Fifty years ago, Austrian family law underwent fundamental changes. The key legislation of 1975 came into force on 1 January 1976. Prior to that, key provisions of the General Civil Code (ABGB) dated back to 1811.
The ‘Dialogue on Legal History’, held on 5 November at the University of Graz, took this anniversary as an opportunity to examine the past, present and future of family law. Legal historian Anita Ziegerhofer was able to secure the participation of Federal Minister for Justice Anna Sporrer for the event. In her lecture, Sporrer traced the arc from the historical development of gender equality to current challenges and reform plans in family law.
The subsequent discussion, chaired by Markus Steppan, highlighted just how closely family law, social change and politics are intertwined. Doris Kirschner from the City of Graz’s Women & Equality Department, Christian Scambor from the Men’s Counselling Service and Thomas Schoditsch from the Institute for Fundamental Legal Studies discussed existing areas of tension and the need for future reform.
