Common Misconceptions in Addressing Domestic Violence in Child Custody Disputes

Domestic violence has been recognized as an important factor to consider in determining the best interests of children in custody and visitation disputes. However, there remain many misconceptions about the extent and impact of domestic violence in child custody proceedings. Several misconceptions are identified and juxtaposed with the reality of emerging knowledge in this field, and implications are outlined. These issues are illustrated by the perspectives of 62 women victims and 95 children exposed to domestic violence who had to navigate the justice system after separation from an abuser. Recommendations are offered for enhancing professional education, resource development, and collaboration among courts and community service providers.     

Mediation On Public Construction Disputes In Taiwan

I. INTRODUCTION In Taiwan, it is increasingly common for the parties to refer their disputes arising from the public construction projects to the Complaint Review Board for Government Procurement under Public Construction Commission . Where there are differences in opinions between a contractor and the tendering entity regarding the provisions of the contract, or where a contractor considers that the actions or measures taken by the tendering entity under the contract are not in conformity with the stipulations of the contract, the parties prefer to resort to the mediation process conducted by the Complaint Review Board for Government Procurement rather than resort to arbitration directly. It is a practice that tends to be followed in large cases.     

行政纠纷调解机制构建的法理分析

行政法理论通说认为行政诉讼不适用调解。这一观点为现行行政立法所吸纳,封堵了以调解解决行政纠纷的途径。行政自由裁量权的存在、现代行政模式的转变、和谐司法理念的提出,为行政调解机制的构建提供了理论上的支撑。司法实践中,行政诉讼中法院以变通的"和解"、"协调"之名来解决行政纠纷的方式实具有调解性质。隐形于行政诉讼中的调解对现行行政立法与传统通说的悖反,体现了行政调解制度层面的现实需求。     

我国传统纠纷调解机制的功能与现代价值

我国素有调解的传统,传统纠纷调解机制在平息纠纷、维护社会稳定方面确实发挥了无可替代的积极作用.在我国当前创建社会主义和谐社会、建设新农村的进程中,既要充分发扬我们悠久的纠纷调解传统,充分发挥我国调解制度的优势,又要认真借鉴西方国家方兴未艾的"ADR"运动的经验,努力完善我国的非诉讼纠纷解决机制,使之更好地为构建当代和谐社会而服务.     

Evaluating the Probative Value of Child Custody Evaluations

It has previously been argued that a competent forensic work product is defined, in part, by the evaluator's use of conventional forensic methods and procedures applied to child custody evaluations (Gould, 1998) and that the more judges and other legal professionals understand about forensic methods and procedures, the better they are able to critically weigh the substance and merit of a child custody evaluation (Gould & Bell, 2000). These forensic methods and procedures have their foundation in the behavioral sciences and are characteristic of competent and comprehensive forensic evaluations conducted for other legal purposes. In this paper, we provide a more detailed model for critiquing the forensic competence of a child custody report. Such a model better assists courts and lawyers in understanding how to assess the substance and admissibility of custody reports.     

浅议民事纠纷委托人民调解

2006年2月,上海市高级人民法院、上海市司法局联合下发了《关于规范民事案件委托人民调解工作的若干意见》(以下简称《意见》)。其中,首次提出了“民事纠纷委托人民调解”,并对原则、范围、阶段、流程等进行了规定,使人民调解介入民事诉讼的途径方式进一步得到规范,作用发挥得到了拓展。一、“民事纠纷委托人民调解”制度的建立长宁区早在2003年6月6日率先建立了上海市第一家区联合人民调解委员会,在法院设立了全国第一家专业化人民调解机构———区联调委人民调解窗口,开展“在法官主导下诉讼调解适度社会化”探索和实践,并取得成功,其经验…     

Associations between Parent and Child Reports Of Interparental Conflict/Violence And Child Difficulties in A Family Mediation Setting*

We examined the association between parents’ (N = 52 mothers and 52 fathers) and children's (N = 27) reports of interparental conflict and child difficulties in a family mediation setting. Parents’ reports of conflict were moderately associated with children's reports of exposure to parental conflict, but only fathers’ reports of conflict were associated with children's reports of negative responses to parent conflict. While mothers and fathers agreed on their child's difficulties, only mothers’, not fathers’, report of child difficulties were moderately related to child reports of child difficulties. Mothers’ and fathers’ reports of conflict generally were not strongly associated with reports of child difficulties. In contrast to parent reports, children's reports of exposure to parents’ conflict were moderately and significantly related to self‐reported child difficulties and moderately related to parents’ reports of child academic difficulties. The magnitude of the association between the child's report of interparental conflict and self‐report of difficulties was stronger than the association between parent report of conflict and parent report of child difficulties, suggesting that parents may not fully understand their child's exposure to parent conflict/violence or the problems their child is experiencing.

Key Points for the Family Court Community:
• Family law stakeholders prioritize the creation of parenting arrangements that are in the best interest of the child; however, it is unclear how to gather information about the child and the child's perspective in order to inform such arrangements.
• The study results suggest that parents may not agree with each other or with the child about important family issues, such as parent conflict and child difficulties. For example, parents may not fully understand their child's exposure to parental conflict/violence when in the midst of custody negotiations.
• More research is needed to determine the best method for gathering information about the child during custody proceedings. In the meantime, it is important to gather information from multiple sources and to consider the agreement and differences across such sources of information.

     

运用人民调解手段解决医疗纠纷的实践与思考

由于目前我国正处于医疗体制转型的特殊时期,医疗纠纷引发的社会不稳定因素大量增加。此类纠纷具有法律客体的重要性、法律主体的特定性和涉及内容的技术性,解决起来有较大难度。笔者认为,人民调解作为诉讼外解决纠纷的重要方式,具有简便、灵活、高效、低成本等优点,在解决医疗     

论医疗纠纷行政调解制度之重构

医疗纠纷行政调解作为一种诉讼外纠纷解决方式应当遵循自愿原则、效率原则和合法原则。在具体制度设计上可以考虑在县级以上地方政府法制部门成立相对独立的机构负责医疗纠纷行政调解，同时要设计既简便又实用的行政调解程序，赋予调解协议以合同效力，从而充分发挥行政调解在医疗纠纷解决中的作用。     

Relocation Issues in Child Custody Evaluations: A Survey of Professionals

We report on a sample of 90 child custody evaluators in the United States, who completed an online questionnaire on their attitudes and beliefs in child custody relocation cases. Findings indicated that the vast majority of participants relied on relevant professional literature and utilized a relocation risk assessment forensic model. Participants found many risk, protective, and specific relocation factors important, but the triad of past parental involvement, support for the other parent, and child's age were afforded the most importance. Participants also reported that the moving parents sought relocation for educational/vocational reasons, to receive support of their extended family, or to remarry, while the nonmoving party most commonly opposed relocation due to fears of interference/damage to the nonmoving parent–child relationship, restrictive gatekeeping, and alienation. A common trend among participants was concerns over the possible detrimental impact of any relocation on the nonmoving parent–child relationship and quality of co‐parenting. The vast majority of participants reported that they made specific recommendations to the court about relocation, and the court agreed with their recommendation the overwhelming majority of the time. We discuss Implications of the findings as well as areas needing further research.