In Ireland, the Children and Family Relationships Act 2015 gives legal recognition to the diverse relationships that exist in the country. It is the most comprehensive amendment to Irish law on children and family relationships in many decades. This book examines, analyzes, and explains the new legal regime by addressing a wide range of new issues, including: parental rights in diverse family arrangements * parentage in cases of assisted reproduction * the establishment of a national donor-conceived person register * the "best interests" principle with regard to children * joint adoption for civil partners/cohabiting partners * access entitlements for a wider range of people * defined maintenance provisions for civil partners and cohabiting partners living with a child for a certain amount of time * provisions to help "make parenting work" * the formalization of the relationship between a child and their de facto parent. The book also examines the new yet different pathways to guardianship, expanding the duties, obligations, and rights of guardians and thereby further bolstering the rights of children. For the first time, non-marital fathers cohabiting for a specified period with the child's mother will be entitled to automatic guardianship. Subject: Irish Law, Children's Law, Family Law]

Child Law in Ireland provides a comprehensive and accessible analysis of the Irish child law system. It incorporates an examination of Ireland's international obligations in this area arising under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child and the European Convention on Human Rights, as well as an examination of the Irish Constitution and the domestic legislative framework. The book addresses a wide range of child law topics, including: children's rights; parentage; donor-assisted human reproduction and surrogacy; guardianship, custody and access; child protection; representation and participation; and education. Child Law in Ireland includes a discussion of timely legal developments, such as: the Assisted Reproduction Bill 2017; the Children and Family Relationships Act 2015; the Adoption (Amendment) Act 2017; the Adoption (Information and Tracing) Bill 2016; the Children First Act 2015; and the Education (Admission to Schools) Bill 2016, among others.

The Modern Family: Relationships and the Law explains in a concise and clear fashion the law as it relates to 'the family' and the relationship between its members. The definition of 'the family' has changed enormously over the past generation with the enactment of ground-breaking legislation which has redefined our legal understanding of what constitutes 'a family.' For example, the Marriage Act 2015, which recognizes full legal marriage between two persons of the same sex redefining the traditional definition of marriage; the Children and Family Relationships Act 2015 gives full legal recognition to children born as a result of IVF and their parents, who may not be the biological parents; the Gender Recognition Act 2015 allows transgendered persons to register their preferred gender and recognizes a marriage of a transgendered person subsequent to their change of gender. Furthermore, the law recognizes persons who live as a couple, with or without children, who are not married. The Modern Family: Relationships and the Law explains the rights and obligations of the modern Irish family. Issues such as taxation, children, relationship breakdown, rights of cohabitants, succession, IVF, and court procedures are all addressed. A useful Frequently Asked Questions is also included. This accessible book will be of great interest to members of the public seeking information on family-related legal matters, as well as for solicitors, barristers, and other legal professionals. [Subject: Family Law, Irish Law]

This multi-disciplinary study considers the intersection between law and family life in Ireland from the early nineteenth to the mid-twentieth century. Setting the law in its wider social historical context it traces marriage from its formation through to its breakdown. It considers the impact of the law on such issues as adultery, divorce, broken engagements, marriage settlements, pregnancy, adoption, property, domestic violence, concealment of birth and inter-family homicide, as well as the historical origins of the Constitutional protection of the family. An underlying theme is the way in which the law of the family in Ireland differed from the law of the family in England.

