JournalTOCs

International Journal of Law, Policy and the Family
Journal Prestige (SJR): 0.223

Citation Impact (citeScore): 1
Number of Followers: 21

Hybrid journal (It can contain Open Access articles)
ISSN (Print) 1360-9939 - ISSN (Online) 1464-3707
Published by Oxford University Press

[413 journals]

From Stranger to Family or Something in Between: Donor Linking in an Era
of Retrospective Access to Anonymous Sperm Donor Records in Victoria,
Australia
- Authors: Kelly F; Dempsey D, Power J, et al.
  Pages: 277 - 297
  Abstract: AbstractIn June 2015, the state of Victoria, Australia retrospectively opened its sperm and egg donors’ records, becoming only the second jurisdiction in the world to do so and the first where substantial pre-legislative records are available and stored in a central register. The new legislation gave donor-conceived adults and donors who were conceived or donated under conditions of anonymity (ie prior to 1988) the right to apply to the state’s Central Register for each other’s identifying information, which is released to them if the subject of the application consents. Between the introduction of the law and its further amendment in March 2017, more than 100 applications were made. Through a thematic analysis of donor-conceived adults’ and donors’ Statements of Reasons – a written document applicants were required to complete when they applied – the article explores applicants’ motivations for applying, the information they sought, and their goals with regard to contact. The study found that most applicants were driven by curiosity and a desire for personal information about the other party. They also expressed a strong desire to meet and have an ongoing relationship with the subject of their application. The study also revealed an unanticipated desire on the part of previously anonymous donors for information about their offspring, suggesting future research could explore the emotional needs of donors in greater depth.
  PubDate: Fri, 27 Sep 2019 00:00:00 GMT
  DOI: 10.1093/lawfam/ebz011
  Issue No: Vol. 33, No. 3 (2019)
One Parent, Three Parents: Judges and Ontario’s All Families Are
Equal Act, 2016
- Authors: Leckey R.
  Pages: 298 - 315
  Abstract: AbstractThis article studies judges’ early treatment of a new law on parentage and assisted reproduction. During decades of legislative inaction, Ontario’s judges adapted the law to evolving familial practices, at times boldly. A legislative overhaul in 2016, aiming to recognize all children’s families equally and inclusively, raised the question whether judges would adopt a more restrained role post-reform. In two early cases, where the new conditions for automatic recognition of a parental arrangement were unmet, the judges emphasized the intention of involved adults. Closely reading the legislation, the article presents bases for deciding the cases otherwise and for reducing their potential to incentivize litigation. Where the legislature has set out a broad range of accessible paths to parentage, even judges who champion family diversity may have reasons to stick to those paths. For legislative drafters, the difficulty of anticipating the variety of contemporary forms of family may counsel against purporting to limit judicial discretion. Ontario’s experience also favours including transitional measures in major reform.
  PubDate: Sun, 08 Sep 2019 00:00:00 GMT
  DOI: 10.1093/lawfam/ebz013
  Issue No: Vol. 33, No. 3 (2019)
The Parentage Disruption: A Comparative Approach
- Authors: Kessler G.
  Pages: 316 - 336
  Abstract: Abstract The bionormative and heteronormative models of parentage has been challenged by multiple factors: a cultural shift, which has led to the decline of marriage and the development of cohabitation, a technological evolution, which has made it possible to develop new reproductive technologies, and a legal change that has led to the recognition of same-sex relationships. However, the extent of this development has not yet been fully assessed. Rather than simply adapting the rules designed according to an outdated model, it would be better to break with it permanently. This article proposes to build a new system based on intent and care, on the basis of case law and doctrinal proposals from several countries. Drawing from the best interests of the child standard, it operates a distinction between the status of parent and progenitor: whatever the circumstances of the birth (natural procreation, adoption, assisted reproduction technology, or surrogacy) and the nature of the parents' relationship (same-sex or heterosexual, married or unmarried, engaged in a romantic relationship or not), parentage would be based on a formal statement and the question of genetics limited to the determination of identity and the right to know one's origins.
  PubDate: Thu, 05 Sep 2019 00:00:00 GMT
  DOI: 10.1093/lawfam/ebz012
  Issue No: Vol. 33, No. 3 (2019)
The Evolution of Joint Parenting in Poland: The Legal Perspective on
Lessons Learned and Still to Be Learned
- Authors: Habdas M.
  Pages: 337 - 359
