Balancing a child's welfare interests and rights so as to ensure recognition and respect for his or her autonomous identity, while facilitating family unity, has become a major challenge for modern family law. This book, following on from The Principle of the Welfare of the Child: A History, examines, contrasts, and compares the response of England and Wales and Ireland to that challenge. It does so by applying the same matrix of indicators to explore, in each country, the distinction between welfare interests and rights and to trace changes in the balance between them. By profiling the nations in accordance with the same indicators, it reveals important jurisdictional differences in the extent to which welfare interests or rights determine how the law is currently applied to children.

This book contrasts and compares the different application of the law relating to the welfare interests of children in Australia and New Zealand including, respectively, the Indigenous and Māori children of those countries. It does so by applying the same matrix of indicators to explore jurisdictional differences between welfare interests and rights in the contexts of public family law (civil – care and protection etc and criminal – youth justice etc); private family law (matrimonial, adoption etc); and hybrid public/private family law (wardship, adoption from state care etc). By profiling the nations in accordance with the same indicators it reveals important jurisdictional differences in the extent to which welfare interests or rights determine how the law is currently applied to children in Australia and New Zealand.

This book continues the themes addressed by its two predecessors in this mini-series by examining the role of the principle of the welfare interests of the child in the law of the U.S. and Canada. It provides a record of the key milestones in its development in each country and conducts a comparative analysis of the contemporary law relating to children in both. In doing so, it focuses also on the Indigenous communities - the AN/AI and the First Nations - of the U.S. and Canada respectively. By identifying and analysing the functions of the principle in the public (care, protection and control etc), in the private (matrimonial, adoption etc), and in the hybrid (adoption from care, surrogacy etc) sectors of family law, it builds a picture of the law relating to children in the two countries and reveals significant jurisdictional differences. By examining the legislation and related caselaw it assesses the differential effect of the same legal framework on the welfare of Indigenous and other children. In addition to a digest of cases and legislation that identifies and tracks the role of this legal principle, lawyers, academics and other researchers will find a wealth of information on how it has evolved to reflect corresponding changes in social mores. For those interested in politics and social policy, there is much illuminating evidence on how the law has balanced this principle relative to others within both civil and criminal contexts.

This book traces the evolution of the welfare interests of the child principle over the centuries in England & Wales to provide a record of the key milestones in its development. It does so by comparing and contrasting the part it has played in the public - care, protection and control - and in the private - matrimonial, adoption etc - sectors of family law. By analysing the content of the principle this book discloses the essence of what has been termed 'the golden thread running through the common law'. By considering the ways in which the legal system has shaped and been shaped by the principle, it reveals its structural influence. By identifying and assessing the significance of its operational role and functions, it shows how this principle has changed the law relating to children. In addition to a digest of cases and legislation that tracks the evolution of this legal principle, academics and other researchers will find a wealth of information on how that evolution reflects the corresponding changes in social mores. For those interested in the ethics and morality, there is much illuminating evidence on how the law has balanced this principle relative to others within both civil and criminal contexts.

`Hard on the heels of a recent surge in charity-law reforms around the world comes this comprehensive volume of analysis and caution by leading academics and practitioners from many of the countries undergoing change. This timely and essential resource will not only aid those jurisdictions where welcome modernization has occurred, but also provide guidance and lessons for policy makers and scholars in Australia's renewed push for reform - as well as in the United States, where serious debates are just starting.' - Evelyn Brody, Chicago-Kent College of Law and Reporter, American Law Institute's Project on Principles of the Law of Nonprofit Organizations, US In recent years the pressure for charity law reform has swept across the common law jurisdictions with differing results. Modernising Charity Law examines how the UK jurisdictions have enacted significant statutory reforms after many years of debate, whilst the federations of Canada and Australia seem merely to have intentions of reform. New Zealand and Singapore have begun their own reform journeys. This highly insightful book brings together perspectives from academics, regulators and practitioners from across the common law jurisdictions. The expert contributors consider the array of reforms to charity law and assess their relative successes. Particular attention is given to the controversial issues of expanded heads of charity, public benefit, religion, competition with business, government participation and regulation. The book concludes by challenging the very notion of charity as a foundation for societies which, faced by an array of global threats and the rising tide of human rights, must now also embrace the expanding notions of social capital, social entrepreneurism and civil society. This original and highly topical work will be a valuable resource for academics, regulators and legal practitioners as well as advanced and postgraduate students in law and public policy. Specialists in charity law, comparative law, and law and public policy should also not be without this important book.

