Gender Perspectives in Private Law

256 Pages·2023·4.822 MB·English

by  Gabriele Carapezza Figlia, Ljubinka Kovačević, Eleonor Kristoffersson

Gender Perspectives in Law 4
Gabriele Carapezza Figlia
Ljubinka Kovačević
Eleonor Kristoff ersson Editors
Gender
Perspectives
in Private Law
Gender Perspectives in Law
Volume 4
SeriesEditors
DragicaVujadinović,FacultyofLaw,UniversityofBelgrade,Belgrade,Serbia
IvanaKrstić,FacultyofLaw,UniversityofBelgrade,Belgrade,Serbia
The series ‘Gender Perspectives in Law’ discusses all-encompassing gender-
competent legal questions. Having a gender-competent approach is required when
considering the highest values and normative standards of modern international,
European,andnationallaw.Raisingawarenessaboutgenderequalityissuesmeans
investing in the creation, interpretation, and implementation of legislation that is
more fair, just, and equitable and will also contribute to a comprehensive under-
standing of social reality, as well as to gender-competent political, legal and eco-
nomicdecision-makingandpublicpolicies.
The series accepts monographs focusing on a specific topic, as well as edited
collectionsofarticlescoveringaspecificthemeorcollectionsofarticles.
(cid:129) č ć (cid:129)
Gabriele Carapezza Figlia Ljubinka Kova evi
Eleonor Kristoffersson
Editors
Gender Perspectives
in Private Law
Editors
GabrieleCarapezzaFiglia LjubinkaKovačević
LUMSAUniversity UniversityofBelgrade
Palermo,Italy Belgrade,Serbia
EleonorKristoffersson
ÖrebroUniversity
Örebro,Sweden
ThisprojecthasbeenfundedwithsupportfromtheEuropeanCommission.Thispublication
[communication]reflectstheviewsonlyoftheauthor,andtheCommissioncannotbeheld
responsibleforanyusewhichmaybemadeoftheinformationcontainedtherein.
ISSN2731-8346 ISSN2731-8354 (electronic)
GenderPerspectivesinLaw
ISBN978-3-031-14091-4 ISBN978-3-031-14092-1 (eBook)
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-14092-1
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Preface
The book series Gender Perspectives in Law is a systemic attempt to provide
all-encompassing gender-competent legal knowledge. The term gender-competent
legalknowledgeisusedtoaccentuatethereconsiderationofdifferentfieldsoflegal
knowledge from the point of gender equality approach and with offering relevant
andconvincingargumentsinthatregard.Thistermissometimesreplacedwiththe
term “gender-sensitive,” which also refers to awareness about the importance of
gender equality approach and to its implementing in theoretical and scientific
knowledge production. Having a gender-competent approach in legal education is
required when considering the highest values and normative standards of modern
international,European,andnationallaw.Raisingawarenessaboutgenderequality
issues among researchers and academic scholars in the field of law and other
multidisciplinary fields relevant for legal theory and practice, educating in a
gender-sensitive manner law students (future lawyers, judges, prosecutors, public
officials, members of parliament, and governmental bodies), as well as students of
humanities-social sciences, means investing in the creation, interpretation, and
implementation of legislation that ismore fair, just,and equitable. Prosecutors and
judgesinparticular,butalso otherlegalprofessionalsinallfieldsoflegalpractice,
publicadministration,andpolicydecision-makingneedtobetrainedandsensitized
inordertoencourageagender-sensitiveapproach.Thiswillcontributetoamorerich
and comprehensive understanding of social reality, as well as to gender-competent
political,legal,andeconomicdecision-makingandpublicpolicies.Inotherwords,it
meansinvestingintothefuturebasedonmoregenderjusticeandmoresocialjustice
andhumanrightsprotectioningeneral.Intheend,itwillhelpfulfilltheessenceof
contemporarylaw—equalrespectandprotectionforallindividuals,whichleadsto
theirequalopportunitiesanddiminishesthepossibilityofgenderdiscrimination.
