Martiny, Dieter --- "The impact of the EU private international law instruments on European family law" [2016] ELECD 221; in Scherpe, M. Jens (ed), "European Family Law Volume I" (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2016) 261

Book Title: European Family Law Volume I

Editor(s): Scherpe, M. Jens

Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing

ISBN (hard cover): 9781785363009

Section: Chapter 7

Section Title: The impact of the EU private international law instruments on European family law

Author(s): Martiny, Dieter

Number of pages: 33

Abstract/Description:

While in the early days of European integration there was a reluctance to integrate family matters under Community law, in recent years there has been a rapid unification of parts of international family law in Europe with the implementation of several legislative programmes. This is in line with the growing mobility and the increasing internationality of family relations in Europe. The issue of family is now seen as a part of European integration, and more and more national conflict-of-law rules of the European Union (EU) member states are being displaced by common European rules. Nevertheless, the development of an international European family law remains time-consuming and faces specific challenges. These include peculiarities of legislative competence. The national, the European and the international spheres must be coordinated. The content of European regulations must also be developed with a view to divergent national concepts and traditions. There are many political and legal debates about the gradual development of European private international law. At present European international family law encompasses core areas of law like matrimonial law, child law and maintenance law. It forms a part of European private international law (PIL), which in a process dating back many years now has become increasingly Europeanised. More and more uniform procedural rules and also substantive rules of private international law have been introduced.