Taking Responsibility Seriously: The Best Interests of the Child and Spousal Laws

This article calls for a rethinking of the modern boundaries between the regulation of spousal relations and the regulation of parenthood, including joint parenthood. My main argument is that important legal rules that are currently at the core of spousal law possess a dramatic influence on children’s lives. Thus, I will critique the current legal regulation that limits the influence of the best interests of the child principle to the regime of law that is currently classified as parent law but almost completely ignores its application in regimes currently classified as spousal law. Apart from the theoretical discussion concerning the ideal law, we shall also discuss the current positive law (state laws and international laws, especially the Convention on the Rights of the Child). In this context we will criticize legal arrangements that limit the influence of the best interest of the child principle to the traditional territory of parenthood law. Nonetheless, in the spirit of Dworkin’s aspiration to present the existing law in its best light, I will also try to suggest interpretations of the existing law that allow us to overcome the current dichotomy between spousal law and parenthood law. In this context, a unique attention dedicates to the phrase actions concerning children, which define in which law\u27s area the best interest of the child should be a primary consideration. We oppose the current rigid dichotomy between children – parent\u27s law which considered to be actions concerning children in which the best interest of the child is the primary, if not the only consideration, to spousal law which is not considered actions concerning children and therefore the interest of the child, is almost neglected. We suggest replacing this rigid distinction with flexible formulation, which tries to identify the best interest of the child in different aspect of life and to balance this interest with the interests of other parties of the family

Married Against Their Will? Toward a Pluralist Regulation of Spousal Relationships

This Article addresses the regulation of the relationships between unmarried cohabitants. It challenges the conventional divide between conservative and liberal approaches. On one hand, moral condemnation of nonmarital conjugal relationships and public policy in favor of marriage lead conservatives to reject the application of marriage Law to cohabitating partners. On the other hand, based on principles such as freedom, tolerance, and equality, liberals tend to equate the mutual legal commitments of cohabitants with those ofmarriedpartners. I break with conventional analysis by offering a novel liberal model that separates between the mutual obligations of cohabitants and married partners. The proposed model is based on a pluralist constitutional theory that underscores the responsibility of the liberal state to create a range of social institutions that offer meaningful choices to individuals. The Article thus argues that the Law should develop two distinctive legal regimes for marriage and cohabitation and provide couples with substantive freedom to choose between them. It offers arguments based in morality and efficiency to support the proposed bipolar default systems and the role of marriage as a screening mechanism. The Article further shows that this pluralist theory goes well beyond standard cohabitation Law and provides a frameworkfor an innovative pluralist regulation of spousal relationships. It demonstrates the potential contribution of such a framework regarding three publicly disputed topics: same-sex marriage and civil unions; covenant marriage; and secular regulation of religious marriage

Observation of Log-Periodic Oscillations in the Quantum Dynamics of Electrons on the One-Dimensional Fibonacci Quasicrystal

We revisit the question of quantum dynamics of electrons on the off-diagonal Fibonacci tight-binding model. We find that typical dynamical quantities, such as the probability of an electron to remain in its original position as a function of time, display log-periodic oscillations on top of the leading-order power-law decay. These periodic oscillations with the logarithm of time are similar to the oscillations that are known to exist with the logarithm of temperature in the specific heat of Fibonacci electrons, yet they offer new possibilities for the experimental observation of this unique phenomenon

Behind the Veil of Legal Uncertainty

This article challenges the conventional view and proclaims the advantages of legal uncertainty. This article recognized some of the drawbacks may arise due to uncertainty and hence illustrated several refinements and limitations regarding the use of a veil of uncertainty mechanism in order to improve its potential benefits for lawmakers

Life Story Narratives of Adults with Intellectual Disability and Mental Health Problems: Personal Identity, Quality of Life and Future Orientation

The narrative is a functional skill and a means for sharing stories which consist of a single event or events causally related to the individual’s past, present, and future. In this study we aimed to explore the narratives of a voiceless population in society and in research: adults with a dual diagnosis of intellectual disability (ID) and a mental health problem (MHP). Our operative goals were to explore the meaning of their lives as people with a dual diagnosis, their quality of life, and their aspirations for the future. The core questions of the study were: which type of disability is assimilated in their identity: ID, MHP, or both? What is their perception regarding their quality of life in the present and their horizon for the future? Our study was based on the three functions (the directive personal identity, a social function, and a directive/problem-solving function) of the Autobiographical Memory Model. We analyzed semi-structured interviews of twelve adults (aged 31-60) with mild-moderate ID and an MHP using mixed qualitative and quantitative methods. The findings yielded four themes: personal identity, directive problem-solving function, current quality of life, and future orientation. Wilcoxon analysis indicated that the MHP is more prominent in the participants’ personal identities. Thus, people with a dual diagnosis cannot bear the burden of two disabilities. The medical staff still exhibits a medical approach. Social theories such as the Multidimensional Insight Model, Stigma Theory, the Social Inclusion Model, and the Future Time Perspective Theory can serve as explanations