Research Handbook on Marriage, Cohabitation and the Law

Edited by Rebecca Probert, Professor of Law, Law School, University of Exeter and Sharon Thompson, Reader in Law, School of Law and Politics, Cardiff University, UK

• Contents:Introduction: Marriage and cohabitation – Global debates, challenges, and perspectives 1Sharon Thompson and Rebecca ProbertPART I WHY MARRY? THE MEANING OF MODERN MARRIAGE1 What is the purpose of marriage in contemporary legal regulation? 8Alan Brown2 Separating marriage from the state 22Daniel J. Hill3 The feminist case against marriage 37Rosemary AuchmutyPART II THE VARIED FORMS OF ENTRY INTO MARRIAGE4 Marriage formation in Europe from the late middle ages until the lateeighteenth century 57Saskia Lettmaier5 Universal civil marriage: A blueprint for the future or an idea whosetime has passed? 72Rebecca Probert6 The fractured landscape of South African marriage and family law:Future directions 86Elsje Bonthuys7 Marriage, the law and pluralism in Ghana 101Augustina AkotoPART III THE CHANGING BOUNDARIES OF MARRIAGE8 The (non)recognition of same-sex marriage in South Africa, Nigeriaand Uganda 117Zanele Nyoni-Wood9 Polygamy in English marriage law – critical postcolonial perspectives 132Zainab Batul Naqvi10 Prohibiting polygamy, yet permitting plurality? 147Ellen Forsyth, Caroline Mirza and Rebecca Probert11 Child marriage: The denial of autonomy by conferring the status ofmarriage on a child 168Arthur van Coller12 Exploring arranged marriage: Breaking biased frames and uncoveringa much misunderstood marital institution 184Naema Tahir13 Comparative consanguinity law: A global study of cousin marriage regulations 201Patrick S. NashPART IV FORMAL ALTERNATIVES TO MARRIAGE14 Why registered partnerships? A comparative overview 215Jens M. Scherpe15 Mixed-sex civil partnerships: A blank canvas or painting by numbers? 226Andy Hayward16 Twenty years of PACS: The specificities of the French civil union 244Wilfried Rault17 Un-coupling family law revisited: Non-conjugal adult unions in family law 262Frederik SwennenPART V COHABITATION AND THE LEGAL REGULATION OFUNFORMALISED RELATIONSHIPS18 Demographic perspectives on cohabitation 282Brienna Perelli-Harris and Bernice Kuang19 Regulation of cohabitation in the Nordic countries 299Tone Sverdrup20 Cohabitation law reform in England and Wales: The case for reformand challenges of definition 307Kathy Griffiths21 Is cohabitation an obligation-free zone? 322Gillian Douglas22 Cohabitation contracts and gender equality 337Sharon ThompsonPART VI THE CONSEQUENCES OF MARRIAGE AND COHABITATION23 Consummating in court 355Alexander Maine24 Complex relationships: Marriage and relationship status, procreationand criminal law 369Cameron Giles25 Unhappy families and lying wives: Myths and stereotypes aboutintimate partner violence 385Jennifer Koshan26 Prenuptial agreements in comparative perspective 399Sharon Thompson27 The meaning of marriage and approaches to the division of assets inSweden, the Netherlands and England and Wales 415Anna Heenan28 Relational vulnerability: A theory of family, unpaid work, and the state 429Ellen Gordon-Bouvier

‘This exciting, impressive array of contributions ranging over time and across jurisdictions can help us understand how the legal institution of marriage is evolving with increasing levels of cohabitation from marriage as a communal interdependent relationship (so important in caring for the vulnerable) into the union of two autonomous individuals!’