TY - BOOK

T1 - An English Family Court Through The Lens of Complexity

T2 - An Ethnographic Study Of Modernisation in Practice

AU - Green, Richard

PY - 2023/3/20

Y1 - 2023/3/20

N2 - The thesis is formed of an ethnographic study of public law practice in a familycourt in England, with reference to reforms of family justice (commonly referredto as ‘modernisation’). It draws on Complexity Theory to analyse policy andpractice. Direct observation of public law work, supplemented by professionalinterviews, facilitates close engagement with practice and thereby adds to themeagre ethnographic literature on family justice. The thesis examines theinfluence of rational thinking upon modernisation (characterised by a statutorytimeframe for care proceedings and curbs on the court’s power to appoint expert witnesses), the short-term benefits and longer-term problems that have flowed from rational policymaking, and the ways professionals in the family court try to deliver fair justice and support children’s welfare despite modernisation, which many now consider problematic. The relationship between policymaking and practice is explored, including the ways that professionals interpret the law and thus make policy upstream. The complexities of public law work are uncovered: the commonly intractable social and health problems of families subject to care applications; a family justice system that is formally adversarial in nature but also incorporates elements of consensual justice; challenges to managing cases that do not neatly fit into the prescriptions of modernisation; and, finally, the impact of Covid-19. The thesis advocates a more responsive and pragmatic policymaking to acknowledge the role played by professionals in making policy and to enable family justice to recover from the pandemic. It also argues that expectations that the family court can resolve many families’ complex problems are unrealistic and makes the case for more concerted efforts to support families before and after proceedings.

AB - The thesis is formed of an ethnographic study of public law practice in a familycourt in England, with reference to reforms of family justice (commonly referredto as ‘modernisation’). It draws on Complexity Theory to analyse policy andpractice. Direct observation of public law work, supplemented by professionalinterviews, facilitates close engagement with practice and thereby adds to themeagre ethnographic literature on family justice. The thesis examines theinfluence of rational thinking upon modernisation (characterised by a statutorytimeframe for care proceedings and curbs on the court’s power to appoint expert witnesses), the short-term benefits and longer-term problems that have flowed from rational policymaking, and the ways professionals in the family court try to deliver fair justice and support children’s welfare despite modernisation, which many now consider problematic. The relationship between policymaking and practice is explored, including the ways that professionals interpret the law and thus make policy upstream. The complexities of public law work are uncovered: the commonly intractable social and health problems of families subject to care applications; a family justice system that is formally adversarial in nature but also incorporates elements of consensual justice; challenges to managing cases that do not neatly fit into the prescriptions of modernisation; and, finally, the impact of Covid-19. The thesis advocates a more responsive and pragmatic policymaking to acknowledge the role played by professionals in making policy and to enable family justice to recover from the pandemic. It also argues that expectations that the family court can resolve many families’ complex problems are unrealistic and makes the case for more concerted efforts to support families before and after proceedings.

U2 - 10.17635/lancaster/thesis/1946

DO - 10.17635/lancaster/thesis/1946

M3 - Doctoral Thesis

PB - Lancaster University

ER -