This book series, Gender Perspectives in Law, attempts to cover all relevant
subjects of legal knowledge from a gender equality perspective. The plural desig-
nation is entitled because there is a plurality of feminist understanding of gender
equality issues generally speaking and insofar also within the law. The call for
papers was open for professionals in legal, political, sociological, and historical
v
vi Preface
fields of interest with an attempt to cover, as much as possible, specific relevant
topics,inordertoprovideanoverviewofthegendercompetentdeconstructingand
reconsidering the way they are articulated in the dominant thought, i.e. the main-
stream within the law. The authors in the series’ volumes try to establish a gender
equalityapproachtodifferent fields of lawwhiletaking into considerationspecific
issues of their interest and attempting to consider chosen different aspects of legal
knowledgeandpracticeinaparadigmaticgender-competentmanner.Theyattempt
tocriticallyreconsiderthedominantmoldsoflegalknowledgeandpresentinnova-
tive gender-sensitive and gender-competent insights relating to different issues
withinallfieldsoflaw,inordertointroducenewresearchtopicsrelevantforgender
equalityinlaw,as well asto stimulatethe development ofa legal and institutional
framework for achieving gender equality in real life. The degree to which main-
streamknowledgehasbeenreconsideredfromagenderequalityperspectivediffers
between contributors. Moreover, a variety of relevant legal subjects and other
closelyrelatedsubjectmattersarecoveredinvaryingdegreesbytheselectedtexts.
This book series Gender Perspectives in Law encouraged scholars and experts
fromdifferentfieldsoflawandhumanities-socialsciencestoreconstructtheirlegal
andmultidisciplinaryknowledgefromthestandpointofgenderequality.Thisbook
series shouldinspirefurtherattemptsofthiskind,asareconsiderationoflegaland
multidisciplinary knowledge from a gender perspective has become an axiomatic
task.Ifcontemporarylawisdefinedprimarilyfromthehumanrightspointofview,
thenitisnecessarytotakeagenderequalityperspective;thehumanrightsfounda-
tion of law cannot be regarded as the civilizational standard without also incorpo-
ratingwomen’srightsandgenderequalityapproachingeneral,articulatingthemin
themainstreamlegalandpoliticalthought,andeliminatinggender-basedbiasesand
discriminationwithinthedominantlegalsystems.ThebookseriesGenderPerspec-
tivesinLawrepresentstheaddedvaluetotheprojectErasmus+StrategicPartnership
in Higher Education, called “New Quality in Education for Gender Equality -
Strategic Partnership for the Development of Master’s study Program Law and
Gender(LAWGEM).”
ThefourthbookintheseriesGenderPerspectivesinLaw,whichistitledGender
Perspectives in Private Law, discusses prominent and controversial gender-
competentissuesacross familylaw,tortlaw,labor law,civil procedurelaw,ADR,
andprivateinternationallaw.Animportantcriticalassumptionofauthorsisthatthe
genderequalityperspectivehasbeenquiteneglectedinmanyofbranchesofprivate
law, since scholars researching the intersection of gender and legal studies are
mostly focused on public law and human rights law. In that sense, the authors of
papersinthiseditedvolumecontributenotonlytothedeconstructionofthegender-
blind private law, but also to providing a gender-competent analysis within key
branchesofprivatelaw,startingwithprivateinternationallaw(Župan&Derventić).
Gender perspective in family law is analyzed through: gendered and
heteronormative operations of family law by reference to the formation of legally
recognizedrelationships,theattributionoflegalparenthood,thedivisionofmarital
property on divorce, and arrangements for post-separation parenting (Hunter);
regulationoffamilymattersinIndiansociety(Banerjee-Dube),andgenderequality
Preface vii
perspectivefromtheprincipleofthebestchild’sinterest(Rabadan).Whenitcomes
to tort law, Blandino considers the issue of compensation for damages suffered by
womenperformingunpaidhouseholdwork.Also,thebookcontainsfourcontribu-
tionsdedicatedtolaborlawissues:Kovačevićpresentsthegenesisoflaborlawand
itscapacitytocontributeeithertoenhancinggenderinequalityintheworldofwork
or to triggering the promotion of gender equality; Vinković considers the issue of
gendersegregationinthelabormarketanditsconnectiontofamily-friendlypolicies
in the European Union; Kalamatiev and Ristovski address the issue of sexual
harassmentatwork,whileŠpadinafocusesongenderperspectiveindigitizationof
work. Finally, Di Salvo deals with gender equality in civil procedural law, while
Arsić andPetrušićtake into consideration thegender equality perspectivein medi-
ationasaninstrument forpeaceful disputessettlement.Thebookofferstheoretical
sophistication that enhances the visibility of range of private law topics of impor-
tance for understanding of the ways in which gender inequality shapes everyday
experiences, as well as critical consideration of key private law instruments for
achievinggenderequality.
