"Marriage is the triumph of imagination over intelligence.
Second marriage is the triumph of hope over experience."
What are the aims behind Singapore Family Law?In an article entitled "The Family Law Story" written by Ms Leong Wai Kum, an authority on family law in Singapore, she points out that the Laws in a country provide more than just rules for enforcement. They also tell stories about the people it serves.
So what are the stories about the Singapore Family that we can gather from the state of our family law?
Firstly, we must consider the aspirations written into our laws. These are :
- that marriage should be an equal co-operative partnership;
- that spouses should be considerate of their partners in life and to always behave reasonably;
- that parents must discharge the responsibility they owe to the children they bring into this world and
- that when relationships become difficult, we must resolve our family problems fairly and amicably.
Appreciating that family law must comprise both the rules and morals will help us make better sense of why some rules are made in such a way. Of course, there may be some of you who feel that certain areas of our family law should be corrected so that we are closer to these aspirations. Well, you may be right. Laws, like life, should be a living one and they will constantly have to be up-dated in order to remain relevant in our ever-changing society. The first step however, will always be to know what are the current state of laws, then we can be equipped to make sensible proposals for a re-look.
May 17, 2008 - 09:48 AM
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