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FAMILY SUPPORT AND MAINTENANCE: EMERGING ISSUES IN SOME DEVELOPING COUNTRIES WITH MIXED JURISDICTIONS
Author(s) -
Goonesekere Savitri
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
family court review
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.171
H-Index - 4
eISSN - 1744-1617
pISSN - 1531-2445
DOI - 10.1111/j.1744-1617.2006.00094.x
Subject(s) - legislation , commonwealth , context (archaeology) , jurisprudence , law , inheritance (genetic algorithm) , political science , poverty , child support , family law , geography , biochemistry , chemistry , archaeology , gene
Family support and maintenance laws in several developing countries with mixed legal traditions derived from colonial and local laws are based on a litigation model. This model often fails to give adequate legal relief in the socioeconomic context of poverty. The situation is made worse by inequitable and gender‐biased inheritance laws. This article will use examples mainly from countries in South Asia and Commonwealth Africa to demonstrate how reformist legislation and constitutional jurisprudence in the area of public law and judicial activism highlight the issues that must be addressed if the legal system is to provide an effective system of family support and maintenance.