European Family Law

                               Non-marital (registered) relationships



                                     Monday, 19th November 2007



                                        Dr. Ian Curry-Sumner

                    Molengraaff Institute for Private Law, Universiteit Utrecht

                                          Northern Europe





Denmark                       1989                 Registered Partnership

Norway                         1993                 Registered Partnership

Sweden             1994                 Registered Partnership

Iceland                          1996                 Confirmed Cohabitation

Greenland                     1996                 Registered Partnership

Finland                          2001                 Registered Partnership





                                           Central Europe



The Netherlands  1998                 Registered Partnership

France                          1999                 Civil Pact of Solidarity

Belgium                        1999                 Statutory Cohabitation

Germany                       2001                 Life Partnership

Luxembourg                  2005                 Partnership

United Kingdom             2005                 Civil Partnership

Switzerland                   2007                 Registered Partnership



Liechtenstein                 no legislation, but proposals in 2003

Ireland                           no legislation, but proposals in 2005 and 2007

Austria                          no legislation, but proposals in 2007

                                          Southern Europe





Spain                            1998-2003         Regional legislation

Andorra                         2005                 Stable Union



Portugal                        no legislation, but proposals in 2001

Italy                              no legislation, but proposals in 2003

Greece                          no legislation

Malta                            no legislation

Cyprus                          no legislation



                                        Eastern Europe (EU)





Slovenia                        2005                 Registered Partnership

Czech Republic             2007                 Registered Partnership



Poland                          no legislation, but proposals in 2005

Hungary                        no legislation, but proposals in 2005 and 2007

Slovakia                        no legislation

Estonia                         no legislation

Lithuania                       no legislation and constitutional ban

Latvia                            no legislation and constitutional ban

                                      Eastern Europe (non-EU)





            Albania                                     Armenia

            Azerbaijan                                 Bosnia-Herzegovina

            Bulgaria                                    Croatia

            Georgia                                     Moldova

            Romania                                   Russian Federation

            San Marino                                Serbia and Montenegro

            FYR Macdeonia                         Turkey                         

            Ukraine

                                      Thus, the story so far …



           

                                             Section 1

                                 Establishment of the Relationship

                                1. Establishment of the Relationship

•       Different conditions imposed on aspirant couples

    •    Minimum age requirements – normally between 16-18

    •    Prohibited degrees of relationship (except BEL)‏

    •    Exclusivity

    •    Sex

    •    Competency and consent

    •    Residency conditions    

    •    Formal requirements                    



•       These requirements are present in virtually all jurisdictions to differing degrees

                                1. Establishment: Pluralistic Model

                                 1. Establishment: Dualistic Model

                                  1. Establishment: Monistic Model

                                    1. Distribution of Countries

                                             Section 2

                                  Dissolution of the Relationship

                                 2. Dissolution of the relationship

•      Dualistic Model

  –    No reason to depart from the existing mechanisms for dissolving a marriage

  –    Only minor changes are normally made, e.g.

    •    removal of adultery as ground in England & Wales

    •    reduction of period of separation from 2 years to 1 year in Switzerland



•      Pluralistic Model

  –    Due to the possibility for different-sex couples to register, new scheme needed

  –    Two differing approaches: protective and non-protective

                                 2. Dissolution: Pluralistic Model

                                  2. Dissolution: Dualistic Model

                                   2. Dissolution: Monistic Model

                                    2. Distribution of Countries

                                             Section 3

                                         Rights and Duties

                                 3. Rights & Duties of the Parties

                                              Overview