Preliminary communication
Private international law aspects of the matrimonial matters in the European Union – Jurisdiction, recognition and applicable law
Iva Perin Tomičić
Abstract
Considering the process of unification and harmonization of family law in the European Union, one can say that a lot of work has been done in the past twenty years. However, all the existing Community legal instruments in the field of family law deal only with the questions of procedure, namely the problems of jurisdiction and recognition. The same statement applies to divorce, legal separation and marriage annulment (matrimonial matters), the family law instruments which are in the focus of this paper. In the introduction of this paper we have an intention to show how the evolution of the integration process in Europe influenced the necessity to regulate family law matters within Community’s legal order (Chapter I). After giving an overview of the EU instruments regulating matrimonial matters, we continue by briefly examining current Community provisions on jurisdiction and recognition of divorces, legal separations and marriage annulments in the EU (Chapter II). There are currently no Community provisions on applicable law in matrimonial matters. This paper will mainly focus on the problems caused by this legal gap and the possible ways forward proposed by The Green Paper (Chapters III and IV). The Commission has recently launched a Proposal for a Council Regulation amending Brussels IIbis Regulation as regards jurisdiction and introducing rules concerning applicable law in matrimonial matters. This Proposal, aimed primarily to harmonize conflict-of-law rules, represents a significant progress for the benefit of the EU citizens as it greatly diminishes problems of legal uncertainty and unpredictability both for the spouses and the legal practitioners (Chapter V). Finally, we finish this paper by giving some concluding remarks and suggesting possible ways forward in the field of family law in the EU (Chapter VI).
Keywords
private international law; matrimonial matters; divorces; jurisdiction; recognition; applicable law
Hrčak ID:
17491
URI
Publication date:
10.11.2007.
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