The Europeanisation of International Family Law

International family law is an area that is predominantly regulated by national law. Currently the national choice of law rules of the EU Member States are more and more displaced by common European rules, which will entail considerable changes. In this book, the nature and reasons of the changes brought about by the transition from a national to a supranational choice of law approach are discussed in one particular field of international family law: the termination by dissolution of marriages and marriage-like registered partnerships. The current Dutch and the proposed European choice of law rules on divorce are examined and compared. Some Member States have strongly opposed the European proposal and no consensus could be reached. The analysis of the failure of the European proposal shows that the most important bottleneck is the lack of a theoretical foundation of the unified choice of law. In the concluding chapter the author produces a number of recommendations on the development of (a theoretical foundation of) the European system of international family law, starting from the principles and objectives of European law. Nynke Baarsma is presently working in the District Court of Groningen, The Netherlands La 4e de couverture indique : "International family law is an area that is predominantly regulated by national law. Currently the national choice of law rules of the EU Member States are more and more displaced by common European rules, which will entail considerable changes. In this book, the nature and reasons of the changes brought about by the transition from a national to a supranational choice of law approach are discussed in one particular field of international family law: the termination by dissolution of marriages and marriage-like registered partnerships. The current Dutch and the proposed European choice of law rules on divorce are examined and compared. Some Member States have strongly opposed the European proposal and no consensus could be reached. The analysis of the failure of the European proposal shows that the most important bottleneck is the lack of a theoretical foundation of the unified choice of law. In the concluding chapter the author produces a number of recommendations on the development of (a theoretical foundation of) the European system of international family law, starting from the principles and objectives of European law." Front Matter....Pages i-vii Introduction....Pages 1-12 The Dutch Choice of Law Rules on Divorce....Pages 13-49 The Dutch Choice of Law Rules on the Termination of Registered Partnerships....Pages 51-78 The Europeanisation of International Family Law: The EU Legislature’s Competence....Pages 79-143 The Proposed European Choice of Law Rules on Divorce....Pages 145-197 The Failure of the Establishment of a Common European Choice of Law on Divorce....Pages 199-236 The Dutch and the European Choice of Law Rules on Divorce Compared....Pages 237-262 A Unified System of International Family Law in the European Union: Which Way Forward?....Pages 263-311 Back Matter....Pages 313-341 Choice of law determines which national legal system applies to an international case. Currently many choice of law rules in the field of family law are regulated by national law. However, these national rules of the EU Member States are more and more displaced by common European rules. This book describes the changes brought by the Europeanisation of the choice of law on divorce. From the conclusions drawn in the field of divorce the concluding chapter discusses the changes of Europeanisation of international family law in a broader perspective.