European Challenges in Contemporary Family Law

This book contains contributions from the third Commission on European Family Law (CEFL) conference which took place in Oslo in June 2007. The general topic, ''European Challenges in Contemporary Family Law,'' has been divided into five themes: The Harmonization of Family Law --- Children and Their Parents --- Irregular Marriages and the Influence of Multiculturalism --- (Property) Relations between Spouses and Cohabitants --- Cross-Border Family Relationships. These issues are, in different ways, related to the remarkable change in family life that has taken place in Europe in the last three or four decades. European family law has experienced, in a profound and deep way, social and demographic changes in this short period of time. Just a few of the important recent developments include: an explosion in the divorce rates and extramarital cohabitation and the resulting increase in the number of children born out of wedlock --- women joining the paid work force en masse, influencing, among other things, parental roles and property relations among partners --- new techniques in artificial insemination --- the growing social acceptance of same-sex relationships.