engleski

Marriage v. cohabitation in the legal practice of the European court of human rights

The upward trend of people who, instead of living in marriage, opt for a life in cohabitation has spread, though with different rates, almost all over the European continent. As a consequence thereof, national legislators are facing complex issues requiring swifter, more efficient and socially acceptable responses in law. Depending on traditional, cultural and religious specificities, the reactions of national legislators have greatly varied, so in the European context, legal protection of people living in cohabitation is today one of the least harmonized areas of family law. Since all the signatory states to the European Convention on Human Rights (formally European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms) have recognized the jurisdiction of the European Court of Human Rights, its practice is surely an indispensible factor in the search for adequate answers to many issues bothering national legislators. The goal of this paper is to analyse whether and how the rising socio-demographic tendency of living in cohabitation has exercised influence on the practice of the European Court of Human Rights, is this Court willing to adapt its interpretations of the provisions of the Convention adopted over six decades ago to the changes in family formations and if there is discrimination, from the Court’s point of view, against cohabitants with respect to spouses in legal systems which deprive the former of the legal status of the latter.

marriage; cohabitation; legal protection; family life

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