Protection of Children’s Interests in Custody Disputes, Final Report 43

The amicus curiae procedure, describes a lawyer who is appointed to ensure that the Judge receives all necessary information so that he may decide who should have custody of a child or children involved in a custody dispute. The amicus curiae arranges for expert professionals to investigate the circumstances of the child and child’s family and to form opinions as to where the child’s best interests lie. A majority of cases utilizing an amicus curiae […]

October 1, 1984

Conference Materials, International Invitational Conference on Matrimonial and Child Support, 27-30 May 1981, Research Paper 14

This report is a summary of a conference held to discuss the results of Research Paper #13, Matrimonial Support Failures: Reasons, Profiles and Perceptions of Individuals Involved. The report includes four speeches given at that conference, viz.: “Paying of Maintenance in Sweden,” by Anders Agell; “Matrimonial Support Failures: Reasons, Profiles, and Perceptions of Individuals Involved, a Commentary,” by Judith Cassetty; “Maintenance in Britain,” by Colin Gibson; and “The Economics of Divorce: Social and Economic Consequences […]

October 3, 1982

Matrimonial Support Failures: Reasons, Profiles and Perceptions of Individuals Involved: Volume 1 Summary Report, Volume 2 Technical Reports, Research Paper 13

This report was created in order to aid the reform of the matrimonial and child support system in Alberta. Before its publication, there was little data regarding the reasons for failure in the (then) extant system. The report analyzes data from the Supreme Court (now Court of Queen’s Bench) in Edmonton and Calgary, the Family Courts in Edmonton, Calgary, Lethbridge, and Grande Prairie, door-to-door surveys of those involved with maintenance orders, and a study of […]

March 3, 1981

Family Law Administration: Court Services, Final Report 26

This report recommends that court services outlined in this report, if acceptable, be given effect to without waiting for the establishment of a unified family court so that they can serve the people of Alberta and so that they can be adapted to the structure of a unified family court when that structure is decided upon and the court established. This report is concerned primarily with the social and legal services which have been developed […]

April 2, 1978

Family Law Administration: the Unified Family Court, Final Report 25

This report was created to make specific recommendations towards the creation of a family law section of the Trial Division of the Supreme Court of Alberta. This report does not contain draft legislation for a unified family court and deals only with the structure of the court itself. Court services are addressed in Report No. 26, Family Law Administration: Court Services. The report canvasses developments in other provinces, and discusses why there is a need […]

April 1, 1978

Illegitimacy, Research Paper 10

At the time of publication, there was legal differentiation within Alberta based on a child’s “legitimacy” or lack thereof; in other words, whether the child was “the offspring of [a] stable union” or not. This paper assesses the law relating to the determination of “legitimacy” (at the time of publication), the effect legitimacy had on one’s legal standing in various situations, and possible approaches to reform with an eye to reducing the distinction between “legitimate” […]

November 4, 1975

Minors’ Contracts, Final Report 14

The common law governs minors’ contracts in Alberta and elsewhere in Canada outside of Quebec. The Legislatures have intervened only sporadically and have dealt only with matters of detail. This report recommends that the attached draft Act be enacted. The law needs to give to minors some protection from liability on their contracts and allow the courts broad discretionary power to do justice in cases of unconscionable contracts. The law should interfere with contracts only […]

January 1, 1975

Illegitimacy

January 2, 1974