Family demography and family law

The relationship between the changes in the demography of family and the changes in family law is not a simple matter of cause and effect. Changes in law occur as a consequence of changes in behavior as much as changes in law may favor changes in behavior.

The purpose of this working group is to foster the study of the connection between changes in family law and changes in family structure and family dynamics while assuming as little as possible about the direction of the connection. The working group is an opportunity to bring together scholars working at the frontiers of family demography and family law and promote both interdisciplinary and comparative approaches through an evidence-based dialogue on the interplay between family law and family dynamics across countries.

The working group will organize seminars and workshops on the connection between family demography and family law, encouraging post event publication projects. It will also propose and organize sessions in population conferences, notably the EPC 2020 and 2022 but also if possible at the annual or biannual meetings of large-scale national or international population associations such as the Population Association of America (PAA). The working group will organize at least one joint activity with a scientific legal association such as the International Society of Family Law (ISFL) and the European Commission on Family Law (CEFL).

Steering committee

LAURA BERNARDI

University of Lausanne, Switzerland

NORA SANCHEZ GASSEN

Nordregio, Sweden

DIMITRI MORTELMANS

University of Antwerp, Belgium

Members of the working group

• Michelle Cottier – University of Geneva, Switzerland
• Anne Gauthier – NIDI, The Netherlands
• Anja Steinbach – University of Duisbur-Essen, Germany
• Olivier Thevenon – OECD, France
• Gentiane Schwarzer – Unine, Switzerland
• Marta Roca Escoda – Unil, Switzerland
• Fiona Friedli – Unil, Switzerland
• Aurore Müller – Unil, Switzerland