Here’s an article by G.M. Filisko in this month’s ABA Journal touching on international divorce, the Hague Children’s Conventions, and the Supreme Court’s decision in Abbott: “When Global Families Fail.”
European Commission Proposes Choice of Law Rules for Cross-Border Divorces
The countries of the European Union have been divided for several years on whether to adopt a regulation governing choice of law matters for divorce and separation. The ”Rome III Regulation” proposed in 2006 did not obtain the required unanimous consent of EU member countries. As an alternative, ten EU countries have now indicated that they would like to proceed with “enhanced cooperation” on these questions. This post by Gilles Cuniberti on conflictoflaws.net explains the prop
U.S.-French Divorce Litigation
Gilles Cuniberti reports in conflictoflaws.net on a recent judgment from the French Cour de cassation concerning divorce litigation pending simultaneously in France and New York. The ruling upheld a decision recognizing U.S. judgments on maintenance and parental responsibility, holding that it was irrelevant for this purpose which court had taken jurisdiction first.
Films for Teaching
Documentary films and short fiction can be very helpful in teaching classes or seminars on international and comparative family law. Of the films I have shown students, the best for my purposes is Divorce Iranian Style, by Kim Longinotto and Ziba Mir-Hosseini (1998). The film is a nice complement to Mir-Hosseini’s book, Marriage on Trial: A Study of Islamic Family Law (rev. ed. 2001).
New Issue: International Journal of Law, Policy and the Family
Advance Access to the December 2009 issue of the International Journal of Law, Policy and the Family is now available online. The issue includes articles on the interrelation of no-fault divorce and premarital contracts (Jens-Uwe Franck); the prohibition of same-sex marriages in Uganda (Jamil Ddamulira Mujuzi); the legal battle against domestic violence in India (Tahira Karanjawala and Shivani Chugh); recent developments on same-sex couples and the law in the British Isles (Brian Tob