This book is built upon the outcomes of the EUFam's Project, financially supported by the EU Civil Justice Programme and led by the University of Milan. Also involved are the Universities of Heidelberg, Osijek, Valencia and Verona, the MPI in Luxembourg, the Italian and Spanish Family Lawyers Associations and training academies for judges in Italy and Croatia. The book seeks to offer an exhaustive overview of the regulatory framework of private international law in family and succession matters. The book addresses current features of the Brussels IIa, Rome III, Maintenance and Succession Regulations, the 2007 Hague Protocol, the 2007 Hague Recovery Convention and new Regulations on Property Regimes.

The contributions are authored by more than 30 experts in cross-border family and succession matters. They introduce social and cultural issues of cross-border families, set up the scope of all EU family and succession regulations, examine rules on jurisdiction, applicable law and recognition and enforcement regimes and focus on the current problems of EU family and succession law (lis pendens in third States, forum necessitatis, Brexit and interactions with other legal instruments). The book also contains national reports from 6 Member States and annexes of interest for both legal scholars and practitioners (policy guidelines, model clauses and protocols).

Table Of Contents



PART I

CROSS-BORDER FAMILIES: SOCIAL AND CULTURAL ISSUES

1. Unification of Private International Law in Family Matters in the European Union: Cultural Issues

Christian Kohler

2. Cross-Border Families and Social Issues: A Sociological Analysis

Paola Bonizzoni and Luisa Leonini

3. EUFam's Cases and Issues of Islamic Law

Elisa Giunchi



PART II

SCOPE OF THE EU FAMILY LAW REGULATIONS

4. Preliminary Questions

Thomas Pfeiffer and Josef Wittmann

5. Matrimonial Matters

Rosario Espinosa Calabuig

6. Parental Responsibility

Diletta Danieli

7. Maintenance

Mirela Župan and Martina Drventic

8. Succession

Carmen Azcárraga Monzonís

9. Matrimonial Property Regimes

Pablo Quinzá Redondo

10. Property Consequences of Registered Partnerships

Guillermo Palao Moreno



PART III

GENERAL ISSUES

11. Finding a Habitual Residence

Thalia Kruger

12. Habitual Residence in the Succession Regulation

Jacopo Re

13. Multiple Nationalities and EU Family Regulations

Stefania Bariatti



PART IV

JURISDICTION AND PARALLEL PROCEEDINGS

14. Jurisdiction

Arantxa Gandía Sellens, Amandine Faucon Alonso and Philippos Siaplaouras

15. Parallel Proceedings – Lis Pendens and Concurrent Procedures

Mirela Župan and Martina Drventic

16. Exceptio Rei Judicatae

Elena D'Alessandro



PART V

APPLICABLE LAW

17. Coordination Among the Objective Connecting Factors in Proceedings on Divorce, Maintenance, Property Regimes and Succession

Ilaria Viarengo

18. The Role of Party Autonomy in Pursuing Coordination

Cristina González Beilfuss

19. The 1996 Hague Convention on the Protection of Children

Maria Caterina Baruffi

20. The Impact of the Proof of Foreign Law

Rosario Espinosa Calabuig

21. Public Policy

Filippo Marchetti



PART VI

RECOGNITION AND ENFORCEMENT

22. The Fragmentation of the Recognition and Enforcement Regimes

Thomas Pfeiffer, Mirjam Escher and Josef Wittmann



PART VII

COORDINATION WITH THIRD STATES

23. Forum Necessitatis

Pietro Franzina

24. Interaction of the Brussels IIa and Maintenance Regulations with (Possible) Litigation in Non-EU States: Including Brexit Implications

Paul R Beaumont



PART VIII

RELATION WITH OTHER INSTRUMENTS

25. Impact of the Regulations on the Free Movement of Persons in the EU

Alessandra Lang

26. Case Law of the European Court of Human Rights on the Application of (Some of) the EU Family Regulations

Patrick Kinsch

27. Relationship between the 2007 Hague Maintenance Protocol and the Prior Hague Maintenance Conventions

Laura Carballo Pineiro



PART IX

THE COOPERATION BETWEEN CENTRAL AUTHORITIES

28. The Cooperation between Central Authorities under the Brussels IIa Regulation

Andrea Schulz

29. The Cooperation of Central Authorities under the Maintenance Regulation

Hrvoje Grubišic



PART X

NATIONAL REPORTS

30. The Application of the EUFam's Regulations in Croatia

Mirela Župan, Ines Medic, Paula Poretti, Nataša Lucic and Martina Drventic

31. The Application of the EUFam's Regulations in the Czech Republic

Lenka Válková

32. The Application of the EUFam's Regulations in Germany

Mirjam Escher

33. The Application of the EUFam's Regulations in Italy

Diletta Danieli and Cinzia Peraro

34. The Application of the EUFam's Regulations in Slovakia

Lenka Válková

35. The Application of the EUFam's Regulations in Spain

Rosario Espinosa Calabuig, Laura Carballo Pineiro, Carmen Azcárraga Monzonís, Pablo Quinzá Redondo, Guilllermo Palao Moreno and Carlos Esplugues Mota



PART XI

DELIVERABLES OF THE PROJECT

36. The Outcomes of the Online Questionnaire

Caterina Fratea and Diletta Danieli

37. Internationally Shared Good Practices

Arantxa Gandia Sellens, Céline Camara, Amandine Faucon Alonso and Philippos Siaplaouras

38. Choice-of-Court and Choice-of-Law Clauses

Francesca Clara Villata and Lenka Válková

39. EUFam's Policy Guidelines

Carmen Azcárraga Monzonís, Maria Caterina Baruffi , Diletta Danieli, Mirjam Escher, Rosario Espinosa Calabuig, Amandine Faucon Alonso, Caterina Fratea, Arantxa Gandía Sellens, Filippo Marchetti, Marta Requejo Isidro, Philippos Siaplaouras, Lenka Válková, Ilaria Viarengo, Josef Wittmann and Mirela Župan

40. Model Protocol for Coordination Among Judges

EUFam's Working Group 'Judicial Committee'