FAMILY LAW

Family Law

Family Law

Introduction

Family law deals with the ways in which family groups are created, ordered and dissolved. Primary issues in family law are marriage, separation, and divorce, legitimacy, child custody and support, alimony, and adoption, as well as questions of parentage associated with such reproductive technologies as artificial insemination and surrogate parenting. Family law is the set of rules and institutions law governing personal relationships and property of the member countries of the family, each other and with third parties. Such relationships arise from marriage and kinship.

Throughout history, family law has been closely connected to property law and laws of succession. This connection probably originated with the property issues that arose when a woman left her family of origin to become a member of her husband's family. Questions of who is a legal spouse and who a legitimate heir also related to matters of property law. Since the social hierarchies on which many cultures have been structured reinforced by marriage and property laws, family law has often been used to promote the interests of the dominant class. Revolutionary movements have often focused, therefore, on changing family law. The socialist revolutions in Russia and China, for example, rewrote traditional family laws that supported quasifeudal regimes. Similarly, Japan's introduction of the Meiji code in 1898 led to the emergence of a new social structure.

Discussion

In many cultures, family law has been governed by canon or religious law. English family law, for example, was under the jurisdiction of ecclesiastical courts until 1857, when the Matrimonial Causes Act was passed (Solomon Fears 2003, Pp. 132).

Traditionally, it was considered that the Family Law is a sub-branch of civil law. However, since the latter is structured on the basis of the person individually and usually has been estimated that the relations of family cannot be governed only by the criteria of individual interest and autonomy. Today, much of the doctrine is considered an autonomous branch of law, with proper principles. However, to be considered independently, it is essential to have doctrinal independence, independence, legislative and judicial independence.

Several countries have gathered legislatively this change doctrinal teaching a Family Code (other than a Civil Code). That has been the case in Algeria, Bolivia, Cuba, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Honduras, Morocco, Panama, (in some states of the federation), Poland and Russia, among others. Furthermore, by similar considerations, for several years, various states have created judgeships specialized in this area, commonly referred to courts or family courts.

Features

Moral or ethical content

This branch usually has legal norms without sanction or penalty reduced, and obligations (or duties properly) fundamentally incohercibles. It is, therefore, not possible to obtain the forced compliance of the majority of family obligations, being delivered to the ethical sense or custom (an important exception is the right food) (Keith 2003, Pp. 121).

Regulates personal situations or states

It is a discipline of marital status (of spouse, separated, divorced, father, mother, son, etc.) imposed for all. Moreover, these states can cause relationships family property rights, but with special methods (different from ...