Family Self-Determination and Public Intervention in Paternity Claims: The BGB Reform

Abstract

Paternity claims in the German Civil Code underwent two legal reforms last March, 2008. The first Act allowed the Administration to challenge paternity inferred from a recognition made without biological or functional grounds, on the mere basis of getting citizenship, residence rights and some social benefits. The second Act enabled a claim among father, mother and son, aimed at clarifying paternity by means of biological tests, regardless it had been challenged or not. Both reforms show the existing tension between family self-determination and public intervention in family law, especially in the context of paternity

Keywords: Paternity claims, Paternity, Family, Family Self-Determination, Public intervention