Derived from the renowned multi-volume International Encyclopaedia of Laws, this concise exposition and analysis of the essential elements of law with regard to family relations, marital property, and succession to estates in South Africa covers the legal rules and customs pertaining to the intertwined civic status of persons, the family, and property. After an informative general introduction, the book proceeds to an in-depth discussion of the sources and instruments of family and succession law, the authorities that adjudicate and administer the laws, and issues surrounding the person as a legal entity and the legal disposition of property among family members. Such matters as nationality, domicile, and residence; marriage, divorce, and cohabitation; adoption and guardianship; succession and inter vivos arrangements; and the acquisition and administration of estates are all treated to a degree of depth that will prove useful in nearly any situation likely to arise in legal practice. The book is primarily designed to assist lawyers who find themselves having to apply rules of international private law or otherwise handling cases connected with South Africa. It will also be of great value to students and practitioners as a quick guide and easy-to-use practical resource in the field, and especially to academicians and researchers engaged in comparative studies by providing the necessary, basic material of family and succession law.

Derived from the renowned multi-volume International Encyclopaedia of Laws, this concise exposition and analysis of the essential elements of law with regard to family relations, marital property, and succession to estates in Nigeria covers the legal rules and customs pertaining to the intertwined civic status of persons, the family, and property. After an informative general introduction, the book proceeds to an in-depth discussion of the sources and instruments of family and succession law, the authorities that adjudicate and administer the laws, and issues surrounding the person as a legal entity and the legal disposition of property among family members. Such matters as nationality, domicile, and residence; marriage, divorce, and cohabitation; adoption and guardianship; succession and inter vivos arrangements; and the acquisition and administration of estates are all treated to a degree of depth that will prove useful in nearly any situation likely to arise in legal practice. The book is primarily designed to assist lawyers who find themselves having to apply rules of international private law or otherwise handling cases connected with Nigeria. It will also be of great value to students and practitioners as a quick guide and easy-to-use practical resource in the field, and especially to academicians and researchers engaged in comparative studies by providing the necessary, basic material of family and succession law.

This pivotal Research Handbook analyses the interconnectedness of family property and the law through historical, contemporary, comparative and jurisdiction-specific lenses. Authors analyse some of the most well-known, contested and politicised legal developments in the field of family property law.

This third volume in a series on Comparative Succession Law concerns the entitlement of family members to override the provisions of a deceased person's will to obtain money or assets (or more money or assets) from the person's estate. Some countries, notably those in the civil law tradition (such as France or Germany), confer a pre-ordained share of the deceased's estate or of its value on certain members of the deceased's family, and especially on the deceased's children and spouse. Other countries, notably those in the common law tradition (such as England, Canada, or Australia), leave the matter to the discretion of the court, the amount awarded depending primarily on financial need. Whichever form it takes, mandatory family provision is both a protection against disinheritance and also, therefore, a restriction on testamentary freedom. The volume focuses on Europe and on countries influenced by the European experience. In addition to detailed treatment of the law in Austria, England and Wales, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Scotland, and Spain, the book also has chapters on Australia and New Zealand, South Africa, the United States, Canada, the countries of Latin America, and the People's Republic of China. Some other countries are covered more briefly, and there is a separate chapter on Islamic law. The book opens with accounts of Roman law and of the law in medieval and early-modern Europe, and it concludes with a comparative assessment of the law as it is today in the countries and legal traditions surveyed in this volume.

Papers from the 10th International Society of Family Law Conference covering the resolution of disputes and current pressures on family law.

This collection challenges the prevailing conflict of laws approach to the interaction of state and indigenous legal systems. It introduces adaptive legal pluralism as an alternative framework that emphasises dialogue and engagement between these legal systems. By exploring a dialogic approach to legal pluralism, the authors shed light on how it can effectively address the challenges stemming from the colonial imposition of industrial legal systems on Africa’s agrarian political economies.

Intestate Succession is the second volume in the Comparative Succession Law series which examines the principles of succession law from a comparative and historical perspective. This volume discusses the rules which apply where a person dies either without leaving a valid will, or leaving a will which fails to dispose of all of the person's assets. Among the questions considered are the following: What is the nature of the rules for the disposal of the deceased's assets? Are they mechanical or is there an element of discretion? Are particular types of property dealt with in particular ways? Is there entitlement to individual assets (as opposed to money)? Do the rules operate in a parentelic system or a system of some other kind? Are spouses treated more favourably than children? What provision is made for extra-marital children, for adopted children, for step-children? Does cohabitation give rise to entitlement? How are same-sex couples treated? Broader questions also arise of a historical and comparative nature. Where, for example, do the rules in intestate succession come from in particular legal systems? Have they been influenced by the rules in other countries? How are the rules explained and how are they justified? To what extent have they changed over time? What are the long-term trends? And finally, are the rules satisfactory, and is there pressure for their reform? As in the first volume, this book will focus on Europe and on countries which have been influenced by the European experience such as Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, the United States of America, Quebec, and the countries of Latin America. Further chapters are devoted to Islamic Law and Nordic law. Opening with a discussion on Roman law and concluding with an assessment of the overall development of the law in the countries surveyed, this book will provide a wider reflection on the nature and purpose of the law of intestate succession.

Changes in family structures, demographics, social attitudes and economic policies over the last 60 years have had a large impact on family lives and correspondingly on family law. The Second Edition of this Handbook draws upon recent developments to provide a comprehensive and up-to-date global perspective on the policy challenges facing family law and policy round the world. The chapters apply legal, sociological, demographic and social work research to explore the most significant issues that have been commanding the attention of family law policymakers in recent years. Featuring contributions from renowned global experts, the book draws on multiple jurisdictions and offers comparative analysis across a range of countries. The book addresses a range of issues, including the role of the state in supporting families and protecting the vulnerable, children’s rights and parental authority, sexual orientation, same-sex unions and gender in family law, and the status of marriage and other forms of adult relationships. It also focuses on divorce and separation and their consequences, the relationship between civil law and the law of minority groups, refugees and migrants and the movement of family members between jurisdictions along with assisted conception, surrogacy and adoption. This advanced-level reference work will be essential reading for students, researchers and scholars of family law and social policy as well as policymakers in the field.

This work contains the General Reports presented at the XVIIth Congress of the International Academy of Comparative Law (IACL), which was held in July 2006 in Utrecht. A wide variety of topics is covered in this collection, ranging from liability of judges to competition law. The book provides an interesting assessment of the development of comparative law in recent decades and shows the growing importance of comparative law in various disciplines of law.