Improving Scottish Family law

9. SUMMARY OF QUESTIONS

The questions on which views are sought are listed below.

Part 2: Divorce Law Reform

Question 1. Which is your preferred option:

a: Should the Government not proceed with any reform of the grounds of divorce at present in Scotland?

b: Should the Government implement the recommendation of the SLC to keep essentially the present ground of divorce but reduce the separation periods to 1 year with consent and 2 years without?

c: Should the Government devise for Scotland more radical reform on the lines of that to be introduced in England and Wales?

Question 2: Views are sought on the proposals to amend the procedures before divorce is granted to take account of certain religious marriages, and the provision to the court of information about the arrangements for the children

Part 3: Funding for mediation and marriage support

Question 3: Should there be a new statutory basis for funding family mediation and marriage support services?

Part 4: Family Law Reform

Question 4. Views are sought on whether, in the light of the Protection from Harassment Act 1997, there is a need to extend the scope of matrimonial interdicts as proposed by the SLC.

Question 5. Views are sought on whether the police should keep the present discretion over whether to exercise a power of arrest.

Question 6. Views are sought on the proposal for a power of arrest to lapse after a period of 3 years, whether or not there is a divorce.

Question 7. Do you agree that if interdicts with a power of arrest are necessary for the protection of family members, they should be available to divorced partners and present and former cohabitants, and should be renamed accordingly?

Question 8. Would there be any difficulties in practice if subsections (4) and (5)(b)(ii) of the 1981 Act were repealed?

Question 9. Views are sought on the recommendations concerning cohabitation.

Question 10. Views are sought on the proposal to abolish marriage by cohabitation with habit and repute.

Question 11. Views are sought on whether judicial separation should be abolished.

Question 12. Views are sought on various recommendations on marriage law.

Question 13. Views are sought on choice of law recommendations.

Part 5: Parental responsibilities and rights: unmarried fathers

Question 14: Which option do you favour:

a. that there should be no change to the law on the acquisition of parental responsibilities and parental rights;

b. that an unmarried father who registers the birth of a child jointly with the mother should acquire parental responsibilities and parental rights in respect of the child; or

c. that in the absence of any court order regulating the position, both parents of the child should have parental responsibilities and rights whether or not they are or have been married to each other?

Question 15: If there were a change to the law, should it cover all children, or only those who are born after a cut-off date?

Question 16: Comments are sought on the degree of protection which may be required by the children (and their mothers) of unmarried fathers.

Question 17: Comments are sought on any practical consequences of a change in the criteria for acquiring parental responsibilities and rights.

Part 5: Parental responsibilities and rights: step-parents

Question 18. Views are sought on whether a step-parent should be able to make an agreement with both the natural parents of a child which would give him parental responsibilities and parental rights.

Part 6: Parental responsibilities and rights: violence

Question 19: Where domestic abuse as been a factor in relationship breakdown, the Government seeks views on the extent to which contact by a child with the abusive parent presents a risk to the parent with whom the child lives, and through that a risk to the psychological welfare of the child.

Question 20: Views are sought on possible judicial solutions to this potential problem.

Question 21: Views are sought on whether to amend the 1995 Act to take more account of situations where there has been a history of abuse by one parent against the other. In particular, comments would be welcomed on a provision which expressly requires the court to take into account any history of domestic abuse by one parent against the other; and, in determining whether a parent's right of contact should be removed or restricted, the possible risks of further contact both to the parent who has been the victim and to the psychological welfare of the child.

Part 7: Matrimonial property

Question 22: a - Should the 1985 Act be amended to require the court to value property to be transferred at the current market value?

b - Are there alternative mechanisms which might be employed, other than amending the 1985 Act?

Question 23: a - Does the 1985 Act take sufficient account of increases during the marriage (but before the relevant date) in the value of non-matrimonial property owned by one or both of the parties?

b - Should it be provided that any such increase in value is to be added to the value of matrimonial property?

Question 24: Should section 5A of the 1907 Act be amended to allow the sheriff to direct the sheriff clerk to execute deeds relating to moveable as well as heritable property?