Part One Family Formation, Regulation, and Dissolution 3
Chapter 1 Introduction to the Study of Family Law in the World Community 3
A. An Introduction to Comparative Law 3
1. Why Study Comparative Law? 4
Nora V. Demleitner, Combating Legal Ethnocentrism 8
Problem 1-1 10
2. What Is Comparative Family Law? 11
John C. Reitz, How to Do Comparative Law 11
Shirley S. Abrahamson & Michael J. Fischer, All the World's a Courtroom: Judging in the New Millennium 18
Problem 1-2 19
Marckx v. Belgium 20
Notes and Questions 20
Johan Meeusen, Judicial Disapproval of Discrimination against Illegitimate Children 28
B. An Introduction to International Law 30
1. Overview of International Law 31
a. Sources of International Law 31
b. Explicit Agreements 32
Frederic L. Kirgis, International Agreements and U.S. Law 40
Notes 42
c. Customary International Law 43
d. General Principles of International Law 45
Notes and Questions 47
Problem 1-3 48
Notes 50
e. Enforcing Human Rights Norms in U.S. Courts 51
Kenneth Roth, The Charade of U.S. Ratification of International Human Rights Treaties 51
Note 53
Jack Goldsmith, Should International Human Rights Law Trump U.S. Domestic Law 53
Problem 1-4 56
Notes 56
2. International Institutions 58
a. United Nations 59
b. The Hague Conference on Private International Law 61
c. Council of Europe 62
L. v. Finland 66
Notes and Questions 72
d. European Union 77
e. Organization of American States 80
f. African Union 83
Problem 1-5 86
Notes and Questions 87
Chapter 2 Regulation of Marriage 89
A. The Importance of Marriage 89
Claude Levi-Strauss, The Family, in Man, Culture, and Society 89
Joan A. Metge, Marriage in Modern Maori Society 90
B. The Power to Regulate Marriage 92
1. Customary Law 92
David L. Chambers, Civilizing the Natives: Customary Marriage in Post-Apartheid South Africa 93
Notes and Questions 95
Suen Toi Lee v. Yau Yee Ping 98
Problem 2-1 99
Kalyton v. Kalyton 100
Notes and Questions 102
Janet Kabeberi-Macharia & Celestine Nyamu, Marriage by Affidavit: Developing Alternative Laws on Cohabitation in Kenya 102
2. Religious Law 104
In re Marriage ofVryonis 107
Notes and Questions 110
3. Constitutional Law 113
a. Constitutional Allocation of Power between the Legislative Branches 113
b. Constitutional Allocation of Power between the Judiciaries 114
Notes and Questions 116
4. International Law 116
Universal Declaration of Human Rights [UDHR] 116
1956 Supplementary Convention on the Abolition of Slavery, the Slave Trade and Institutions and Practices Similar to Slavery 117
Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women 118
Fact Sheet No. 23, Harmful Traditional Practices Affecting the Health of Women and Children, Office of the High Commission for Human Rights 119
Report of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women 120
Report of the Committee on Progress Achieved in the Implementation of the Convention: Note by the Secretariat 120
Notes and Questions 121
Problem 2-2 122
C. Procedural Requirements for Entry into Marriage 123
1. France: Age, Consent, Banns, and Compulsory Civil Ceremony 123
The French Civil Code (1804) 123
Civil Code of Quebec, Book Two 125
Notes and Questions 126
Karl August Prinz Von Sachsen-Gessaphe, Concubinage in Mexico 127
2. The Importance of Formalities 128
Chief Adjudication Officer v. Kirpal Kaur Bath 128
Notes and Questions 130
D. Mail-Order Marriages 131
1. The Factual Background 132
Robert J. Scholes & Anchalee Phataralaoha, The "Mail-Order Bride" Industry and Its Impact on U.S. Immigration 132
Suzanne H. Jackson, Marriages of Convenience: International Marriage Brokers, "Mail-Order Brides," and Domestic Servitude 133
Notes and Questions 134
Kerry Abrams, Immigration Law and the Regulation of Marriage 134
