THE CONCEPT OF COUPLEDOM IN SUCCESSION LAW

Historically, English and Irish Law were both distinctly protective of marriage (still understood as an exclusively heterosexual institution)1 as compared to other forms of adult relationship. In the 1950 English case of Gammans v. Ekins, it was famously deemed an “abuse of the English language” to...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Cambridge law journal 2011-11, Vol.70 (3), p.623-648
Main Author: Sloan, Brian
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Children
Civil law
Civil unions
Coalition governments
Cohabitation
Constitutional Amendments
Couples
Court decisions
English Language
Family
Family law
Family relations
Family Violence
Heterosexuality
Homosexuality
Husbands
Inheritance
Inheritance and succession
Inheritances
Inter vivos
Ireland
Kinship
Law
Law reform
Marriage law
Partners
Political parties
Property rights
Psychological aspects
Spouses
Succession
Succession law
Citations: Items that this one cites
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Historically, English and Irish Law were both distinctly protective of marriage (still understood as an exclusively heterosexual institution)1 as compared to other forms of adult relationship. In the 1950 English case of Gammans v. Ekins, it was famously deemed an “abuse of the English language” to say that an unmarried couple “masquerading” as husband and wife were members of the same family.2 In its Constitution, meanwhile, the Irish state “pledges itself to guard with special care the institution of Marriage, on which the Family is founded, and to protect it against attack”.3 The powerfulness of this “pledge” can be seen from the fact that divorce was not possible in Ireland until a 1995 referendum resulted in a constitutional amendment.4
ISSN:0008-1973
1469-2139
DOI:10.1017/S0008197311000882