Research papers. Law, Advanced legal writing. LL.M. Victoria University of Wellington. Available to view at Victoria University Library.

This paper discusses legal theory in relation to judicial decision making and compares formalism and substantialism in the context of the development of civil law in relation to historical sexual abuse claims. The paper explores judicial attitudes towards women, from a feminist perspective, and discusses how the law could be developed to facilitate greater utility and equality for women. The paper promotes a more principled approach to judicial reasoning to facilitate legal development that supports and enhances judicial autonomy and accountability. Adopting a principle-oriented approach means a greater articulation of reasons for decisions, a wider use of contemporary knowledge so as to reflect modern insights and challenges to the law, and decisions which are able to be more relevant and responsive to the reasonable expectations of the community.--AUTHOR'S ABSTRACT