Family Law in a Pluralistic Society

Abstract

The last two years have been an interesting time in which to be a British family lawyer. During this time the government has taken it upon itself to tell us all to get 'back to basics',' not least by reasserting the importance of so-called 'traditional family values'.2 Underlying this advice is the assumption that there is indeed a shared body of common values about family life and the role of the family in society. These values are allegedly immutable. We have only to reach out and grasp that which we have lost and we will all be the better off for doing so. It will be my case that in a multi-cultural, heterogeneous society such assumptions are dangerous. In liberal democracies we might expect to see a commitment to cultural diversity and value pluralism in the area of family life, just as in other areas. Yet, this is only part of the picture since it is undeniable that there is in such societies a general, if not universal, commitment to the institution of the family. While, therefore, there are constant arguments about such matters as the balance of power between men, women, and children in their respective family roles, and about the proper relationship between the state and the family,3 few people set out to attack the family as an institution or to deny its importance to society. The question therefore of whether there is indeed something which is 'basic' about the family is a legitimate and an important question. Part of my purpose here is therefore to question whether there is after all an irreducible core of family values to which everyone could subscribe. But beyond this common core (if indeed it exists) there is, I will argue, very considerable scope for accommodating a plurality of views about the family and family lifestyles. This is however subject to the overriding limitation that some family practices, whether or not they emanate from cultural differences, are so overtly harmful to