John Eekelaar
Co-Director, Oxford Centre for Family Law and Policy (OXFLAP)
John Eekelaar (LL.B. (London) 1963; B.C.L. (Oxon) 1965; M.A. (Oxon) 1967, held a Rhodes Scholarship from 1963-5, and was awarded the Vinerian Scholarship in 1965. He was called to the Bar in 1968 at the Inner Temple. He was a Tutorial Fellow at Pembroke College from 1965 to 2005; he held a CUF Lecturership from 1966-91, and was Reader in Law until 2005. He was elected to a Fellowship of the British Academy in July 2001. He retired from teaching in 2005. From 2005 to 2009 he was Academic Director at Pembroke College. He continues research as Co-Director of the Oxford Centre for Family Law and Policy (OXFLAP).
Publications
Showing five recent publications sorted by year, then title [change this]
2013
J M Eekelaar, 'Law and Community Practices' in MavisMaclean and John Eekelaar (eds), Managing Family Justuice in Diverse Societies (Hart Publishing 2013) [...]
Proposes a strategy for state law when interacting with norms of minority communities within the state which reconciles the values of respecting cultural identity with commitment to individual human rights.
ISBN: 978-1-84946-400-0
J M Eekelaar, 'Marriage - a modest proposal' (2013) 43 Family Law 82 [...]
A critical account of ther law in England and Wales governing entry into marriage and suggestions for reform
ISBN: 0014-728
2012
J M Eekelaar, 'Family Law - What Family Law?' in Fifty Years in Family Law: Essays for Stephen Cretney (Intersentia 2012) [...]
A discussion of the issue of recognition of the family law of minority communities, with special reference to sharia law in England and Wales
ISBN: 978-1-78068-052-1
J M Eekelaar, 'Positivism and Plural Legal Systems' (2012) 25 Ratio Juris 513 [...]
This paper considers whether the positivist account of law is useful in guiding states in how they should deal with religious or customary legal orders followed by minority groups within their jurisdiction. It argues, first, that such orders can be said to exist despite the prevalence of disagreement about the grounds of law. It then argues, contrary to views advanced by Scott Shapiro and Joseph Raz, that there are good reasons for perceiving that the resolution of legal disputes by reference to moral principle involves the application of pre-existing law. However, the paper concludes by arguing that the Social Thesis has an important role in supplying the basis upon which the application of law can be deemed to be legitimate, and that this has relevance to the way states might respond to minority legal orders.
J M Eekelaar, 'Self-Restraint: Social Norms, Individualism and the Family' (2012) 13 Theoretical Inquiries in Law 75 [...]
DOI: http://www.bepress.com/til/default/vol13/iss1/art3
The paper argues that claims that individualism has overcome normative behaviour within families are incorrect, but also that state's should be cautious about translating social norms that operate within families into legal norms. Three types of approach to the relationship between legal and social norms within families are sketched, and it is suggested that one, styled "purposive abstention",should normally be preferred.
Interests
Research: Family Law, Constitutional Law, Socio-Legal Studies, Jurisprudence
