EUROPEAN FAMILY LAW: PROBLEMS OF FORMATION

INTRODUCTION The term “space of freedom, security and justice” (hereinafter referred to as the “Space”) first appeared in the 1997 Amsterdam Treaty. In essence, this refers to the gradual smoothing of differences, harmonization, and future merging of the law enforcement systems of the EU member states 1 . Certain difficulties arise when trying to formulate such fundamental concepts as, for example, “European private law”, “European family law”, “unification and harmonization of European family law”. In the classical interpretation of Roman continental law, it is customary to separate public law and private law. In the continental (European) system of law, the distinction between private and public law does not reflect industry specifics, but indicates the presence of two relatively independent branches of legal regulation that have significant differences in the nature of the impact on public relations. Also, in a number of countries of the continental system of law, a dualistic system of private law operates (private law is divided into civil and commercial law, respectively, the civil and commercial codes are in force). In addition to civil law, the private law system also identifies industries such as family, inheritance and private international law. In the literature, there is also such a thing as “European private law” (in German literature Europaeisches Privatrecht, in French droit prive europeen, in English-language European private law). The program “community integration” has become a fundamental milestone in the history of private law, defining the main directions of its further evolution: the development of unified and harmonized norms of European private law and the development of European legal science. As you know, initially harmonization and unification took place in the areas of commercial law and related fields of civil law. As a result of European integration and the removal of restrictions on the free movement of people in the European Union, one of the most specific characteristics of their personal lives is gradually changing: an increase in the number of families whose members are either citizens of different EU countries, or when one of the family members is a citizen of an EU country or have several citizenships.