Obitelj u obiteljskom zakonodavstvu

Prema prijedlogu UN, u obilježavanju 1994. kao Međunarodne godine obitelji pozornost svjetske zajednice posebno zaslužuje tema: Obitelj – njezina unutarnja snaga i odgovornost u svijetu koji se mijenja. Slijedeći tu preporuku, članak je namijenjen propitivanju dosega hrvatskog obiteljskog zakonodavstva u regulaciji obiteljskih odnosa i zajednica u poredbi s drugim europskim pravnim sustavima. Prikaz društvenih i pravnih promjena tijekom druge polovice 20. stoljeća sadrži analizu sve izrazitije pojave različitih odstupanja od tradicionalnog modela obitelji pod kojim se razumijeva zajednica (dvoje) roditelja i njihovih bioloških potomaka.There is no definition of a family in the Croatian family legislature but family relations are legally regulated in such a way that we can recognize different forms of family structures commonly existing in modern developed societies. From the regulations, we can see that, apart from the traditional type of a marital and biological family, there are also other family forms and sub-forms. The paper presents some fundamental legal regulations regarding marriage, parents and children, adoption, extra-marital community of a man and a woman, and guardianship. There is also a presentation of some specific legal solutions for families in which a child was conceived with medical help (insemination and fertilization in vitro), or when the child is not a biological descendant of its parents. There are also some legal rules for so called “incomplete” families (communities of a single parent with children of marital or extra-marital origin), where a child comes to a new family with a stepfather or a stepmother