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Marriage and Family Relations

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Nordic Law in European Context

Part of the book series: Ius Gentium: Comparative Perspectives on Law and Justice ((IUSGENT,volume 73))

Abstract

This chapter describes and analyses the developments in Nordic family law, the law of succession and the legal relationship between children and parents. There is a long tradition of trying to harmonize family law, and cooperation in this field was especially intense when new legislation on marriage was being drafted at the beginning of the twentieth century. By contrast, the regulation of property relations between cohabitants has taken place without any Nordic cooperation and with very different solutions. Therefore, it is interesting that harmonization has led to almost identical regulation of same-sex relations, although the tempo has differed.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    The Swedish Marriage Act in 1920, the Danish Act on the Legal Effects of Marriage in 1925, and the Norwegian Marriage Act in 1927. Current marriage acts are Denmark: Ægteskabsloven 2017 no 548, Finland: Avioliittolaki/Äktenskapslag, 234/1929, Iceland: Hjúskaparlög 14/1993, Norway: Lov om ekteskap 1991 no 47, Sweden: Äktenskapsbalk 1987:230.

  2. 2.

    CEFL is a private academic organization that represents 26 European countries or regions including Norway, Russia and Switzerland outside the EU. See Boele-Woelki et al. (2013).

  3. 3.

    This section is partly based on the following articles: Danielsen and Lødrup (1988), Lund-Andersen (2007) and Lødrup (2008). See also Bradley (1996) and Sörgjerd (2012).

  4. 4.

    The Convention of February 6, 1931 between Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden with Private International Law provisions on marriage, adoption and legal guardianship.

  5. 5.

    The directives are reprinted in the report of the Swedish Committee on Family Law: SOU 1972:4: 57. See also Antokolskaia (2006).

  6. 6.

    Sambolag 2003:376.

  7. 7.

    Lov om registreret partnerskab 1989 no 372.

  8. 8.

    Agell (2003), Lødrup (2003), Lødrup et al. (2003) and Danielsen (2003).

  9. 9.

    See Asland et al. (2014), Asland et al. (2015).

  10. 10.

    See more about the Nordic property regimes (apart from Iceland) at: www.ceflonline.net/country-reports.

  11. 11.

    Norsk Retstidende 1975, p. 220.

  12. 12.

    See Sverdrup (2008).

  13. 13.

    See the judgments in Nytt juridisk arkiv 1980.705, 1981.693 and 1982.589. See also Jäntera-Jareborg et al. (2008).

  14. 14.

    KKO 2000:100.

  15. 15.

    Report No. 2015:1552.

  16. 16.

    Lov om ægtefællers økonomiske forhold 2017 no 548.

  17. 17.

    For more detail on same-sex relations, see Lund-Andersen (2012, 2017).

  18. 18.

    Partnerskabsloven 2005 no 938.

  19. 19.

    See Villaverde (2013). The legislation was used as an instrument to change attitudes. This aspect was strongly emphasized by the Danish Association of Gays and Lesbians during a discussion prior to adoption of the Act. The role and influence of this association was decisive, and the Act has changed general views towards homosexuality in Denmark, including towards same-sex couples who do not register their partnership.

  20. 20.

    Partnerskapsloven 1993 no 40.

  21. 21.

    Lag (1994:1117) om registrerat partnerskap.

  22. 22.

    Lög um staðfesta samvist 87/1996.

  23. 23.

    Laki rekisteröidystä parisuhteesta/Lag om registrerat partnerskap 950/2001.

  24. 24.

    The Act came into effect immediately. On the same day, the Icelandic Prime Minister, Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir, married her female partner. The couple had entered into a registered partnership in 2002, and now they transformed their partnership into a marriage.

  25. 25.

    See more on family formation trends in the Nordic countries in Asland et al. (2015), pp. 3–10.

  26. 26.

    The Act was revised in 2003; see the Swedish Cohabitation Act, Sambolag 2003:376.

  27. 27.