  Abstract: AbstractThe aim of this article is to consider how ideas about raising children by parents who have parted have changed in Poland and how they were reflected in changing provisions of family law in order to offer at least an initial answer to the question of whether joint parenting should be a welcomed development in Polish family law. The article will focus not only on indicating when and how the relevant family law provisions have been amended but also on presenting the academic and practical dilemmas faced in the process of introducing a new concept of joint physical custody over a child when parents have parted. It is argued that an honest revision of the challenges and opportunities joint parenting offers, based not only on national experiences but also on research and experiences of foreign jurisdictions, promotes a better understanding of this solution, which in the Polish context is still an emerging concept requiring ongoing research and active academic consideration.
  PubDate: Thu, 05 Sep 2019 00:00:00 GMT
  DOI: 10.1093/lawfam/ebz010
  Issue No: Vol. 33, No. 3 (2019)
The Human Right to Gender Identity: From the International Human Rights
Scenario to Latin American Domestic Legislation
- Authors: Arrubia E.
  Pages: 360 - 379
  Abstract: AbstractTransgender persons usually undergo significant discrimination all over the world. This is the reason why gender identity has been translated into the language of International Human Rights Law. Thus, the European Court of Human Rights has evolved along the last decades towards the recognition of this human right, and so has the Inter-American Court by releasing its recent advisory opinion on gender identity, equality and non-discrimination of same sex couples. Within this framework, some Latin American countries have passed regulations entitling trans persons to have their public records as regards their name, sex marker and image data modified. Nevertheless, these juridical norms of domestic law might not entirely comply with the standards that have been set by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights since they tend to reproduce cultural patterns of gender which lead to a pathological comprehension of transgenderism. In this analysis, Argentinian legislative experience is accounted for as a cutting-edge exemption in this matter.
  PubDate: Tue, 17 Sep 2019 00:00:00 GMT
  DOI: 10.1093/lawfam/ebz007
  Issue No: Vol. 33, No. 3 (2019)
Posthumously Conceived Children and Succession Law: A View from Ireland
- Authors: O’Sullivan K.
  Pages: 380 - 402
  Abstract: AbstractSince its emergence in the late 1970s, posthumous conception has provoked controversy. However, notwithstanding that a number of jurisdictions continue to apply a blanket ban on the posthumous use of genetic material, many (if not most) common law jurisdictions now expressly or implicitly permit such post-mortem conception. Yet as awareness of the potential for posthumous conception continues to increase, so too does awareness of the associated legal complications. In particular, serious questions arise as to whether the so-called ‘after born’ children ought to enjoy succession rights in their deceased parent’s estate. This article considers various arguments for and against the recognition of the succession rights of posthumously conceived children and reflects on the position adopted in a number of jurisdictions. With these international perspectives in mind, the article then places the spotlight on recent developments in Ireland, specifically the recent publication of the General Scheme of the Assisted Human Reproduction Bill 2017, which seeks to expressly permit and regulate posthumous assisted reproduction in the jurisdiction. The article considers the apparent intention of the Irish legislature to recognize the ‘inheritance’ rights of posthumously conceived children and, drawing on international experiences, questions how this intention might best be realized.
  PubDate: Wed, 28 Aug 2019 00:00:00 GMT
  DOI: 10.1093/lawfam/ebz014
  Issue No: Vol. 33, No. 3 (2019)
Legal Gender Beyond the Binary
- Authors: Gössl S; Völzmann B.
  Pages: 403 - 429
  Abstract: AbstractThe article explores the fundamental rights regarding a person’s status registration as neither male nor female and, thus, gender registrations ‘beyond the binary’. The authors analyse the fundamental rights of the individual as codified in the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) and examine ‘third options’ in jurisdictions and recent court decisions in Europe. They analyse to what extent similar results might be achieved at the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR).
  PubDate: Sun, 08 Sep 2019 00:00:00 GMT
  DOI: 10.1093/lawfam/ebz009
  Issue No: Vol. 33, No. 3 (2019)
Family Law and Family Realities, edited by Carol Rogerson, Masha
Antokolskaia, Joanna Miles, Patrick Parkinson, and Machteld Vonk
- Authors: Eekelaar J.
  Pages: 430 - 432
  Abstract: Family Law and Family Realities, edited by RogersonCarol, AntokolskaiaMasha, MilesJoanna, ParkinsonPatrick, and VonkMachteld, The Hague: Eleven International Publishing, 2019, 577pp (no index), ISBNs 978-94-6236-927-6 and 978-94-6274-420-2 (e-book).
  PubDate: Tue, 24 Sep 2019 00:00:00 GMT
  DOI: 10.1093/lawfam/ebz008
  Issue No: Vol. 33, No. 3 (2019)