In recent weeks, both Uruguay and Brazil have moved toward joining Argentina and Mexico and other nations in which same-sex marriage is possible. Uruguay enacted legislation in April; see Zack Ford, Uruguay Becomes 12th Country to Recognize Same-Sex Marriage (Think Progress, April 11, 2013).
Preview 2013: Same-Sex Marriage in France and the UK
Legislation to extend full marriage rights to same-sex couples is on the political agenda in both France and the UK for 2013. See Harvey Morris, Gay Marriage Fight Intensifies in Britain and France, International Herald Tribune/NY Times, Dec. 12, 2012.
“Free Will” and Forced Marriages in Pakistan, Afghanistan
Interesting piece in yesterday’s N.Y. Times by Meghan Davidson Ladly: “Love and Free Will Challenge Traditional Pakistani Family Ties” (NYT Sept.
Cross-Border Issues for Same-Sex Couples: European Version
Excellent article in the New York Times on the situation facing same-sex couples in Europe. See Paul Geitner, On Gay Marriage, Europe Strains to Square 27 Interests (NY Times, July 25, 2012).
Religious Conversions for Marriage Considered in Pakistan
Controversy over several cases of Hindu women converting to Islam in order to marry Islamic men has reached the Pakistani Supreme Court, which resolved the cases by sequestering the women from their families and their husbands in a shelter for several weeks and then having a court registrar record their statements privately regarding their decisions to convert.
Islamists and Moroccan Marriage Law
An article in the Washington Post discusses the controversy in Morocco sparked by the suicide last month of a teenager who was raped and then married off to the man who had raped her. The current law allows a rapist to avoid prosecution if he marries the vicitm.The story reports that although the current law sets the legal age for marriage at 18, more than 35,000 exceptions are granted by judges every year. See Edward Cody,
Special Commission Reconvenes in The Hague
Part II of the Special Commission on the Practical Operation of the Hague Abduction and Child Protection Conventions begins on Wednesday, January 25, 2012 and continues through January 31 in The Hague. Rather than focusing primarily on the possibility of a protocol to the Abduction Convention, the meeting will focus on future work in three areas: enforceability of mediated agreements in the family law area, a legal basis for direct judicial communication, and the treatment of domestic violence issues within a return proceeding. In addition to a
Forced Marriage in the U.S.
Thanks to Melissa Kucinski for circulating the link to this survey of forced marriage in immigrant communities in the U.S., carried out in 2011 by the Tahirih Justice Center.
New Issue: International Law, Policy and the Family
Online access to the August 2011 issue of the International Journal of Law, Policy and the Family is available here.
New Rule of Succession for British Royal Family
The rules have changed for Britain’s royal family, with the unanimous approval by the Commonwealth countries of changes to the Bill of Rights 1688; the Coronation Oath Act 1688; the Act of Settlement 1701; and the Royal Marriages Act 1772. The new law places daughters and sons on an equal footing with respect to inheriting the throne, beginning with any children born to Prince William and Princess Kate. The new law also abolished the rule prohibiting a British monarch from being married to a Catholic.