Litigants in Person and the Family Justice System

Erscheinungsjahr 2022
ISBN: 978-1-5099-4735-5
Verlag: Bloomsbury 3PL

Buch, Englisch, 192 Seiten, Hardback, Format (B × H): 161 mm x 240 mm, Gewicht: 455 g

This book is about those who represent themselves as Litigants in Person in the family justice system. It calls for a refocusing of the debate about the historical challenges associated with Litigants in Person as well as the role they should play within the family justice system in England and Wales.

Drawing together interviews with Litigants in Person and decades of research into self-representation from across multiple jurisdictions, this book provides an account of the family justice system through the eyes of its users. It employs an innovative socio-legal framework comprising feminist theory, a Bourdieusian theory of class, vulnerability theory, and actor-network theory to explore the journey that Litigants in Person take through the legal, cultural and social context of the family court.

It provides fresh insight into the diverse challenges that people face within this process and how these relate to wider pressures within the family justice system. It argues that there are important lessons to be learned from Litigants in Person. By understanding how and why people come to the point of self-representing, and the kinds of experiences they have when they do, the book advocates the importance of forging a more positive and effective relationship between Litigants in Person and the family justice system.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Mant, Jessica

Fachgebiete

• Rechtswissenschaften Ausländisches Recht Common Law (UK, USA, Australien u.a.)

Inhaltsverzeichnis

1. Introduction

I. Litigants in Person and the Family Justice System

II. The Family Justice Landscape

III. Where Next for Family Justice?

IV. Learning from LIPs

V. Chapter Outline

2. The Changing Landscape of Family Justice

I. Neoliberalism and the Family Justice System

II. Family Justice at Breaking Point?

III. Domestic Abuse and Family Justice

IV. COVID-19 and Family Justice

V. A Turning Point for Family Justice

3. Conceptualising Litigants in Person

I. Tensions in Family Justice Research

II. Marginalised Perspectives

III. Inequality, Disadvantage, and Difference

IV. The State and the Family Justice System

V. Material Manifestations of Disadvantage

VI. A Theoretical and Empirical Enquiry

4. Navigating the Family Justice System

I. Procedural Requirements

II. Legal Norms

III. Physical Environments, Social Hierarchies and Cultural Expectations

IV. The Full-Representation Model

5. Contributing to the Family Court Process

I. Speaking in Court

II. Using Paperwork to Communicate
III. Asking and Answering Questions

IV. Being Heard within the Family Court Process

V. Changing the Conversation

6. Finding a Role in the Family Justice System

I. Relationships with Judges

II. Relationships with Opposing Lawyers

III. Relationships with Other LIPs

IV. Finding a Role

7. Perceptions of Family Justice

I. The Expectation-Experience Disconnect

II. Understanding Decisions and Outcomes

III. A Cycle of Exclusion

IV. Family Justice Journeys

8. Conclusion

I. Litigants in Person and the Family Justice System

II. LASPO: The End of Family Justice?

III. How to Break a Cycle of Exclusion

Über Autor(innen)

Mant, Jessica
Jessica Mant is Lecturer at Monash University, Australia.

Jessica Mant is Lecturer in Law at Monash University, Australia.