legal essay (1 Viewer)

[13yrsWASTED]

hey people....how u all doin....hope ur all doin well in ur hsc's....
we just recieved our next legal assesment....a stupid ass essay......*hand up if ur sick of essays*...

"Discuss how effectively Family Law reflects the morals and ethics of Australian society"

could i please have some help....anyone done this essay....any help will be appreciated...thankyou very much

 

[Ziff]

You should look at this in regards to how the Family Law has over time and currently has changed and how it emphasises certain types of morals/ethics. You have to remember that it reflects that of the dominent Anglo-Celtic culture of Australia.

1. Divorce.
- Since 1873 in Australia the law relating to divorce has changed drastically.
- Before 1873, acts of parliament were needed to get a divorce.
- Up until 1959 the new act allowed divorce as long as certain grounds were met. It disadvantaged women as they needed more criteria than males. There was also a lack of uniformity as all states had different laws.
- 1959 the Commonwealth assumed the power but it was still not fair and adversarial (guilt-based, the loser lost custody/access and property)
- 1975, the most sweeping reforms with the Family Law Act. Then you can discuss the impact of no-fault divorce and cases like the Marriage of P (1976) which introduced the concept of "separate under one roof" and so on. This is because morals changed but also because of economic circumstances etc etc etc.

2. Children. The plight of children has changed. Since the Family Law Reform Act 1995 they have been the primary focus in the legal system. Terms have been changed, the focus changed etc etc. In state law the new Adoption Act 2000 NSW makes adoption a service to children not to the parents. You can also mention efforts to rehabilitate children such as the Young Offenders Act and the Youth Drug Courts etc.

3. De-Facto/Homosexual Marriage
- Mention the introduction of the De-Facto Relationship Act and the changes in 1999 to the Property Relationships Act. Talk a bit about the implications of it and how each state has different laws. Talk about how same-sex couples are still disadvantaged. Talk about future developments to make de-facto and same-sex relationships a Federal jurisdiction.
- Discuss international developments with the system of De Jure (marriage, homo and hetero), De-Facto (Registered, homo and hetero), Unregistered De-Facto
- You could also discuss Howard's changes to the Marriage Act

4. Polygamous Marriages
- Talk about how these don't fit in with the Anglo-Celtic culture.
- But also, a realisation that Australia needs to in some way recognise these marriages allowing redress for spouses e.g. in the Family Law Act polygamous marriages are recognised so partners can claim maintenance, etc etc
- Multiculturalism and Family Law (1991) ALRC report details this.

5. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Marriages
- Are recognised for a myriad of reasons but not recognised as a real marriage
- The advantages and disadvantages of allowing this: e.g. doesn't upset the "traditional" European notion of marriage and allows Aboriginals to continue with traditional marrages and to adopt Aboriginal kids etc

6. Domestic Violence
- There's a shitload of info on this.
- Examine how chnages to the statute law e.g. Crimes Amendment (Sexual Assault) Act 1981 made sexual assault in a marriage a crime
- The many ad campaigns and their effectiveness
- The problems still facing domestic violence victims and why they can't escape e.g. poverty, fear
- The effectiveness of AVO v. Family Court injunction v. Property (Relationships) Act injunction v. Criminal charges

There's really a shitload of things you can talk about. Make sure you refer to case law, media reports, documents and legislation at least once in every point if you can (but make sure at least one of these is always in there!). What you need to "discuss" is effectiveness. That means you need to give equal weighting to "effective" and "ineffective" measures in each point. So you say:

Domestic violence is now considered a crime. Since 1989 Australians have become progressively more aware that it is a crime as the figures from the ABS show which state that 33% of interviewed persons believed it was a "private matter" in 1989 compared with only 15% in 1995. Various community and government programmes and legislation have been implemented to combat this problem with varying degrees of effectiveness. The use of AVOs has been shown to be effective ... blah blah why... but it is also ineffective in that some pundits claim a piece of paper cannot stop a determined attacker as shown in the Jean Lennon case where... blah... Community programmes include... and has shown some effectiveness due to... but does not have a wide enough reach or enough funding to...

and so on.

Remember, you have about an hour to write and you need to cover about 5 issues in depth in that hour so figure out how much you can write in an hour (on both normal A4 and HSC lines) and estimate how much detail to include, how to condense etc etc.

 

[santaslayer]

If Australia reflects that of an Anglo-celtic nature then some aspects of religion should be covered. Generally, Christian religions that dominate this culture have facilitated the direction society has been streered towards. eg. Prohibiing polygamy. But these have also been counterbalanced by the changing needs of society. eg. Move towrads gay marriages?

 

[dark`secrets]

hmm anyone want to do MINE??!!!
analyzing alternative family arrangements.!@?

 

[santaslayer]

Originally posted by dark`secrets
hmm anyone want to do MINE??!!!
analyzing alternative family arrangements.!@?

