Welcome to the International Society of Family Law

The International Society of Family Law is an independent, international scholarly association dedicated to the study and discussion of family law. The Society is not affiliated with any university or law school or other organization (including the various universities that host this website, that host or assist our world and regional conferences, or that support and facilitate the publication of our International Surveys and our newsletters). The Society is pluralist and neutral and does not adopt, endorse or oppose any ideological, religious or political positions, nor does it endorse or oppose particular law reform initiatives. The function of the Society is to provide an international forum for analysis of legal policy applied to family relationships. It exists to bring together scholars of any discipline, practitioners, policy makers and others with an interest in this area of law . Membership is open to all. As of February 2011 more than 800 professors, lecturers, scholars, teachers, and researchers in hundreds of universities in more than 60 different countries belong to the Society. English and French are the official languages of the Society.

The Society was launched at the University of Birmingham, UK, in April 1973, on the initiative of Professor Zeev Falk (Hebrew University, Israel). Two years later, when the Society convened its first world conference, it attracted more than 200 participants, mostly academics and government officials. The Society has experienced significant growth since then, due to its consistent, high-quality programs and materials. The Society sponsors world conferences at intervals of approximately three years, as well as regional conferences, and produces a number of professional publications for the benefit of its members.

The nature and objectives of the Society are reflected in the principles adopted at the first Annual General Meeting of the Society held in the Kongresshalle of West Berlin on Saturday, 12 April 1975.

The Society's objectives are the study and discussion of problems of family law. To this end, the Society sponsors and promotes:

• International co-operation in research on family law subjects of world-wide interest.
• Periodic international conferences on family law subjects of world-wide interest.
• Collection and dissemination of information in the field of family law by the publication of a survey concerning developments in family law throughout the world, and by publication of relevant materials in family law, including papers presented at conferences of the Society.
• Co-operation with other international, regional or national associations having the same or similar objectives.
• Interdisciplinary contact and research.
• The advancement of legal education in family law by all practical means including furtherance of exchanges of teachers, students, judges and practising lawyers.
• Other objectives in furtherance of or connected with the above objectives.