Balancing a child's welfare interests and rights so as to ensure recognition and respect for his or her autonomous identity, while facilitating family unity, has become a major challenge for modern family law. This book, following on from The Principle of the Welfare of the Child: A History, examines, contrasts, and compares the response of England and Wales and Ireland to that challenge. It does so by applying the same matrix of indicators to explore, in each country, the distinction between welfare interests and rights and to trace changes in the balance between them. By profiling the nations in accordance with the same indicators, it reveals important jurisdictional differences in the extent to which welfare interests or rights determine how the law is currently applied to children.

The 60 or so nations that subscribe to the common law tradition had for centuries broadly accepted the same legal definitions of what constitutes a charity. In recent years, however, a number of countries have embarked on charity law reform processes, designed to strengthen the regulatory framework and to review and encode common law concepts. A primary driver of reform was the need to modernise national charity law and ensure human rights compatibility. In light of these reforms, this book takes stock of how charity law is adapting to face the challenges presented by human rights. The book identifies the key areas where human rights and charity law intersect and examines the importance of those areas, the principles involved and their political significance. It offers a comparative analysis of selected common law countries including England, Wales, Ireland, US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, assessing the extent of national human rights and charity compatibility. Kerry O'Halloran also goes on to consider tensions arising from the intersection of human rights and charity law, including the significance of cultural values and heritage, the importance of proportionality and striking a balance between public and private interests in current society.

In this book Kerry O'Halloran analyses a subject of international interest - religion - and examines related contemporary issues from a human rights perspective. The book takes the view that while the impact of Islamic State violence has dramatically demonstrated the destructive power of religious extremism for contemporary western societies, there are also good grounds for the latter to examine the extent to which their laws and policies - nationally and internationally - are contributing to religion's currently destabilizing social role. It makes the case for a fuller understanding of the role of religion or belief and argues for a rebalancing of the functional relationship between Church and State both nationally and internationally. Beginning with an overview of religion, including an examination of key concepts and constructs, the chapters go on to outline the international framework of related human rights provisions and note the extent of their ratification. It proceeds by identifying a set of themes - such as the Constitutional positioning of religion; law and policy in relation to secularism; faith schools; equality legislation and the religious exemption; and the tension between free speech and religion - and undertakes a comparative evaluation of how these and other themes indicate significant differences in six leading common law jurisdictions as illustrated by their associated legislation and case law. It then considers why this should be and assesses any implications arising. This book will be of great interest to students and scholars in the fields of law, religious studies, political science, human rights and social policy.

The state is legally required to be neutral towards religion, but in many countries it is increasingly anything but. This book conducts a comparative legal analysis of the church-state relationship within and between western countries - including the USA, France and Israel - that are key players in international and domestic dynamics in which religion and religious conflict take centre stage. It analyses how government accommodates diversity, how policies of multiculturalism and pluralism translate into legislation, the extent to which they address matters of religion and belief and what pattern of related issues then come before the courts. Finally, it considers how civil society and democracy in general can maintain a balance between the interests of those of different religions and beliefs and those of none. In this illuminating study, Kerry O'Halloran shows how the relationship between religion and government affects civil society and the functioning of democracy in North America and Europe.