Robert J. Scholes & Anchalee Phataralaoha, The "Mail-Order Bride" Industry and Its Impact on U.S. Immigration 135
2. Legal Responses of Countries of Destination 137
Suzanne H. Jackson, Marriages of Convenience: International Marriage Brokers, "Mail-Order Brides," and Domestic Servitude 137
3. Legal Responses of Countries of Origin 139
Republic Act No. 6955 (1990) 139
Republic Act No. 9208 (2003) 140
Notes and Questions 141
4. International Legal Responses 142
a. Discrimination against Women 142
CEDAW General Recommendation No. 21,?? 16 142
b. Trafficking 143
Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children, Supplementing the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime 143
Notes and Questions 143
c. Slavery 144
Problem 2-4 144
Chapter Three Dissolution of Marriage: A Continuing Conundrum 147
A. Historical Origins of Western Law of Dissolution: From Customary to Religious to State Control 148
Mary Ann Glendon, The Transformation of Family Law 148
Notes and Questions 153
Notes and Questions 155
B. Contemporary Divorce Reform 156
1. Modern Divorce Reform in the United States 156
Riley v. Riley 158
Mo. Ann. Stat. 452.320 160
La. Rev. Stat. Ann 9:307 161
Problem 3-1 163
2. Divorce Reform in England 164
Matrimonial Causes Act, 1973, c.18 165
Problem 3-2 168
Notes and Questions 168
3. Divorce Reform in the Republic of Ireland 170
Article 41 ?The Family 172
McA v. McA 173
Problem 3-3 175
Notes and Questions 176
4. A Glimpse of Divorce Reform Around Europe-And Around the World 179
a. Western Europe 179
Notes and Questions 182
b. East Asia 184
Notes and Questions 188
c. Africa 189
5. The Debate Continues 189
C. The Intersection of Religion and the State in Contemporary Regulation of Divorce 191
1. Nations Delegating Exclusive Control of Civil Marital Status to the State 192
Williams v. Williams 192
Note 193
Avitzur v. Avitzur 194
Notes and Questions 195
Marcovitz v. Bruker 198
Notes and Questions 201
2. Nations Regulating Termination of Marriage through Religious Norms or Institutions 203
a. Unitary Systems and Islamic Law 203
b. Pluralistic Personal Law Systems 206
Notes and Questions 206
Problem 3-4 209
Problem 3-5 210
Chapter 4 Domestic Partnerships and Same-Sex Marriage 211
A. Domestic Partnerships 211
Kelly Kollman, Same-Sex Unions: The Globalization of an Idea 211
Notes and Questions 213
Pacte Civil de Solidarite 215
Notes and Questions 216
Problem 4-1 218
B. Same-Sex Marriage 219
Notes and Questions 221
Minister of Home Affairs and Another v. Fourie 224
In re Marriage Cases 230
Notes and Questions 232
Civil Marriage Act 234
Government Gazette, Republic of South Africa 236
Notes and Questions 237
Problem 4-2 238
C. International Human Rights and Same-Sex Couples 239
1. The European Court of Human Rights 239
Application No. 40016/98 Karner v. Austria 239
2. European Union 240
Arthur S. Leonard, European Court Victory for Same-Sex Partners 241
3. Organization of American States 242
4. United Nations Human Rights System 243
Introduction to the Yogyakarta Principles 244
Problem 4-3 246
Chapter 5 Recognition of Foreign Marriages and Divorces 247
A. Recognition of Marriages and Alternative Partnerships 247
Leszinske v. Poole 248
People v. Ezeonu 250
Farah v. Farah 251
Notes and Questions 253
American Airlines, Inc. v. Mejia 260
Notes and Questions 262
Problems 265
B. Recognition of Foreign Marriage Dissolutions and Related Orders 267
1. Status Termination 267
Maklad v. Maklad 267
In the Matter of the Estate of Ian A. Pringle 269
Notes and Questions 271
T.T.v. K.A. 277
2. Property Division and Alimony 278
Aleem v. Aleem 278
Notes and Questions 280
Problems 288
Chapter 6 Violence between Family Members 291
A. Violence and Context 291
1. Differences 292
2. Similarities 295
