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33 J. Soc. Welfare & Fam. L. 1 (2011)

handle is hein.journals/jnlosclwl33 and id is 1 raw text is: Journal of Social Welfare & Family Law Routiedge Vol. 33, No. 1, March 2011, 1-2 EDITORIAL Helen Stalford This first issue of the Journal for 2011 presents the usual mix of UK and international perspectives on social welfare and family law. We are delighted, first of all, to feature three papers reflecting on the high-profile Supreme Court case of Radmacher v Granatino. The decision attracted considerable media attention following its pronouncement in October 2010 with the Law Lords determining that decisive weight should be attached to an ante-nuptial agreement concluded between a wealthy heiress and her rather less wealthy husband some eight years later when the couple divorced. While the decision was applauded by some for favouring adults' autonomy to contract out of the fundamental principles of equality and mutual responsibility underpinning matrimonial law, the decision is noted as much for the lone dissenting voice of Lady Hale. We are privileged to capture her perspective here on the broader impact of the Radmacher decision on our understanding of marriage and on the extent to which private bargaining can and should replace judicial discretion. Brenda Hale's paper questions, in particular, whether rigid adherence to the former can really produce the 'fair', 'equal' outcomes that family law has fought so hard to achieve over the last two centuries. Such questions are pursued further by Brigitte Clark and Sharon Thompson in their contributions which take us through the finer details of the Court's deliberations, and particularly how 'fairness' was presented as the key notion by which the enforceability of an ante-nuptial agreement should be decided. Clark and Thompson share Lady Hale's concerns as to whether any ante-nuptial agreement can be exhaustively fair; some aspects might be fairer than others, depending on the circumstances of the individuals when it comes to be applied. Indeed, recognition of the panoply of factors - many of which cannot be quantified in economic or commercial terms - that need to be taken into account in determining what is the fairest way to divide property in any given case is what has underpinned the exercise of judicial discretion up until now. Radmacher is, therefore, presented as a retrograde step in the pursuit of flexibility, genuine fairness and equality in regulating private relationships. Continuing with the theme of equality and fairness, Michelle Weldon-Johns' article speculates on the potential impact of the Additional Paternity Leave Regulations, scheduled to come into effect in the UK in April 2011. These Regulations aim to stimulate a more equitable division of childcare responsibilities between parents by enabling mothers to transfer parental leave rights to fathers and giving working fathers the right to request more flexible working arrangements. The author's analysis of the new measures reveals some rather disappointing limitations insofar as the extent to which fathers can benefit from them depends on the working arrangements and choices of the mother. In that sense, and in stark contrast to other jurisdictions' more gender-neutral approach, they reinforce the peripheral role of men in determining and providing care for their children. The final two articles shift our attention to other family law regimes. Sayed Sikandar Shah haneef offers a broad analysis of Islamic family law in Malaysia, and specifically the disenfranchising effects of the laws on polygamy, divorce and parental responsibility on ISSN 0964-9069 print/ISSN 1469-9621 online © 2011 Taylor & Francis DOI: 10.1080/09649069.2011.571465 http://www.informaworld.com

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