Brian Tobin

ISBN13: 9781509952571
Published: August 2024
Publisher: Hart Publishing
Country of Publication: UK
Format: Paperback

This book critically analyses how the law has facilitated, or hindered, the recognition of same-sex family formations in Ireland, and how it might be reformed to provide greater parental rights for same-sex couples.

The book covers four key issues facing same-sex couples:

Civil partnerships: the first chapter analyses the pragmatic and symbolic effects of registered civil partnership, and compares Ireland's decision to discontinue this alternative form of relationship recognition with the UK's recent move towards extending civil partnership laws
Cohabitation: chapter 2 assesses whether the cohabitation model introduced in Ireland might be effective in other jurisdictions where there are calls for cohabitation law reform
Marriage equality: chapter 3 explores the initial move to prohibit marriage equality in Ireland, and critiques the subsequent route towards the 2015 referendum, with comparison to the more recent move towards marriage equality in Australia
Parental rights: the fourth chapter focuses on the legal position of same-sex couples who are parenting children born via Assisted Reproductive Techniques (ARTs), such as donor-assisted human reproduction and surrogacy. In particular, it explores shortcomings in the existing legislation and proposes a viable method of regulating these ARTs via future legislation, partly based on models in operation elsewhere
The book concludes by assessing the impact, or lack thereof, of the European Convention on Human Rights on same-sex relationship recognition, same-sex parenting, and marriage equality, in order to determine whether it could promote increased legal recognition for same-sex families in Ireland.

Subjects:
Family Law, Irish Law
Contents:
1. Introduction
2. Civil Partnership and the Move towards Marriage Equality
3. Cohabitation and Same-Sex Couples
4. Marriage Equality
5. The Evolving Position of Same-Sex Parents
6. Same-Sex Families and the Impact of the ECHR
7. Conclusion

Bibliography
Index