Jeffrey Fagan & Angela Brown, Violence between Spouses and Intimates: Physical Aggression between Women and Men in Intimate Relationships 295
INS Asylum and Withholding Definitions 295
World Health Organization, The World Report on Violence and Health 296
Report of the Secretary General, In-Depth Study on All Forms of Violence against Women 296
World Health Organization, Preventing Violence: A Guide to Implementing the Recommendations of the World Report on Violence and Health 296
B. Family Violence as a Human Rights Issue in the United Nations' System 297
1. Traditional Human Rights Approaches 297
Dorothy Q. Thomas 8c Michele E. Beasley, Domestic Violence as a Human Rights Issue 297
Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women 299
Jan Arno Hessbruegge, Human Rights Violations Arising From Conduct of Non-State Actors 299
The Due Diligence Standard as a Tool for the Elimination of Violence against Women 301
Notes and Questions 302
2. Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women 304
Sally Engle Merry, Constructing a Global Law-Violence against Women and the Human Rights System 305
Goekce v. Austria 306
Notes and Questions 311
San Francisco, Ca., 1 Admin. Code ch. 12K, ?12K.3(b) 313
3. Convention against Torture 313
a. State Responsibility for Private Acts 314
Ali v. Reno 314
Notes and Questions 316
b. Torture 318
Rhonda Copelon, Recognizing the Egregious in the Everyday: Domestic Violence as Torture 319
Notes and Questions 319
4. Platforms for Action, Declarations, and Reports of the Special Rapporteur 322
Berta Esperanza Hernandez-Truyol, Sex, Culture, and Rights: A Re/Conceptualization of Violence for the Twenty-First Century 322
Notes and Questions 323
C. Regional Approaches 325
1. Convention of Belem do Para 325
Maria da Penha Maia Fernandes 326
Notes and Questions 334
2. European Convention on Human Rights 341
Z and Others v. United Kingdom 341
Bevacqua and S. v. Bulgaria 342
Notes and Questions 346
3. Maputo Protocol 349
4. Arab Charter on Human Rights 350
D. Customary International Law 350
Rhonda Copelon, Recognizing the Egregious in the Everyday: Domestic Violence as Torture 350
Notes and Questions 351
Problem 6-1 353
E. Expanding the Analysis 353
1. Female Genital Mutilation: The Practice 353
Fact Sheet No. 23, Harmful Traditional Practices Affecting the Health of Women and Children 354
2. The Universality of Human Rights 357
Katherine Brennan, Note, The Influence of Cultural Relativism on International Human Rights Law: Female Circumcision as a Case Study 357
Makau Mutua, Savages, Victims, and Saviors: The Metaphor of Human Rights 358
Douglas Lee Donoho, Relativism Versus Universalism in Human Rights: The Search for Meaningful Standards 358
Justice Albie Sachs, Introduction to The Changing Family: International Perspectives on the Family and Family Law 359
Sally Engle Merry, Constructing a Global Law-Violence against Women and the Human Rights System 360
Notes and Questions 360
3. National Legal Responses 364
a. Egypt's Approach 364
Susan A. Dillon, Comment, Yoni in the Land of Isis: Female Genital Mutilation Is Banned (Again) in Egypt 364
Notes and Questions 367
b. The United States' Approach 369
Problem 6-2 371
Adoption of Peggy 371
Notes and Questions 372
In re R-A 374
Islam v. Secretary of State for the Home Dep't 378
Notes and Questions 380
Asylum 8c Withholding Definitions 383
Problem 6-3 385
Part Two Rights and Responsibilities of Parents, Children, and the State 389
Chapter 7 Custody: A Comparative Prologue 389
A. Decision-Makers and Private Ordering 390
B. Determining "Best Interests"-Permissible Factors and Considerations 394
1. Gender 395
Bolaji Owasanoye, The Regulation of Child Custody and Access in Nigeria 399
Note 400
Problem 7-1 401
Problem 7-2 401
