The interaction between family law and counter-terrorism: a critical examination of the radicalisation cases in the family courts

In recent years a growing number of cases known as the radicalisation cases began to appear in the family courts, dealing with concerns related to extremism, radicalisation and terrorism and their impact on children and families. In this article I argue that the radicalisation cases represent an important legal development since the direct involvement of the family courts in preventing and countering (the involvement of children in) terrorism is unprecedented in the UK. This article subjects the radicalisation cases and the novel interaction between family law and counter-terrorism that they have engendered to careful analysis and critical examination. By factually and legally contextualising the radicalisation cases, the article examines how this interaction has taken place. The article goes on to critically interrogate why the radicalisation cases have appeared in the family courts at this point in time, arguing that the cases are influenced by and in fact reinforce a changing political context and a shifting counter-terrorism and security landscape that is anxious about and that seeks to regulate Muslim cultural difference, Muslim cultural life and political or ideological expressions of Islam. Finally, the article examines some of the worrying implications of this interaction between family law and counter-terrorism.