First published in 1999, this book responds to the meaning given to the welfare principle attracts a great deal of controversy and explores the reasons for the controversy and examines the growing legal significance attached to the principle. In an illuminating and accessible manner, this informative volume: provides a record of the milestones which have shaped the principles development by tracing its evolution over the centuries discloses the essence of what has been termed 'the golden thread running through the common law' provides a measure of the impact of the principle on the coherence of modern family law by assessing the significance of its present operational role and functions. The welfare principle began as a common law principle forged in medieval England, yet it has informed the law relating to children in some of the most developed western societies. It is now being refracted through international legislative and judicial developments to challenge the future shape of family law in the UK. By considering the ways in which the legal system has shaped and been shaped by the principle, this invaluable book leads its readers to an appreciation of the content and structural influence of the welfare principle.

For the first time since 1601, a number of leading common law nations have almost simultaneously chosen to revise and place on the statute books the law relating to charity. The Politics of Charity examines the reasons for this and for the varying legislative outcomes. This book examines the legal framework and political significance of charity, as developed within England & Wales, contrasts this with the experiences of other common law nations and explores the resulting implications for government/sector relationships in those countries. It suggests that charity law lies at the heart of the relationship between government and the non profit sector, that there is an unmistakeable political agenda driving charity law reform and that the differential in legislative outcomes reflects important differences in the policies pursued by the governments concerned. Looking at fundamentally different approaches of government towards the sector in the UK, Ireland, the US, New Zealand, Canada, Singapore and Australia, O'Halloran argues the results will have implications for the present workings of parliamentary democracy. The Politics of Charity will be a valuable resource for academics, regulators and legal practitioners as well as advanced and postgraduate students in law, politics and public policy.

First published in 1999, this book responds to the meaning given to the welfare principle attracts a great deal of controversy and explores the reasons for the controversy and examines the growing legal significance attached to the principle. In an illuminating and accessible manner, this informative volume: provides a record of the milestones which have shaped the principles development by tracing its evolution over the centuries discloses the essence of what has been termed 'the golden thread running through the common law' provides a measure of the impact of the principle on the coherence of modern family law by assessing the significance of its present operational role and functions. The welfare principle began as a common law principle forged in medieval England, yet it has informed the law relating to children in some of the most developed western societies. It is now being refracted through international legislative and judicial developments to challenge the future shape of family law in the UK. By considering the ways in which the legal system has shaped and been shaped by the principle, this invaluable book leads its readers to an appreciation of the content and structural influence of the welfare principle.

The social inclusion of marginalized groups, particularly immigrants, is a major concern of Western governments. Much on-the-ground work with marginalized groups is voluntary and philanthropic, and therefore governed by charity law. Little has been published to date which challenges charity law from a social perspective and "Charity Law and Social Inclusion "is the first to study its application in addressing social exclusion. Its objectives are to: explain charity law's capacity to obstruct modern charitable activity provide an international comparative analysis of current charity law examine the concepts of philanthropy, inclusion, alienation and justice consider the competing claims of philanthropy, legal rights and politics as appropriate methods of pursuing social justice showcase current examples of philanthropic intervention, resulting in strategic and sustainable community development projects make recommendations for changes to the legal framework governing philanthropy. Illustrating the importance of the needs of estranged minority culture groups, the legal framework and philanthropic resources as well as the extent to which this reasoning applies to such other socially disadvantaged groups, this book will appeal to academics and students in social policy, sociology and law as well as professionals in community and voluntary work.

The social inclusion of marginalized groups, particularly immigrants, is a major concern of Western governments. Much on-the-ground work with marginalized groups is voluntary and philanthropic, and therefore governed by charity law. Little has been published to date which challenges charity law from a social perspective and "Charity Law and Social Inclusion "is the first to study its application in addressing social exclusion. Its objectives are to: explain charity law's capacity to obstruct modern charitable activity provide an international comparative analysis of current charity law examine the concepts of philanthropy, inclusion, alienation and justice consider the competing claims of philanthropy, legal rights and politics as appropriate methods of pursuing social justice showcase current examples of philanthropic intervention, resulting in strategic and sustainable community development projects make recommendations for changes to the legal framework governing philanthropy. Illustrating the importance of the needs of estranged minority culture groups, the legal framework and philanthropic resources as well as the extent to which this reasoning applies to such other socially disadvantaged groups, this book will appeal to academics and students in social policy, sociology and law as well as professionals in community and voluntary work.

