THE EVOLVING CONCEPT OF FAMILY LIFE: NEW FAMILY FORMS AND THE LIMITS OF LEGAL RECOGNITION FROM EUROPEAN HUMAN RIGHTS STANDARDS TO NATIONAL FAMILY LAW PRACTICE

MERO, Arta and RISTOV, Angel and NUHIJA, Bekim (2026) THE EVOLVING CONCEPT OF FAMILY LIFE: NEW FAMILY FORMS AND THE LIMITS OF LEGAL RECOGNITION FROM EUROPEAN HUMAN RIGHTS STANDARDS TO NATIONAL FAMILY LAW PRACTICE. In: INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE “FROM RESEARCH TO APPLICATION”, 18-19 November, 2026.

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Abstract

The concept of “family life” has undergone significant transformation in contemporary European law, moving beyond the traditional model based on marriage and biological ties toward a more pluralistic understanding shaped by autonomy, care, and lived relationships. This paper examines that evolution through the lens of Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights and the jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights, tracing how legal recognition has extended, unevenly and often cautiously, to unmarried and cohabiting couples, same- sex families, single-parent households, stepfamilies, and parenthood arising from assisted reproduction and surrogacy. Rather than treating these forms as isolated categories, the paper situates them within an analytical framework distinguishing biological, legal, and functional approaches to family membership, and asks whether European law is shifting decisively toward the functional model. Particular attention is given to the position of the child, whose best interests and right to identity increasingly operate as a normative boundary on how far legal recognition can and should extend. The analysis draws on European Court of Human Rights case law together with North Macedonia’s Law on the Family and its 2008 Law on Assisted Biomedical Fertilization, in order to test how far domestic practice already reflects, or departs from, the ECtHR standard. In line with the congress theme “From Research to Application,” the paper concludes by turning these doctrinal developments into concrete guidance for national legislators and courts, addressing how family law systems-including North Macedonia’s, might respond to family diversity while preserving legal certainty and safeguarding children from the consequences of unresolved parental status disputes.

Item Type:	Conference or Workshop Item (Paper)
Subjects:	K Law > K Law (General)
Divisions:	Faculty of Law, Arts and Social Sciences > School of Law
Depositing User:	Unnamed user with email zshi@unite.edu.mk
Date Deposited:	11 Nov 2026 13:05
Last Modified:	11 Nov 2026 13:05
URI:	http://eprints.unite.edu.mk/id/eprint/2733

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