ABOUT
A Scientific Research Network on Families and Family Law in the Low Countries
RETHINKIN_ steers the scientific redefinition of family law in the Low Countries and aims at taking up an international leading role from there. It unites all Flemish research groups on family law, the Dutch ‘Alliance Family & Law’ and the French Community alliance ‘Famille & Droit’ as “Low Countries”.
Redefining family law is necessary due to societal evolutions that have undermined the fundaments of traditional family law. RETHINKIN_ aims at pioneering in legal research in the Low Countries by redefining family law in a constant dialogue with other scientific disciplines (intra- and interdisciplinary research) and with civil society (transdisciplinary).
Three research questions underlie the activities of RETHINKIN_:
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- Which is the competence of the State, both in substantive and procedural law, to regulate the family as actor besides the market and social security?
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- What should be the content of State intervention, from the perspectives of citizenship, police power and the parens patriae-doctrine?
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- How can law and policy be better tuned to social practices and perceptions?
Building on the methodology developed by Katharina Boele-Woelki, our overarching approach is that of combined comparative research. This entails comparative legal research that includes intradisciplinary research into at least two legal systems and/or research into the same problem from one or more other disciplines. This involves applying the chosen methodology and/or theoretical perspective to legal institutions or norms and is conducted in the same countries selected for the comparative legal study. (See W.M. Schrama and F. Swennen, ‘Combined Comparative Research in the Field of Family Relations Revisited: Where to Put the Box?”, in S. Roßbach and W.M. Schrama (eds.), Festschrift Katharina Boele-Woelki, Brill, forthcoming.)