In recent decades, there have been many changes to adoption law and practice, such as a sharp decline in the voluntary relinquishment of children, an increase in the number consigned to public care, and an abrupt decrease in those made available on an intercountry basis. Additionally, human rights are becoming more prominent, particularly in relation to issues such as: non-consensual adoption; the ethics of intercountry adoption; the eligibility of LGBT adopters; the impact of commercial surrogacy; and the sometimes conflicting rights of birth parents and adoptees when accessing agency birth records. In this book, O'Halloran presents a comparative analysis of the interaction between adoption law and human rights in common law (England and the US), civil law (France and Germany), and Asiatic traditions (Japan and China), while also developing a matrix of legal functions to assist in identifying and analysing areas of tension between human rights and adoption. This book is intended for a lawyer readership, whether professional, student or academic: researchers and postgraduate students in subjects such as social work, social policy and politics may also find it helpful.

The state is legally required to be neutral towards religion, but in many countries it is increasingly anything but. This book conducts a comparative legal analysis of the church-state relationship within and between western countries - including the USA, France and Israel - that are key players in international and domestic dynamics in which religion and religious conflict take centre stage. It analyses how government accommodates diversity, how policies of multiculturalism and pluralism translate into legislation, the extent to which they address matters of religion and belief and what pattern of related issues then come before the courts. Finally, it considers how civil society and democracy in general can maintain a balance between the interests of those of different religions and beliefs and those of none. In this illuminating study, Kerry O'Halloran shows how the relationship between religion and government affects civil society and the functioning of democracy in North America and Europe.

This book identifies, analyses and discusses the nexus of legal issues that have emerged in recent years around sexuality and gender. It audits these against specific human rights requirements and evaluates the outcomes as evidenced in the legislation and caselaw of six leading common law jurisdictions. Beginning with a snapshot of the legal definitions and sanctions associated with the traditional marital family unit, the book examines the subsequently evolving key concepts and constructs before outlining the contemporary international framework of human rights as it relates to matters of sexuality and gender. It proceeds by identifying a set of themes, including the rights to identity, to form a family, to privacy, to equality and to non-discrimination, and undertakes a comparative evaluation of how these and other themes indicate areas of commonality and difference in the approaches adopted in those common law jurisdictions, as illustrated by the associated legislation and caselaw. It then considers why this should be and assesses the implications.

Generations of festering culture wars, compounded by actual wars in predominantly Muslim countries, the terrorism of Isis, and the ongoing migrant crisis have all combined to make religious discrimination the most pressing challenge now facing many governments. For the leading common law nations, with their shared Christian cultural heritage balanced by a growing secularism, the threat presented by this toxic mix has the potential to destabilise civil society. This book suggests that the instances of religious discrimination, as currently legally defined, are constrained by that cultural context, exacerbated by a policy of multiculturalism, and in practice, conflated with racial, ethnic or other forms of discrimination. Kerry O'Halloran argues that many culture war issues - such as those that surround the pro-choice/pro-life debate and the rights of the LGBT community - can be viewed as rooted in the same Christian morality that underpins the law relating to religious discrimination.

In recent decades, there have been many changes to adoption law and practice, such as a sharp decline in the voluntary relinquishment of children, an increase in the number consigned to public care, and an abrupt decrease in those made available on an intercountry basis. Additionally, human rights are becoming more prominent, particularly in relation to issues such as: non-consensual adoption; the ethics of intercountry adoption; the eligibility of LGBT adopters; the impact of commercial surrogacy; and the sometimes conflicting rights of birth parents and adoptees when accessing agency birth records. In this book, O'Halloran presents a comparative analysis of the interaction between adoption law and human rights in common law (England and the US), civil law (France and Germany), and Asiatic traditions (Japan and China), while also developing a matrix of legal functions to assist in identifying and analysing areas of tension between human rights and adoption. This book is intended for a lawyer readership, whether professional, student or academic: researchers and postgraduate students in subjects such as social work, social policy and politics may also find it helpful.

