks back over the lifespan of the reports. Certainly family law has undergone some significant changes.
CHANGING FAMILY LAW
Gone for sure are the days when a married couple with 2.4 children was the norm for family lawyers. Increasing rates of unmarried cohabitation, formal acknowledgement of same-sex relationships in the Civil Partnerships Act 2004, and greater access to assisted reproductive treatments mean that courts have been getting used to a far wider range of family forms than was once the case.
Other social changes have affected family law too. The increasing significance attached to fatherhood is notable. Groups claiming to represent fathers have in recent years mounted a vociferous campaign claiming that family law and the family courts are “anti-fathers”. Although their claims are largely groundless, the courts have become sensitive to such accusations.