The book Gender Perspectives in Private Law exploresgender-competent legal
questions across family, tort, civil procedure law, and labor law in international,
European, and national perspective. This book raises awareness about gender per-
spectiveindifferentprivatelawdisciplines,includingtheimportanceofcombating
genderstereotypeswithinlegalprofession.
The book includes papers written by Mirela Župan and Martina Derventić,
Rosemary Hunter, Ishita Banerjee-Dube, Amalia Blandino Garrido, Fuensanta
Rabadán Sánchez-Lafuente, Ljubinka Kovačević, Mario Vinković, Todor
Kalamatiev and Aleksandar Ristovski, Helga Špadina, Cettina di Salvo, Jelena
ArsićandNevenaPetrušić.
MirelaŽupanandMartinaDerventićdealwiththegenderequalityperspectivein
private international law (PIL). They explain how feminist theories affect modern
PILlegislationandinterpretation,andhowgendermainstreamingclearlyaffectsthe
methodology, understanding, and interpretation of this branch of law. The authors
explainhow“blind”choice-of-lawrulesstemnotfromsubstantivebutfromconflict
justice, and how including feminist theories and gender-based approaches contrib-
utestopotentiallyexposingtheimbalanceofpower,wealth,andoppressiverelation-
ships, especially in relation to women, in the rules of PIL. Gender-affected PIL
topics addressed in the paper are related to the Council of Europe and European
Union (EU) countries, and range from personal effects of matrimony, specifically
personalname,celebration,dissolutionofamarriage,tochildmarriage.Amongthe
considered international family law gender aspects are matters of parenthood in
transnationalsurrogacy,childabduction,anddomesticviolence.Genderissuescan
be found not only in a wide range of cross-border “private” law areas referring to
personal status and family but also in domestic violence torts and contracts where
individual employment is at stake. An important critical assumption of Župan and
DerventićisthatthegenderequalityperspectivehasbeenquiteneglectedinPIL,the
PILoftenbeingcharacterizedasneutral,apolitical,andtechnical,andnotengagedin
issues such as gender equality. Generally speaking, feminist scholars have left the
viii Preface
fieldofprivateinternationallawunexplored;scholarsresearchingtheintersectionof
genderstudiesandlegalstudiesaremostlyfocusedonpubliclawandhumanrights
law.Conversely,PILscholarshavelittleinterestinincorporatingagenderperspec-
tiveintotheirresearch.Theauthorsofthispapercontributesignificantlynotonlyto
thedeconstructionofthegender-blindPIL,butalsotoprovidingagender-competent
analysiswithinPIL.
RosemaryHunterpresentsthecurrentstateofaffairswithinfamilylawandpoints
outthatdespitesomestepsforward,themodeloftheheteronormativeconceptionof
family is still given a preference. Heteronormativity serves to keep the model of
traditional marriages as the standard, leaving aside many changes within society,
whichrequiretheopeningoflegalregulationforrecognizingrighttopartnershipand
to alternative modalities of the family. The author interrogates the gendered and
heteronormative operations of family law by reference to four areas of regulation:
theformationoflegallyrecognizedrelationships;theattributionoflegalparenthood;
the division of marital property on divorce; and arrangements for post-separation
parenting. The particular legal rules relating to each of these areas vary between
jurisdictions, but family law still has been contributing to the construction of
gendered family structuring and gendered sexual roles. The author confirms that
familylawisconfrontedinallfourareasofregulationwithchangingsocialpractices
and has been challenged to adapt to social, medical, and economic developments.
