6 What Is a ‘European Family’?

An Introduction and an Assumption Based on Two ThingsThis book very pertinently asks the question 'What is a family?'This chapter 1 takes a more regional look at the question, focusing on Europe only.Given that even individuals from similar backgrounds, living in a similar environment, and in the same local area will often have vastly divergent views of what a family is, asking this question for an entire continent consisting of more than 50 jurisdictions with different laws, 2 different cultures, and different traditions seems almost pointless.Yet something makes this question worth pursuing, or rather two things.The first is that almost all 3 European jurisdictions are Members of the Council of Europe and thus contracting states of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (generally referred to as European Convention on Human Rights [ECHR]).4 1 This chapter is based on my previous publications, including 'Epilogue to the Family in EU Law -Is There a European Family Law?' in ML Öberg and A Tryfonidou (eds), The Family in EU Law (Cambridge University Press 2024); 'Marriage and the Family' in L Corrias and R Tinnevelt (eds), European Ways of Life.Legal and Philosophical Perspectives (Edward Elgar 2025); JM Scherpe, 'Is There a "European Family Law"?' (2023) 54(1) Victoria University of Wellington Law Review 317. 2 Some of the European states consist of several jurisdictions.3 The Russian Federation was excluded from the Council of Europe and subsequently ceased to be party to the European Convention on Human Rights on 16 September 2022, see https:// www.coe.int/ en/ web/ por tal/ -/ rus sia-cea ses-to-be-party-to-the-europ ean-con vent ion-on-human-rig hts accessed 27 November 2025.Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kosovo and the Vatican are not Member States of the Council of Europe.