Child Law is an exceptional work... it stands out as an impressive and much-needed reference on the law as it relates to one of our nation's most valued resources The Hon. Mr Justice John L Murray, Chief Justice of Ireland, Four Courts, in the foreword to the new edition. Child Law - 2nd Edition is a fully comprehensive narrative text of 1,400 pages. Now part of the Brehon Library the new edition provides a detailed text with full analysis and commentary, offering an assessment of the law together with suggested approaches to its practice. This seminal text covers both civil and criminal aspects of child law and gives you a clear and incisive examination of the entire Irish child law system. Child Law - 2nd Edition has been fully revised to reflect all legislative changes since the first edition. The new edition of Child Law will include all recent national and international court decisions. It also includes a commentary on all statutes and statutory instruments in the child law area that have come into force since the last edition. CHILD LAW - 2nd EDITION CONTAINS NEW MATERIAL INCLUDING: 1. Migrant children, child refugees and asylum seekers, separated children and trafficked children - Considers the Immigration Residence, and Protection Bill 2008 and the Criminal Law (Human Trafficking) Act 2008. 2. Maintenance - Considers the myriad of issues in relation to maintenance and children, including new rules on the recognition of foreign maintenance orders. 3. Children and the Criminal Justice System - Reviews the child as an offender. 4. Child Sexual Abuse - Deals with the child as a victim, including child abuse, sexual abuse of children, grooming, child pornography, vetting, and the Sex Offenders Register. 5. Medical Law - Assisted Reproductive Technologies and the various family law issues are dealt with. 6. New Approaches to Children's Interests - Reviews the challenges in securing the best interest of children and young people in the context of the changing nature of family life in Ireland. It considers a range of issues that the legislature and courts will have to grapple with over the next few decades. These issues are explored in light of Ireland's obligations under international law and in particular the European Convention on Human Rights, and the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union. The Civil Partnership Bill 2009 is also examined. COMPREHENSIVE COVERAGE * Considers the impact of the proliferation of increasingly complex international instruments on domestic child law. * Deals with education and undertakes an examination of the right to education under the Constitution and the Education Acts. * Comprehensive coverage of alternative care in the context of the role of the Health Service Executive under the Child Care Act, 1991 as amended by the Child Care (Amendment) Act, 2009, including the role of the HSE in childcare and protection, the placement of children outside the State, children with medical or psychiatric needs, child pornography, vetting and childcare services. * Deals with the involvement of children in the legal process. It considers hearing the voice of the child, the separate representation of children and the role of the Ombudsman for Children. * Examines in detail for the Adoption Act 2009. * Considers international initiatives designed to combat child abuse as well as specific Irish issues regarding child abuse. * Examines the position of migrant children, child refugees, child trafficiking, and asylum seekers. * Deals with the emerging areas of medical treatment of minors and a range of issues that the legislature and courts will have to address over the next few decades. ABOUT THE AUTHOR Geoffrey Shannon is Ireland's leading expert on the law relating to children. Since the first edition of this seminal work, Geoffrey Shannon has been appointed by the Government as Chairman of the Adoption Board and a Special Rapporteur on Child Protection. He has also been appointed by the Irish Economic and Social Research Institute as the Child Law expert to the longitudinal study of children, which is the most ambitious project of its kind ever to have been commissioned in Ireland. He is editor of the Irish Journal of Family Law and has published extensively in the areas of Family and Child Law. In March 2010, Geoffrey Shannon was appointed as a member of an expert review panel to examine the deaths of children in care of the State.

This updated edition consolidates all child-centred legislation, from the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child through to the Referendum on Children's Rights 2012, in an easy-to-understand format.

When situated in the wider European context, ‘the Irish family’ has undergone a process of profound transformation and rapid change in very recent decades. Recent data cites a significant increase in one parent households and a high non-marital birth rate for instance alongside the emergence of cohabitation, divorce, same sex families and reconstituted families. At the same time, the majority of children in Ireland still live in a two-parent family based on marriage and the divorce rate in Ireland is comparatively lower than other European countries. 21st century family life is, in reality, characterised by continuity and change in the Irish context. This book seeks to understand, interpret and theorise family life in Ireland by providing a detailed analysis of historical change, demographic trends, fertility and reproduction, marriage, separation and divorce, sexualities, children and young people, class, gender, motherhood, intergenerational relations, grandparents, ethnicity, globalisation, technology and family practices. A comprehensive analysis of key developments and trends over the course of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries is provided.