Notes and Questions 403
D. Marianne Blair & Merle H. Weiner, Resolving Parental Custody Disputes-A Comparative Exploration 403
2. Religion 405
Hoffmann v. Austria 406
Notes and Questions 409
3. Race 413
Van de Perre v. Edwards 414
Notes and Questions 421
4. Children's Preferences 422
C v. Finland 424
Notes and Questions 427
Problem 7-3 429
Chapter 8 Child Abduction, Jurisdiction, and Enforcement in International Custody Disputes 431
A. The Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction 432
1. Wrongful Removal and Retention 433
a. Habitual Residence 433
Mozes v. Mozes 433
Notes and Questions 439
Problem 8-1 440
Problem 8-2 441
b. Rights of Custody 443
Whallon v. Lynn 443
Notes and Questions 446
Croll v. Croll 449
Notes and Questions 455
Problem 8-3 458
c. Actual Exercise 458
Friedrich v. Friedrich 458
Notes and Questions 461
2. The Defenses 461
a. Grave Risk of Harm 461
Blondin v. Dubois 461
Blondin v. Dubois 464
Blondin v. Dubois 469
Notes and Questions 471
b. Children's Objection to Return 480
England v. England 480
Notes and Questions 483
c. Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms 486
Freier v. Freier 487
Notes and Questions 488
d. Consent or Acquiescence to the Removal 489
In re Ponath 489
Notes and Questions 490
e. One Year Elapsed from the Date of Wrongful Removal 491
Wojcik v. Wojcik 491
Lops v. Lops 494
Notes and Questions 497
Problems 499
B. Jurisdiction in International Custody Disputes and Enforcement of Foreign Orders 500
1. U.S. Domestic Law 501
a. Jurisdictional Bases, Forum Non Conveniens, and Simultaneous Proceedings 502
In re Marriage of Reeman and Vikas Sareen 502
Notes and Questions 506
Problems 514
b. Modification and Enforcement Proceedings 515
White v. Harrison - White 516
Note and Questions 519
Susan L. v. Steven L. 521
Notes and Questions 524
Hosain v. Malik 528
Notes and Questions 537
Problems 540
2. International Conventions 542
a. 1996 Convention for the Protection of Children 542
Problems 544
Notes 545
b. Regional Conventions and Regulations 545
Notes 547
C. Other Remedies to Prevent or Respond to Abduction 549
1. Preventative Measures and Immediate Deterrence 549
Al-Silham v. Al-Silham 549
Notes and Questions 551
Long v. Ardestani 553
Notes and Questions 560
Patricia E. Apy, Managing Child Custody Cases Involving Non-Hague Contracting States 563
Notes 565
2. Sanctions and Tort Liability 567
a. International Parental Kidnaping Crime Act and Other Federal Sanctions 567
United States v. Fazal-Ur-Raheman-Fazal 567
Notes and Questions 571
b. Additional Remedies under State Lawz 576
Anyanwu v. Anyanwu 576
Notes and Questions 582
c. Self Help and Other Options 584
Patricia E. Apy, Managing Child Custody Cases Involving Non-Hague Contracting States 584
Notes and Questions 585
Chapter 9 Financial Support of Children 589
A. Who Must Support Children? 590
Chartier v. Chartier 590
John Eekelaar, Are Parents Morally Obliged to Care for Their Children? 594
Notes and Questions 596
Problem 9-1 599
B. Parent-State Relationship for the Support of Children 600
1. Income Transfers/Family Allowances 600
Notes and Questions 604
Problem 9-2 608
2. Child Support Assurance 608
Notes and Questions 609
Problem 9-3 611
3. Departing from the Guidelines 611
a. Parents' Ability to Opt-Out of the Child Support Guidelines 611
ⅰ. Absence of a Child Support Order 612
Close v. Close 613
Notes and Questions 614
Solangel Maldonado, Deadbeat or Deadbroke: Redefining Child Support for Poor Fathers 614
ⅱ. Private Agreements and Child Support Guidelines 616
Notes and Questions 618
Hyde v. Comm issioner of Inland Reven ue 619
b. Courts' Discretion to Depart from the Guidelines 621
Lyon v. Wilcox 621
Notes and Questions 624
Chapter 10 Establishing and Enforcing Child Support Orders Transnationally 627
