Bringing together some of the world’s leading family law scholars, as well as bright and emerging minds in the field of global family law, this book explores the differences and commonalities in the conceptualization and legal treatment of families throughout different legal traditions. Each chapter delves into topics integral to family law jurisprudence and serves as a novel examination into a deep slice of family law. Together, the four parts and sixteen chapters create a melodious and intriguing examination of groundbreaking and cutting-edge areas of law in the realm of the family. The four parts primarily focus upon a major family law topic with the authors examining the laws across jurisdictions, cross-nationally, or in some cases intra-jurisdictionally. It is through this comparative lens that we see how family law concepts are woven into the fabric of overall society around the globe. This book is of interest to family law, international law, sociology, and socio-legal scholars.

Melissa L. Breger is the President William McKinley Distinguished Professor of Law at Albany Law School.

Part I: Intimate Relationships: Examining the Laws and Norms of Adult Relationships across the

Globe

Chapter 1: Nonmarital Norms by Naomi Cahn and June Carbone

Chapter 2: New Models of Registered Partnership Reform: Embracing Family Recognition

Beyond Marriage? by Andy Hayward

Chapter 3: Recognition of Islamic Marriages in the UK: Continuity of Marriage Status or Non-

Existent Marriages? by Michael Wells-Greco

Chapter 4: Norms of Muslim Marriage and Divorce: The Evolution of Algerian Family Law

Through the Examples of Matrimonial Guardianship and Consent to Marriage by Nahas

Mahieddin

Part II: Parents: Analyzing Global Norms of Parenting and Their Intersection with Child Rights

Chapter 5: Establishing New Permanent Family Relationships in United States and Nordic Child

Protection Systems by Josh Gupta-Kagan

Chapter 6: Separation and Connectedness: Global Norms of Open v. Closed Adoption by

Malinda Seymore

Chapter 7: Post-Divorce Parental Norms in the Age of Fake News and Discursive Violence:

Israeli Case in a Comparative Context by Daphna Hacker

Chapter 8: Homeschooling by Elizabeth Bartholet

Part III: Children: Situating the Child within the Legal System and Global Norms

Chapter 9: Global Norms in the Context of Corporal Punishment against Children by Melissa L.

Breger, Lucy Sorensen, Victor Asal, and Charmaine N. Willis

Chapter 10: Structural Violence as a Driver of Interpersonal Violence against Children: Missed

Connections in the Convention on the Rights of the Child and English Law by Jessica

Lynn Corsi

Chapter 11: Children’s Voices in Family Law Proceedings in Australia, the United Kingdom,

New Zealand and Canada by Michelle Fernando

Chapter 12: Educational Norms as They Relate to Disabled Children across the Globe by Mark

Henaghan

Part IV: Culture: Comparing the Norms, Themes and Legal Structures of Family Law across the

Globe

Chapter 13: A Child’s Right to Know Their Genetic Origins? A Comparative Analysis of

Approaches to Donor Linking by Fiona Kelly

Chapter 14: Transgender Family Rights Issues and Concerns: A Comparative Legal Analysis of

Asia and Europe by Yeshwant Naik

Chapter 15: The Place of Normative Pluralism in the Family Laws: Family and Marital Union in

Ethiopia by Sileshi Bedasie Hirko

Chapter 16: Imperfect Families: Preserving Family Unity and Communities in South Africa and

the United States by Deseriee Kennedy

Professor Breger has gathered an extraordinary group of scholars to interrogate deeply the intersection of social norms and family law across multiple dimensions and jurisdictions. This comparative exploration highlights how the lived experiences of families shape and are shaped by legal rules and policies. These authors capture the complexity of family law within and among societies while offering insights and creative solutions to novel challenges that have cross-boundary impacts. This book is indispensable for understanding family law in the global 21st century.
— Jane M. Spinak, Columbia Law School

This is a groundbreaking collection of essays, offering a fascinating look at global and modern family law across jurisdictions, domestically and internationally. In sixteen excellent chapters this book captures the most intriguing and cutting-edge contemporary family law questions, from the formation of families to their dissolution, examining the interaction of legal and social norms across different cultures and states. It is a major contribution to the study of global family law and promises to become a classic work in this growing field of research and practice.
— Ruth Halperin-Kaddari, Bar-Ilan University