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"The impact of the European Union and the European Court of Justice on European family law" [2016] ELECD 215; in Scherpe, M. Jens (ed), "European Family Law Volume I" (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2016) 5

Book Title: European Family Law Volume I

Editor(s): Scherpe, M. Jens

Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing

ISBN (hard cover): 9781785363009

Section: Chapter 1

Section Title: The impact of the European Union and the European Court of Justice on European family law

Number of pages: 44

Abstract/Description:

In past literature, European family law was referred to as ‘Cinderella’ on account of its apparent neglect in comparison to the attention given to other fields of European private law. Yet, at present, European family law could more aptly be called ‘Sleeping Beauty’, now awakened in full splendour amidst a flurry of initiatives, measures and case law at the European level, not to mention the ongoing scholarly research devoted to this topic that also incorporates events taking place at the national and international levels. Indeed, the extent of recent developments concerning matters related to family law in the European Union (EU), including the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty, the increasing volume of legislation within the rubric of the Area of Freedom, Security and Justice (AFSJ) and the evolving jurisprudence of the Union courts in various domains, makes the time particularly ripe for renewed reflection on the role of the EU through its various institutions and bodies, particularly that of the European Court of Justice (ECJ or the ‘Court’), in this context. The objective of this chapter is therefore to examine the impact of the EU and the ECJ on European family law in light of recent institutional and jurisprudential developments. This will be done in three main parts. In the first of these, Part 2, the field of family law will be situated within the European context in order to clarify the meaning and scope of European family law in relation to the EU.