This chapter describes and analyses the perpetual pendular movement
of family law between status and contract from a global perspective. It focuses
on substantive and procedural family law with regard to parents and children and
with regard to life partners. The conclusions of the analysis are quite ambivalent.
Firstly, whereas family law is clearly moving towards contract with regard to
old family formations, the contrary is true for new family formations. Surrogacy
and same-sex partnerships for example crystallise as new statuses. Secondly, the
movement towards contract is rarely considered to be contractualisation pur sang,
with civil effect. Pacts, agreements, arbitration awards and instruments alike with
regard to domestic relations indeed are not considered to be as binding upon the
parties or the courts as contracts in general. Thirdly, the movement towards status
not necessarily witnesses family law exceptionalism vis-à-vis private law. States
indeed increasingly intervene in private law relations in general. In sum, the high
permeability of the demarcations between the State, the family and the market
impedes a categorial approach – which may be a desirable outcome all in all.