A. U.S. Participation in International Agreements 628
1. Foreign Reciprocating Countries 628
2. State Reciprocity Arrangements 629
3. 2007 Hague Maintenance Convention 630
B. Establishing, Enforcing, and Modifying Child Support Orders in U.S. Tribunals on Behalf of Residents of Foreign Nations 632
1. Establishing an Initial Support Order 635
Gladis v. Gladisova 636
Notes 640
2. Simultaneous Proceedings 641
3. Enforcing a Foreign Order in a U.S. Tribunal 642
Country of Luxembourg, on Behalf of Ana Ribeiro v. Canderas 642
Notes and Questions 645
4. Modification Restrictions 653
Grave v. Shubert 654
Notes and Questions 655
C. Enforcing U.S. Support Orders Abroad 661
Problems 662
D. Multilateral Child Support Agreements around the Globe 665
Note 666
Chapter 11 Adoption: A Comparative Exploration 669
A. A Glimpse of Adoption across Time and Culture 670
Laura J. Schwartz, Models for Parenthood in Adoption Law: The French Conception 674
Note and Questions 675
B. Termination of Parental Rights 676
1. Giving and Revoking Voluntary Consent 677
N v. Health Service Executive 678
Notes and Questions 684
2. Rights of Putative Fathers 685
Lehr v. Robertson 686
Keegan v. Ireland 689
Notes and Questions 692
Problem 11-1 695
C. Maintaining Links with the Family of Origin 695
Cheskes v. Ontario 702
I.O'T. v. B. 705
Notes and Questions 708
Odievre v. France 711
Notes and Questions 713
Problem 11-2 714
Chapter 12 International Adoption 717
A. Intercountry Adoption: Benevolent Option or Last Resort? 718
Problem 12-1 720
Elizabeth Bartholet, International Adoption: Propriety, Prospects and Pragmatics 720
Twila Perry, Transracial and International Adoption: Mothers, Hierarchy, Race, and Feminist Legal Theory 724
Sara Dillon, Making Legal Regimes for Intercountry Adoption Reflect Human Rights Principles: Transforming the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child with the Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoption 727
David M. Smolin, Intercountry Adoption and Poverty: A Human Rights Analysis 729
Susan R. Harris, Race, Search, and My Baby-Self: Reflections of a Transracial Adoptee 729
Susan Soon-Keum Cox, Ritual 731
Notes and Questions 732
D. Marianne Blair, Safeguarding the Interests of Children in Intercountry Adoption: Assessing the Gatekeepers 736
Notes and Questions 737
Problem 12-2 741
B. Regulation of International Adoption by International Conventions 742
1. U.N. Conventions 742
2. The Hague Intercountry Adoption Convention 744
a. Central Authorities 744
b. Accredited Agencies and Approved Persons 745
c. Convention Requirements for the Adoption Process 748
d. Recognition of Convention Adoptions and U.S. Certification Procedures 752
Notes and Questions 753
Problems 758
C. Adopting a Child from Abroad桾he Process 760
1. Role of Adoption Agencies and Lawyers 760
2. U.S. Immigration Requirements 763
a. Eligibility for Immediate Relative Status for an Orphan 764
Rogan v. Reno 765
Notes and Questions 767
b. Eligibility for Immediate Relative Status for a Hague Convention Adoption 769
Problem 12-6 770
Notes and Questions 770
c. Process for Obtaining Orphan and Convention Visas 771
Note 776
d. Eligibility and Process for Obtaining Immediate Relative Status as an Adopted Child 776
Kaho v. Ilchert 777
Notes and Questions 780
3. Citizenship 783
4. Adoption, Readoption, and Recognition of Foreign Orders in U.S. Courts 784
a. Initial Adoption in U.S. Court 784
b. Readoption in a U.S. Court 785
c. Recognition of Foreign Adoption Decrees by U.S. Courts 785
Problems 786
Chapter 13 Reproductive Rights 789
A. Reproductive Rights and Human Rights 789
1. International Population Issues 789
Reed Boland, Symposium on Population Law: The Environment, Population, and Women's Human Rights 791
