Full Description
This interdisciplinary book brings together leading social and legal scholars to tackle the incompatibility of marriage laws with contemporary social reality in Europe. Their critique is based on the assumption that individuals should be able to choose how they organise their close relationships. The contributors emphasise the importance of pluralism of beliefs, values, cultures, and lifestyles and the consequent need for legal recognition to make individuals' private choices valid and respected.
The first part of the book establishes the foundation for the subsequent chapters by exploring the advantages and challenges of focusing on values while accommodating relationship design plurality, the impact of the European Court of Human Rights on the issue, and the transformation of the institution of marriage. The second part presents different legal responses to non-state marriages, particularly religious marriages among Muslim communities, and proposals for reform. The third part of the book features empirical research on the marital experiences of two communities: Muslims and migrants. The chapters concentrate on polygyny among female converts to Islam, the importance of religious knowledge for practising Muslim women in securing rights in their marital relationships, transnational and interreligious marriages, and the impact of acculturative orientation and position in the dual labour market on the choice of life partner among Polish migrant women.
The book will be of interest to academics, researchers, and policymakers working in the areas of human rights law, family law, legal anthropology, law and religion, socio-legal studies, feminism and queer studies, and sociology of family.
Contents
Introduction; Part I - Theoretical and historical foundations of relationship design, human rights and pluralism in Europe; 1. Value-centered approach to the plurality of types of intimate relationships; 2. Article 12 of the ECHR: What are the Implications of the Right to Marry for Relationship Diversity?; 3. Resisting Family Diversity? A Queer Perspective on the European Court of Human Rights Attitudes Towards Heteronormativity and Legal Pluralism in Family Regimes; 4. The Transformation of Marriage: A Historical Interpretation of a Triple Change; Part II - Legal responses to non-state marriages and proposals for reforms; 5. Addressing Non-State Marriages in State Law: Responses from the Netherlands; 6. A Study of Muslim Marriage (and Divorce) Practices in England & Wales: Making a Case for Reform; 7. Legal Pluralism's Perspectives and Human Rights Challenges in Marriage and Divorce Norms: The Case of Muslims in Europe; Part III - Empirical research on the marital reality of individuals; 8. Contestations about Polygyny: Converts to Islam in the Netherlands; 9. Religious Knowledge and Legal Rights: A Study of Nikah and Secular Marriage Among South Asian Muslim Women in England; 10. 'Love' Versus 'Convenience': Muslim-Christian Couples Before the Ceutan Marriage Registry; 11. Labour Market Position, Acculturation Orientation and Other Factors Influencing Migrant Women's Choices of Partners and Marriage Decisions: The Case Study of a Polish Woman Living in Madrid.
