Commentaire de l’arrêt de la CJUE, du 12 mai 2011, Malgožata Runevič-Vardyn, aff. C-391/09

and cooperation in matters relating to maintenance obligations apply to “maintenance obligations arising from a family relationship”. Even though the expression “family relationship” can be traced back to the Hague Convention of 2 October 1973 on the Recognition and Enforcement of Decisions Relating to Maintenance Obligations and to that on the Law Applicable to Maintenance Obligations the concept is hard to grasp and in detail rather disputed. The article intends to shed some light on particular aspects of the notion of “family relationships”. After having briefly looked at the history of the two texts, we shall see that neither the protocol nor the regulation can be interpreted autonomously. Further, it will be shown that a parallel interpretation of the two texts is strongly recommendable to keep up the legitimizing factor behind the abolition of the exequatur and accompanying controls. Finally, we shall examine whether some typical cases qualify as “family relationships”: samesex marriage, registered partners in German law and civil partners in English and Welsh law, as well as the French PACS and cohabitation. Résumé