Paula Abrams, Population Politics: Reproductive Rights and U.S. Asylum Policy 792
2. An Overview of Reproductive Rights 793
Barbara Stark, Reproductive Rights and Abortion 793
Barbara Stark, Crazy Jane Talks with the Bishop: Abortion in China, Germany, South Africa and International Human Rights 793
General Recommendation No. 24, Report of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women 796
Note and Question 797
3. The Protocol on the Rights of Women in Africa 797
Notes and Questions 798
B. State Natalist Policies 799
1. Pro-Natalist Policies 799
Notes and Questions 800
2. Anti-Natalist Policies 800
a. Iran 800
Janet Larsen, Iran's Birth Rate Plummeting at Record Pace: Success Provides a Model for Other Developing Countries 800
b. The People's Republic of China 802
Constitution of the People's Republic of China 803
Marriage Law of the People's Republic of China 803
Xiaorong Li, License to Coerce: Violence against Women, State Responsibility, and Legal Failures in China's Family-Planning Program 803
Population and Family Planning Law of the People's Republic of China 805
Information Office of The State Council of the People's Republic of China, Human Rights in China 806
Notes and Questions 808
Problem 13-1 811
Notes and Questions 811
More on Asylum 812
Notes and Questions 813
Problem 13-2 814
Problem 13-3 814
C. Abortion 815
Barbara Stark, Reproductive Rights and Abortion 815
Note and Questions 815
1. Municipal Approaches 816
a. Canada 816
b. El Salvador 818
c. Lebanon 819
Problem 13-4 820
Notes and Questions 820
2. Regional Approaches 821
a. Europe 821
b. The Americas 822
c. Africa 822
Notes and Questions 822
3. International Law 823
Notes and Questions 824
Chapter 14 Children's Human Rights within the Family 827
A. Convention on the Rights of the Child 827
Jaap E. Doek, What Does the Children's Convention Require? 828
Notes and Questions 833
Michael King, Against Children's Rights 835
B. Children's Rights in the United States and South Africa 836
1. Children's Rights in the United States 836
Barbara Bennett Woodhouse, The Constitutionalization of Children's Rights: Incorporating Emerging Human Rights into Constitutional Doctrine 836
Martin Guggenheim, Ratify the U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child, But Don't Expect Any Miracles 837
Notes and Questions 840
2. Children's Rights in South Africa 841
Constitution of the Republic of South Africa 841
Tshepo L. Mosikatsana, Children's Rights and Family Autonomy in the South African Context: A Comment on Children's Rights under the Final Constitution 842
Julia Sloth-Nielsen, Chicken Soup or Chainsaws: Some Implications of the Constitutionalisation of Children's Rights in South Africa 843
Notes and Questions 844
Government of the Republic of South Africa v. Grootboom 847
Notes and Questions 862
C. Corporal Punishment 865
1. The Committee's General Comment 865
The Committee's General Comment on Corporal Punishment 865
2. The Special Expert's Report 868
Paulo Sergio Penheiro, World Report on Violence against Children 868
3. Domestic Law and Law Reform Efforts 869
Penny Booth, The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Punishment of Children under English Law-Public and Private Vices? 869
Katie Sykes, Bambi Meets Godzilla: Children's and Parent's Rights in Canadian Foundation for Children, Youth and the Law 870
Penny Booth, The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Punishment of Children under English Law-Public and Private Vices? 872
Notes and Questions 874
Committee on the Rights of the Child, Consideration of Reports Submitted by States Parties 875
Note and Questions 876
Committee on the CRC-Comments on State Reports Regarding Corporal Punishment 876
Notes and Questions 878
Index 881