This volume presents global and comparative perspectives on the perpetual pendular movement of family law between status and contract. It contributes to the topical academic debate on 'family law exceptionalism' by exploring the blurred lines between public law, private law and family law, and sheds light on the many shades of grey that exist. The contributions focus on both substantive and procedural family law on parents and children and on life partners, with particular attention for contractual arrangements of family formations and of conflict resolution. The hypothesis underlying all contributions was the trend towards contractualisation of family law. A convergent research outcome resulting from the comparison of national reports was the ambivalent position of family law in legal systems worldwide. That comparison shows that, whereas family law is clearly moving towards contract with regard to old family formations, the contrary is true for new family formations. The movement towards contract is rarely considered to be contractualisation pur sang, with civil effect. The movement towards status, finally, does not necessarily witness 'family law exceptionalism' vis-à-vis private law, in view of the increasing State interventionism in private law relations in general. In sum, as the volume shows, the high permeability of the demarcations between the State, the family and the market impedes a categorial approach.

This volume is based on the general and selected national reports on the topic "Contractualisation of Family Law" that were presented at the XIXth International Congress of Comparative Law in Vienna in July 2014.

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About the Authors.- 1. Private Ordering in Family Law: Perpetual Movement between Contract and Status; Frederik Swennen.- 2. La contractualisation des relations familiales au Burundi; ­Gervais Gatunange.- 3. La contractualisation mesurée du droit camerounais de la famille: la liberté contractuelle, ombre portée de l'ordre public familial; Yannick Serge Nkoulou.- 4. Shifting Scrutiny. Private Ordering in Family Matters in Common-Law Canada; Robert Leckey.- 5. Contractualisation de l'union de fait et institutionnalisation du mariage : choix pour les familles québécoises; Christine Morin.- 6. Two Steps Forward and One Backwards in the Autonomy of the New Croatian Family Law; Ivana Milas Klari and Branka Reetar.- 7. Contracts in Danish Family Law in the cross field between civil law and public law; Ingrid Lund-Andersen.- 8. Contractualisation of Family Law in England & Wales: Autonomy vs Judicial Discretion; Jens Scherpe and Brian Sloan.- 9. Towards a Negotiatory Ideal? Contractualisation of Family Law in Finland; Sanna Koulu.- 10. Contractualisation of Family Law in Ireland; Louise Crowley and Maebh Harding.- 11. The contractualisation of family law in Italy; Maria Rosaria Marella.- 12. Autonomy and Private Ordering in Portuguese Family Law; Rita Lobo Xavier.- 13. Perspective roumaine sur la contractualisation du droit de la famille; Marieta Avram et Cristina Nicolescu,- 14. Family Law in Spain: contractualisation or individualisation?; Carlos Martínez de Aguirre Aldaz.- 15. Family Law Contractualisation in The Netherlands - Changes and Trends; Katharina Boele-Woelki and Merel Jonker.- 16. The Contractualisation of Family Law in the United States; Adrienne Hunter Jules and Fernanda G. Nicola.- Appendix: Questionnaire.