LAW4204

Family law 412

Professor M Neave

12 points - Three 1-hour lectures per week - Full-year subject - Clayton - Corequisite: LAW3400

Objectives Students completing this subject should acquire an understanding of the legal rights and obligations attaching to the family including an appreciation of the legal consequences of marriage and its termination. They will also consider the legal ramifications of cohabitation outside marriage. Students will become familiar with the principal State and Federal laws and the case law concerning rights and duties within families including the rights of children, the division of property, the obligations of maintenance and support, adoption, the status of ex-nuptial children and the legal position of children born as a result of medically assisted conception procedures. Relevant international covenants and their impact will be considered as well as the social, psychological and political forces which influence the legal response to the family in Australia.

Synopsis The topics covered will be drawn from the following: the historical and constitutional background of family law; jurisdiction in family law matters; marriage validity; recognition of foreign marriages and foreign decrees; principal relief in relation to marriage including dissolution and nullity of marriage; the State and Federal law concerning children including residence and contact proceedings, proceedings in relation to the welfare of the child, legislation regulating the status of children and the adoption of children; proceedings in respect of domestic violence; maintenance and child support; property rights of married partners and unmarried cohabitants and procedural aspects of family law litigation. Students will be introduced to writings concerning theoretical aspects of the family and its relationship with the State.
Assessment Class test and final open-book examination (3.75 hours): 15% and 85% respectively - or class test, optional assignment and final open-book examination (3 hours): 15%, 20% and 65% respectively.

Back to the 1999 Law Handbook