1. ATSI peoples

a) Do not fulfill the requirements of the Marriage Act 1961 (Cth)- that's where the problem of legal recognition arises.

b) ALRC's Twenty years of law reform report recommended that ATSI marriages be recognised for reasons such as:

*Adoption
*Distribution upon dissoloution
*Social security
* Spousal rebate under Income Tax Assessment Act 1936 (Cth).....etc

c) Recommendations have never been recogmised by Australian law. (Exception is criminal matters)

2. Single Parent Families

a) You should look up some up to date statistics to help introduce this topic. eg. Income, assets, etc relating to single parent families.

b) Access to legal remedies may be inadequate for single parent families because:

*Isolation
*lack of knowledge
*fear
*percieved cost..etc

c) Maybe look at issues of social security and the continued media pressure on this group. Tighter, more stingent laws have also exacerbated the problem

d) Child Support Sceme 1988-Relieved problems of non payment via deductios in income etc..

e) Discrimination- Difficult problems in finding housing because they are percieved to be a hassle. Gaining finance is also a problem. Offence under Anti Discrimination Act 1977 (NSW).

f) Legal remedies include the Anti Discrimination Board and if it is not resolved, then you may be referred to the Equal Opportunity Division of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal.

g) Violence-

* ADVO-under the [Crimes Act[/i]1900 (NSW)
*Problem is compliance
*Civil Standard of proof
*Only a breach of the ADVO is a crime
*Deaths of Andrea Patrick (1983), Jean Lennon (1996) and Irene Davis (1997) by men who had ADVO's issued against them show issues of non compliance.
*The Crimes Amendment (Apprehended Violence) Act 1999 (NSW) now stipulates that police must show in writing for not initiating criminal procceedings in relation to a breach of an ADVO pursuant to s5621(6) of the Crimes Act 1900 (NSW)

Same Sex

*Same anti discrim legislation used above
*Kevin and Jennifer
* Property (Relationships) Legislation Amendment Act 1999 (NSW) Redefined de factos to include homo's.-Only in NSW, not anywhere else.
*Most issues are dealt with by the De Facto's Act, you should select which ones you would like to include.
* Some Case Law you should have already:

-W V G 1994- Lesbian partner pay child compo

-Hope and Brown V NIB Health Fund Limited 1994-right of gay couples to family insurance.



Other topics you may like to include are polygamous marriages, de factos, and domestic relationships?


Some Links for fun, that I haven't covered.

Alternative Family Arrangements: http://www.boredofstudies.org/community/showthread.php?s=&threadid=34224

Polygamous Marriages: http://www.boredofstudies.org/community/showthread.php?s=&threadid=34165

Requirements of a valid marriage (Might be useful?)- http://www.boredofstudies.org/community/showthread.php?s=&threadid=34166

 

[dark`secrets]

umm defacto relationships mrs santa slayer

 

[santaslayer]

Last time I checked it was Mr, not Mrs.

Fine you lazy turd.

Here goes:

* Not covered by Commonwealth statute, all states have their unique piece of legislation, you should focu on NSW.
* Propert (Relationships) Act 1984- which also redefined de factos as "two people" rather then a "man and woman".
*Have to of lived for at least two years together for the statute to have legislative effect.
* Exceptions:
-child in relationhip
-one party has substantial contributions to property

*Court will consider financial and non financial contributions upon property settlement.
*Court is not required to consider future needs of a party but court cases have challenged that and been successful. eg. Hohol V Hohol [1981]

* Maintenance of a de facto partner is rare and less substantial then marriage except if childeren or finance are a real problem.
*These orders cease when the other partner has died, remarried, entered into a domestic relationship or after a specified time period made by the court.
*Family Provision Act 1982 (NSW) allows de facto partners to challenge the will on a deceased's partner's estate if they feel they are entitled to a greater share.


Only a brief outline. Do the rest yourself

 

[fruitbonbon17]

cos it would have been so hard for these people to get their textbook out and do it themselves

 

[santaslayer]

LoLz..

 

[Ziff]

How bored do you get Santaslayer? Tell us your results

 

[santaslayer]

Let's just say my results have yet to deter me from continuing my law studies.

Everyone from the other unis have still got exams, those unis suck.

 

[dark`secrets]

hmmm lol god!~ i've got all those info
and i told you TO DO IT FOR ME!!!
not just give me the legislations

*poke* =P

 

[santaslayer]

hmmm lol god!~ i've got all those info
and i told you TO DO IT FOR ME!!!
not just give me the legislations

*poke* =P

All you have to do is string all the points I've given you into a sentence. Use words like "furthermore", "and", "because", and "finally" to finish the essay. Good luck.

 

[dark`secrets]

lol finished that plus another two assessments at like 3! i was exhausted.
i made up heaps of things for the reforms and stuff :uhhuh:
glad that's over now!!

 

[santaslayer]

Tell us your mark when you get it back!!

 

[dark`secrets]

HAHA no thanx
some things i would like to keep private and marks are definately one of them.