The right to respect for (private and) family life in the case-law of the European Court of Human rights: the protection of new forms of family

Almeida, Susana

http://hdl.handle.net/10400.8/861

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Authors

Almeida, Susana

Abstract(s)

This paper examines the scope of protection granted to new forms of family by Article 8 of the European Convention of Human Rights, which guarantees the right to respect for family life. In particular, the paper intends to analyze the complex and evolving interpretive task of the European Court of Human Rights in regard to the definition of the term “family life” under Article 8. Consequently, this paper assesses Strasbourg’s case-law concerning new forms of family, such as de facto, mono-parental, recomposed, transgender and homosexual families. The case-law analysis carried out in this paper allows us to conclude that the main lines of the Strasbourg Court’s decisions in this field are nothing more than a reflection of the coordinates of the existing Family Law in Europe: equality and pedo-centrism. The principles drawn out by the Court match with an equalitarian and non- discriminatory vision of the law, focused entirely on the child's best interests. In some areas, however, the commitment to the principle of equality is suspended by the European Court of Human Rights on the grounds of protection of marriage and the traditional family.