Divorce, Mediation and the Legal Process

This book arises from a seminar held at the Centre for Socio-Legal Studies in 1985, where researchers from around the world discussed the way their legal systems dealt with divorce cases through both conventional and "alternative" channels. They found common ground in their dissatisfaction with the level of policy debate and the quality of the available research evidence. This work attempts to move beyond the purely theoretical to empirical examinations of the value questions involved in both the mediation and litigation of divorces. The first part of the book looks at current practice in the UK and the USA. The second and third parts examine alternative systems of dispute resolution linked to and independent of the courts.