In this book Kerry O'Halloran analyses a subject of international interest - religion - and examines related contemporary issues from a human rights perspective. The book takes the view that while the impact of Islamic State violence has dramatically demonstrated the destructive power of religious extremism for contemporary western societies, there are also good grounds for the latter to examine the extent to which their laws and policies - nationally and internationally - are contributing to religion's currently destabilizing social role. It makes the case for a fuller understanding of the role of religion or belief and argues for a rebalancing of the functional relationship between Church and State both nationally and internationally. Beginning with an overview of religion, including an examination of key concepts and constructs, the chapters go on to outline the international framework of related human rights provisions and note the extent of their ratification. It proceeds by identifying a set of themes - such as the Constitutional positioning of religion; law and policy in relation to secularism; faith schools; equality legislation and the religious exemption; and the tension between free speech and religion - and undertakes a comparative evaluation of how these and other themes indicate significant differences in six leading common law jurisdictions as illustrated by their associated legislation and case law. It then considers why this should be and assesses any implications arising. This book will be of great interest to students and scholars in the fields of law, religious studies, political science, human rights and social policy.

This book identifies, analyses and discusses the nexus of legal issues that have emerged in recent years around sexuality and gender. It audits these against specific human rights requirements and evaluates the outcomes as evidenced in the legislation and caselaw of six leading common law jurisdictions. Beginning with a snapshot of the legal definitions and sanctions associated with the traditional marital family unit, the book examines the subsequently evolving key concepts and constructs before outlining the contemporary international framework of human rights as it relates to matters of sexuality and gender. It proceeds by identifying a set of themes, including the rights to identity, to form a family, to privacy, to equality and to non-discrimination, and undertakes a comparative evaluation of how these and other themes indicate areas of commonality and difference in the approaches adopted in those common law jurisdictions, as illustrated by the associated legislation and caselaw. It then considers why this should be and assesses the implications.

For the first time in 400 years a number of leading common law nations have, fairly simultaneously, embarked on charity law reform leading to an encoding of key definitional matters in charity legislation. This book provides an analysis of international case law developments on the ever growing range of issues now being generated by clashes between human rights, religion and charity law. Kerry O'Halloran identifies and assesses the agenda of 'moral imperatives', such as abortion and gay marriage that delineate the legal interface and considers their significance for those with and those without religious belief. By assessing jurisdictional differences in the law relating to religion/human rights/charity the author provides a picture of the evolving 'culture wars' that now typify and differentiates societies in western nations including the USA, England and Wales, Ireland, Australia, Canada and New Zealand.

The 60 or so nations that subscribe to the common law tradition had for centuries broadly accepted the same legal definitions of what constitutes a charity. In recent years, however, a number of countries have embarked on charity law reform processes, designed to strengthen the regulatory framework and to review and encode common law concepts. A primary driver of reform was the need to modernise national charity law and ensure human rights compatibility. In light of these reforms, this book takes stock of how charity law is adapting to face the challenges presented by human rights. The book identifies the key areas where human rights and charity law intersect and examines the importance of those areas, the principles involved and their political significance. It offers a comparative analysis of selected common law countries including England, Wales, Ireland, US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, assessing the extent of national human rights and charity compatibility. Kerry O'Halloran also goes on to consider tensions arising from the intersection of human rights and charity law, including the significance of cultural values and heritage, the importance of proportionality and striking a balance between public and private interests in current society.

This book, which updates and expands the third edition published by Springer in 2015, explains, compares and evaluates the social and legal functions of adoption within a range of selected jurisdictions and on an international basis. From the standpoint of the development of adoption in England & Wales, and the changes currently taking place there, it considers the process as it has evolved in other countries. It also identifies themes of commonality and difference in the experience of adoption in a common law context, comparing and contrasting this with the experience under civil law and in Islamic countries and with that of indigenous people. This book includes new chapters examining adoption in Russia, Korea and Romania. Further, it uses the international conventions and the associated ECtHR case law to benchmark developments in national law, policy and practice and to facilitate a cross-cultural comparative analysis.