The Holy See’s Charter of Rights of the Family and the Family Law of Contemporary European States

After presenting the main provisions of the Charter of the Rights of the Family, announced by the Holy See on 22 October 1983, the paper discusses the key directions of changes taking place in almost all modern European states in the last three decades. Solutions concerning so-called same-sex marriages or partnerships, adoption of children by homosexual couples, and surrogacy are included. The manner in which the solutions in individual European countries are implemented is examined to illustrate the corresponding changes chronologically. The paper also touches on the following: the evolution of the ECtHR jurisprudence in cases concerning relationships between homosexual persons, hate speech by reason of sexual orientation and gender identity, and the age of legal sexual intercourse. The ECtHR jurisprudence is illustrated with representative examples of judgements, and the latter two issues are highlighted on the basis of the adopted statutory solutions. Finally, the responses of the Polish legislator to the described changes are discussed, followed by conclusions.