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In the Best Interests of Children: A Proposal to Transform the Adversarial System

Firestone, Gregory
June 4, 2015

Source: (2004) Family Court Review. 42(2): 203-215.

In the traditional family law and child protection litigation where the court is asked to make determinations based on the best interests of a minor, the adversarial, rights-based model often fails to serve the interests of children and families and may be more harmful than beneficial to children relative to other possible methods of dispute resolution. This article examines the shortcomings of such an adversarial, rights-based model; briefly highlights the literature on dispute resolution systems design; and then proposes a new approach to better serve the interests of children in family law and child protection cases. Author’s abstract.

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