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The Law and the Family
1. Beyond the mere function of providing a new generation of children, the family is often promoted for its moral contribution to society. Despite a growing labor shortage, the Japanese government has passed very little legislation challenging the assumption that mothers should stay at home rather than go out to work. In Ireland, which is strongly influenced by the doctrines of the Catholic Church, divorce remains illegal.
2. In some societies the family is thought to be so important that there is very little legal intervention in family life. In many Islamic countries, for example, fathers, brothers and sons are allowed considerable authority over the females in their family. As late as the 1970s, the male head of the household in Switzerland was deemed to represent the interests of everyone within that household, and, consequently, none of the women could vote in national elections.
3. But in many parts of the world, the law now promotes the rights of individuals within the family unit, and regulates family relations through legislation. Raised from the taxes of the working population as a whole, child benefit is paid directly to the mother, and retirement pensions are paid to grandparents, so that they are less dependent upon financial support from a family member. In Sweden, parents can be prosecuted for physically punishing their children and children have a limited capacity to divorce their parents. In Britain, as in many countries, there are special family courts with very strong powers to control and transfer private property in the interests of children. Much of the work of other courts is also directly relevant to family life.
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Much of the work of many courts is closely connected with family life, for example, with the protection of children’s interests.
In Islamic countries where the family is thought to be very important there is little legal intervention in family life.
Many countries use legislation to regulate family relations and promote the rights of individuals within the family unit.
The law treats the family as a special institution having great influence on the state of morality in society.
