A history of the use of the concept of parental alienation in the Australian family law system: contradictions,collisions and their consequences

ABSTRACT

This paper presents insights into the history and current deployment of the concept of parental alienation in the Australian family law system. It begins in 1989, when an article on parental alienation syndrome was first published in an Australian law journal. It then traces aspects of the socio-legal and social science research, gender politics, law reform and jurisprudence of the following 30 years, paying attention to moments of significant change. The impacts of major amendments that emphasise the desirability of post-separation shared parenting outcomes in 1996 and 2006 are specifically considered. More recently, in 2012, reforms intended to improve the family law system’s response to domestic and family violence were introduced. The history reveals an irreconcilable tension between the ‘benefit’ of ‘meaningful’ post-separation parent-child relationships and the protection of children from harm. When mothers’ allegations of violence in the family are disbelieved, minimised or dismissed, they are transformed from victims of abuse into perpetrators of abuse – alienators of children from their fathers. Their actions and attitudes collide with the shared parenting philosophy. This is arguably an inescapable consequence of a family law system that struggles to deal effectively with family violence in the context of a strong shared parenting regime.     

The international rule of law

ABSTRACT

The rule of law is a moral ideal that protects distinctive legal values such as generality, equality before the law, the independence of courts, and due process rights. I argue that one of the main goals of an international rule of the law is the protection of individual and state autonomy from the arbitrary interference of international institutions, and that the best way to codify this protection is through constitutional rules restraining the reach of international law into the internal affairs of a state. State autonomy does not have any intrinsic value or moral status of its own. Its value is derivative, resulting from the role it plays as the most efficient means of protecting autonomy for individuals and groups. Therefore, the goal of protecting state autonomy form the encroachment of international law will have to be constrained by, and balanced against the more fundamental goal of an international rule of law, the protection of the autonomy of individual persons, best realized through the entrenchment of basic human rights.     

Reflections on Iranian revolution of 1979: rise of subjectivity and citizenship

Iranian revolution of 1979 seems to be one of the most enigmatic events of the twentieth century. This paper attempts to shed light on this enigma by reflecting on the social processes that have been at work in Iran since early twentieth century. Beginning in that era, Iran embarked upon a process of modernization that involved the creation of a complex consisting of modern military, bureaucracy, and educational systems. This complex was instrumental in creating a rudimentary form of agency among different classes and strata in Iran which gradually engendered the potential for revolutionary action among large segments of society. Yet this rudimentary form of agency – what in the paper is referred to as ‘inchoate agentification’ – was only up to the level of revolutionary ethos, lacking the capacity to create fully democratic institutions. As a result of the mass participation in the revolution and the total war with Iraq that lasted for eight years, the process of agentification in Iran entered a new phase in which increasing number of people seem to have developed a more mature form of agency and subjectivity – in fact inter-subjectivity – that could explain the demand for rights and freedoms of citizenship in that country as is manifested in the Green Movement since 2009.     

行政诉讼中必要参加诉讼第三人权利救济制度之完善

行政诉讼中对必要参加诉讼第三人的权利救济,虽然在修改前后的《行政诉讼法》及其相应司法解释中都有涉及,但是无论在实体还是在程序方面,均存在较多的问题。这不仅给必要参加诉讼第三人的权利救济带来一定的困难,也成为许多行政案件案结事未了,甚至行政案件申诉、上访、信访率高的重要原因之一。要建立起一套完整的行政诉讼必要参加诉讼第三人权利救济制度体系,以下几个问题值得关注:必要参加诉讼第三人申请参加诉讼未获准,应当赋予其上诉权;没有申请参加诉讼,法院应当通知其参加;遗漏必要参加诉讼第三人的案件,二审法院并非一律发回重审;应赋予被遗漏的必要参加诉讼第三人提起再审之诉的权利;应当赋予必要参加诉讼第三人管辖异议权;必要参加诉讼第三人在终审前都可以参与诉讼程序;参照原被告举证责任完善必要参加诉讼第三人的举证责任制度;强化行政诉讼生效裁判执行中必要参加诉讼第三人的权利保障。     

“The Rain Grows Plants,the Thunder Does Not”: Refugee Mothers’ Narratives on Child Abuse and Neglect

Abstract

Child abuse and neglect are regarded as a public health problem in the United States and around the world. While refugee families experience extreme parenting stress as they resettle, little attention is placed upon how refugee women themselves view child abuse and neglect. The primary objective of this qualitative exploratory research project was to document, through interviews, the compelling narratives of 17 refugee women regarding child abuse and neglect. We discuss the unique struggles faced by refugee families while parenting their children as they resettle in the United States. Recommendations are provided for professionals working with children and refugee families.     

福建省老年人再就业现状与对策研究

随着老龄化社会的到来，如何实现人口二次红利，对个人和社会都具有重要意义。研究通过对福建省9个地市586个有效样本的描述性统计，对福建省老年人再就业的状况及影响因素进行了研究。结果显示：福建省老年人的再就业处于较低水平，且城乡差距较大、职业分布不平衡，老年人再就业不仅受到老年人及其家人观念的影响，也受限于求职渠道和权益保障等条件。研究建议从政府、社会、个人等层面构建老年人再就业促进体系，包括积极发挥政府的全局导向作用、构建老年人再就业市场机制、增强老年人的劳动权益保护意识等来促进老年人的再就业。     

试析我国农村土地承包经营权的性质

农村土地承包经营权是我国农村土地制度的核心。对于土地承包经营权的法律属性,学术界曾经存在较大的分歧。结合对《中华人民共和国农村土地承包法》条文的理解,从几方面论证了土地承包经营权是物权;与传统的用益物权永佃权进行了差别比较;指出农村土地承包经营权有关制度尚须完善。     

对著作人身权转让的思考

学界对版权贸易中精神权利的协调问题有四种理论,即精神权利穷竭说、人身权利放弃论、人身权利合理使用论、精神权利转让论。通过比较分析,我们认为允许精神权利转让是可行的。     

ASSESSING MUTUAL PARTNER-ABUSE CLAIMS IN CHILD CUSTODY AND ACCESS CASES

This article explores issues associated with mutual claims of domestic violence in the context of research on gender and violence, and in the context of litigation tactics commonly employed by perpetrators in child custody and access cases. Quotations from parents involved in such cases illustrate why accurate assessment of mutual cliams requires complete information about social context and the analysis of patterns of domination, power and control in the relationship over time. Recent developments in Canadian law ought to enhance the ability of judges to take such evidence into account. The article aims to provide a lens through which to understand and assess such cases.     

论学校教育管理权纠纷的可诉性及应诉性

学校是行政诉讼法中规定的法律、法规授权组织,其对学生的处分决定是授权组织作出的具体行政行为。学校对学生的勒令退学、开除学籍处分将影响到学生的受教育权利,而受教育权利从其本质上看是一种身份权,属于人身权的范畴。对于学校教育管理权纠纷的应诉性是由受教育权的权利属性以及社会现实性所决定的。