However,shealsoarguesthatthereisnoinevitableprocessofenlightenmentaslaw
becomes more open to gender equality and new family forms in tracing legal
responses to these developments. Gender differences and heteronormativity are
reproduced and reconfigured in changing family law as well. This critical warning
and the author’s pointing that the traditional gender binary is deeply embedded in
family law are of great methodological and practical importance. The author also
warns that the interpretations of law can reproduce heteronormativity even when
legal regulations have been articulated in favor of gender equality: “In many
instances, state family law now reflects the notion of marriage as ‘a partnership of
equals,’ although this may still be interpreted and applied by courts in accordance
withsocialnormsofgenderdifferenceandhierarchy.Theconceptofequality,too,
may operate against a social background of gender difference which results in
unequal outcomes in the division of property and child care arrangements on
divorce.” The author also analyzes different forms of marriage, for example, its
extensiontosame-sexmarriage,andpointstothefactthatalternativerelationships
formscontinuetobemarginalized.Thegenderedcomplicationrelatedtoparenthood
is analyzed in different modalities. Concerning the division of assets after divorce,
Hunter affirms the approach which would have enabled substantive rather than
merelyformalequality,onewhichwouldhavebeencapableofadjustingthedivision
ofassetstoreflectdifferentialfutureneedsandcapacitiestomeetthem.However,as
theauthorassumes,thegeneraldirectionoflawreforminthelatetwentiethandearly
twenty-firstcenturieshasgoneintheoppositedirection—therehasbeenatendency
tofavorformalequalityintheinterestsofsimplicity,clarity,minimizinglitigation,
andperceivedcongruencewiththe“modern”notionofmarriageasapartnershipof
equals.
Preface ix
IshitaBanerjee-Dubedescribesinherpaperanextremelycomplexregulationof
familymattersinIndiansociety.Morespecifically,theauthorfirsttracesthegenesis
and evolution of Religious Personal Laws, and their manifold and diverse deploy-
ment and ramifications in contemporary India, which is not limited only to the
perennial “trouble with marriage.” The author’s focus are Muslim women, who
arenormallyhomogenized,categorized,andperceivedas“victims”ofpracticessuch
astripletalaq,polygamy,purdah(veiling),andpersonallaw.Thisperceptionholds
truenotjustforSouthAsiabutalsoforMuslimwomeningeneral,aviewthatturns
them into objects/victims who need to be “saved” from the clutches of their own
religion,customs,andpractices.ThefocusonIndiawithits“legalpluralism,”which
entailsadualcommitmenttoconstitutionalprovisionsandideals,aswellasrespect
for “personal” matters of citizens of particular “religious” communities, opens a
richlytexturedpanoramatoviewtheinnumerableproblemsandintractabledifficul-
ties that abound in matters related to family and marriage, the rights and responsi-
bilitiesofthespousesinrelationtotheirchildren,property,andexitfrommarriage
andfamily.Suchavistaallowsseriousreflectionontheveryconceptsofrights(legal
andotherwise),citizenship,equality,equity,andjustice,promptingfurtherprobing
of the Nation-State and the Law in relation to their capacity to provide “gender
justice.”Italsoinducescriticalexplorationofwhywomen’sstrugglesandfeminist
(legal) activism have turned again and again to law and legal intervention (of the
State) for achieving gender equity even when the law has been shown to provide
solutionsthatare“neitherstablenorpredictable,”oftenfailingtoofferwomenviable
optionsofjobandhousingtomakeegressfrommatrimonyfeasible.Banerjee-Dube
presentsthescenarioofambiguitiesandcontradictions,contendingunderstandings,
andconflictingclaims,whichservetohighlighthownewlawscreatedonaccountof
struggles,activism,andpoliticalimperativesoftheStatearedeployedbyindividuals
andgroupsinanticipatedandingeniouswaystoleadtounexpectedconsequences.
Such varied consequences of bargaining in the shadow of the law have taught
feminist lawyers, scholars, activists, women’s groups, and individual women to
displace the overarching and gender insensitive debates of secularism, religion,
tradition, culture, and modernization, in their quest for negotiation to gain greater
dignityandequity,andtospeakofaUniform Codethatincludesthemostgender-
sensitiveaspectsofthepersonallawsofthedifferentreligiouscommunitiesinstead
ofaforcibleapplicationoftheexistingone.
Amalia Blandino considers the issue of unpaid housework, while assuming the
gendered character of the housework, as these invisible, unvalued, and unpaid
obligations have traditionally and unfairly been reserved for women. The author
analyzes the procedural aspects of legal improvements in regard to compensating
unpaid homework in different segments and circumstances. This compensation is
justified, as the author remarks, whenever injuries sustained during an accident
prevent her from temporarily or definitively engaging in her usual occupation, or
duetothedeathofthepersonwhocarriedoutthehousework,orevenifthevictim
hasnotincurredthecostofareplacementhousekeeper.Alargesegmentisdedicated
tothecalculationofcompensation,wheretheauthordiscussesthefollowingissues:
the actual replacement cost incurred after an accident happened; the assessment of