ANNOUNCEMENT

Establishment of the Commission on European Family Law

On 1 September 2001, the standing Commission on European Family Law (CEFL) was set up. The CEFL will consist of about 25 distinguished experts in the field of family and comparative law from all EU Member States and other European countries. The participants in the inaugural meeting were Professor Katharina Boele-Woelki (Utrecht), Professor Frédérique Ferrand (Lyon), Professor Nigel Lowe (Cardiff), Professor Dieter Martiny (Frankfurt/Oder), Professor Walter Pintens (Leuven) and Professor Dieter Schwab (Regensburg). The main objective of the CEFL is to launch a pioneer theoretical and practical exercise in relation to the harmonisation of family law in Europe. This will be achieved by:
– surveying the current state of comparative research on the harmonisation of family law in the European countries. Experiences will be exchanged and further research activities in this field will be co-ordinated;
– searching for the common core for the solution of several legal problems on the basis of comparing the different solutions provided by the family laws of the various European jurisdictions;
– surveying the role of (potential) future European EU member states in the process of the harmonisation of family law.

The major benefit to be expected is the creation of Principles of European Family Law that are thought to be the most suitable for the harmonisation of family law within Europe. The CEFL will consist of two groups: the Organising Committee, consisting of the six members at the inauguration meeting, and the Expert Group. The general task of the Organising Committee is to set up the Expert Group and to prepare and to co-ordinate the work of the Expert Group and of the Commission as a whole. The CEFL will start their activities in the field of divorce law (grounds for divorce) and some consequences of divorce, such as maintenance between ex-spouses. Parental authority has been selected as the second issue. The working method and the initial results of the activities of the CEFL will be presented at an international Conference entitled ‘Perspectives for the Harmonisation and Unification of Family Law in Europe’, which will take place at Utrecht, The Netherlands, 11 to 14 December 2002.

Secretariat of the CEFL: Molengraaff Institute for Private Law, Nobelstraat 2a, 3512 EN Utrecht, The Netherlands. Tel.: +31 30 2537154; fax: +31 30 2537203; e-mail: [email protected]; web site: http://www.law.uu.nl/priv/cefl.