    Act on the Dissolution of the Household of Cohabiting Partners, Laki avopuolisoiden yhteistalouden purkamisesta/Lag om upplösning av sambors gemensamma hushåll 26/2011.

  28. 28.

    Lov om rett til felles bolig og innbo når husstandsfellesskap opphører 1991 no 45.

  29. 29.

    See more on Sweden’s concealed right of co-ownership and Norway’s co-ownership by contributing to acquisition (“housewife co-ownership”) in Asland et al. (2015), pp. 66–75.

  30. 30.

    For a Nordic comparison of parenthood, see Asland et al. (2015), pp. 212–215.

  31. 31.

    dk.cryosinternational.com.

  32. 32.

    For a comparison of the development of national fertility treatment based on national history in Denmark, Sweden and Norway, see Kronborg (2016).

  33. 33.

    Calculating the amount in the Nordic countries is based on different systems; either a standard sum where percentages may be added if the income of the responsible parent is high (Denmark and Iceland); or a model based on the costs of raising a child (Sweden, Finland, Norway).

  34. 34.

    For a Nordic view from a Finnish perspective, see Kangas (2015).

  35. 35.

    The dominant Nordic feature is that a certain basic amount of support that a parent must pay may be covered, upon request, by the public authorities if the debtor parent does not meet their obligation. The amount is then collected by the public authorities from the debtor parent. In addition to this public guarantee of private support for the child, all Nordic countries provide public financial support for all children, though this may vary according to financial circumstances and the targeting of, for example, single parents.

  36. 36.

    Jeppesen de Boer (2008), p. 78, footnote 221.

  37. 37.

    For a Nordic comparison of parental responsibility, see Fridriksdottir (2016).

  38. 38.

    See the homepage of The Hague Conference on Private International Law: https://www.hcch.net/.

  39. 39.

    Convention of 25 October 1980 on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction.

  40. 40.

    Council Regulation (EC) No. 2201/2003 of 27 November 2003 concerning jurisdiction and the recognition and enforcement of judgments in matrimonial matters and matters of parental responsibility, repealing Regulation (EC) No. 1347/2000.

  41. 41.

    Convention of 19 October 1996 on Jurisdiction, Applicable Law, Recognition, Enforcement and Co-operation in Respect of Parental Responsibility and Measures for the Protection of Children.

  42. 42.

    Eydal et al. (2015), p. 170.

  43. 43.

    Eydal et al. (2015), p. 178.

  44. 44.

    Eydal et al. (2015), p. 177.

  45. 45.

    Borchorst (2006).

  46. 46.

    The description of developments in Nordic inheritance laws is partly based on Lødrup (2003) and on NOU 2014:1.

  47. 47.

    Finland participated as an observer in further cooperation at a Nordic level.

  48. 48.

    In 1958, the Swedish Inheritance Act, Successionsordning (1810:0926); in 1962, the Icelandic Inheritance Act, Erfðalög 1962 no 8; in 1963, the Danish Inheritance Act, Arveloven 2007 no 515; in 1965 the Finnish Inheritance Act, Perintökaari/Ärvdabalk 40/1965 and in 1972, the Norwegian Inheritance Act, Lov om arv m.m. 1972 no 5.

  49. 49.

    For more detail, see Asland et al. (2015), pp. 66–75.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Law, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark

    Ingrid Lund-Andersen

  2. Department of Law, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark

    Annette Kronborg

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  1. Ingrid Lund-Andersen
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Correspondence to Ingrid Lund-Andersen .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland

    Pia Letto-Vanamo

  2. University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark

    Ditlev Tamm

  3. University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark

    Bent Ole Gram Mortensen

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Lund-Andersen, I., Kronborg, A. (2019). Marriage and Family Relations. In: Letto-Vanamo, P., Tamm, D., Gram Mortensen, B.O. (eds) Nordic Law in European Context. Ius Gentium: Comparative Perspectives on Law and Justice, vol 73. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-03006-3_6

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