family law have participated in these symposia. This is regretful because in the Netherland much recent legislation has been enacted, or is currently being prepared, in the field of family law. a glimpse across the borders can certainly put one's own perceptions into perspective. On the other hand, there are others who are possibly just as interested in the dutch views on subjects such as joint custody after divorce, the limitation of the duration of maintenance or marriage (and/or its registration) of persons of the same sex. Comparable to the set-up chosen by the activities in Regensburg, which is principally to provide information on the family law systems of certain countries, is the book by Hamilton, Standley and Hodson which appeared in 1995 and is entitled Family Law in Europe. 6 This book can also be classified under the category of Auslandsrechtskunde. It contains reports concerning the most important family law institutions written by lawyers from the countries concerned. However, in this book no attention is devoted to a comparative synthesis in which the similarities and differences are determined and explained But at the end of the book, under the title European Family Law=, the influence well as European Community law on family law is investigated. 28 1.2 Activities of the Council of Europe Which activities have already been undertaken by the Council of Europe in the field of family law and what is planned for the future? The answers to these questions can easily be found in the report of the Council of Europe on the achievements in the field of family law, published in July 1997. The report consists of two parts. In the first part, which contains much interesting information, an overview is given of all the activities of the Council of Europe. Up until now three European conferences on family law have been organised, namely in Vienna(1977),in Budapest(1992)and in Cadiz (1995).29 Since 1969 the Council of Europe has been hold ing colloquia on European law. To date, four of the 27 colloquia have dealt with family law. In Vienna(1974)a colloquium was held on the subject <Legal representation and custody of minors=,in Messina(1981)on the subject <Legal problems concerning unmarried couples Amsterdam(1993)on the subject <Transsexuality, medicine and law= and recently in Malta German laws were considered. The third volume in this series was published in 1997 under the editorship of B Verschraegen. She was general rapporteur of the subject < Equality in Family Law= at the first world congress <Law in Motion= which took place in Brussels in Septem ber 1996. The book, which is entitled Gleichheit im Familienrecht(Bielefeld 1997), contains the general report and national reports(a few are written in English) of Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Spain, Belgium, the Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden, the Czech Republic, Slovenia Hungary, the United States, Austra lia, Israel and Japan C. Hamilton, K Standley and D Hodson, Family Law in Europe, London/ Dublin/Edinburgh 1995 The rep m Belgium, Denmark, England and Wales, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands Ne d, Norway, Portugal, Scotland, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland C. Hamilton, K Standley and D Hodson, Family Law in Europe, op cit (n. 25), pp. 549-598. See also the eaf publication by w. Pintens(ed ) Family and Succession Law, International Encyclopedia oflaws, The See the report of the Council of Europe, July 1997, pp. 10-116 family law have participated in these symposia. This is regretful because in the Netherlands much recent legislation has been enacted, or is currently being prepared, in the field of family law. A glimpse across the borders can certainly put one's own perceptions into perspective. On the other hand, there are others who are possibly just as interested in the Dutch views on subjects such as joint custody after divorce, the limitation of the duration of maintenance or marriage (and/or its registration) of persons of the same sex. Comparable to the set-up chosen by the activities in Regensburg, which is principally to provide information on the family law systems of certain countries, is the book by Hamilton, Standley and Hodson which appeared in 1995 and is entitled: Family Law in Europe. 26 This book can also be classified under the category of Auslandsrechtskunde. It contains reports concerning the most important family law institutions written by lawyers from the countries concerned.27 However, in this book no attention is devoted to a comparative synthesis in which the similarities and differences are determined and explained. But at the end of the book, under the title European Family Law=, the influence of treaties as well as European Community law on family law is investigated.28 1.2 Activities of the Council of Europe Which activities have already been undertaken by the Council of Europe in the field of family law and what is planned for the future? The answers to these questions can easily be found in the report of the Council of Europe on the achievements in the field of family law, published in July 1997. The report consists of two parts. In the first part, which contains much interesting information, an overview is given of all the activities of the Council of Europe. Up until now, three European conferences on family law have been organised, namely in Vienna (1977), in Budapest (1992) and in Cadiz (1995).29 Since 1969 the Council of Europe has been holding colloquia on European law. To date, four of the 27 colloquia have dealt with family law. In Vienna (1974) a colloquium was held on the subject <Legal representation and custody of minors=, in Messina (1981) on the subject <Legal problems concerning unmarried couples=, in Amsterdam (1993) on the subject <Transsexuality, medicine and law= and recently in Malta German laws were considered. The third volume in this series was published in 1997 under the editorship of B. Verschraegen. She was general rapporteur of the subject <Equality in Family Law= at the first world congress <Law in Motion= which took place in Brussels in September 1996. The book, which is entitled Gleichheit im Familienrecht (Bielefeld 1997), contains the general report and national reports (a few are written in English) of Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Spain, Belgium, the Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden, the Czech Republic, Slovenia, Hungary, the United States, Australia, Israel and Japan. 26 C. Hamilton, K. Standley and D. Hodson, Family Law in Europe, London/Dublin/Edinburgh 1995. 27 The reports concern Belgium, Denmark, England and Wales, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Northern Ireland, Norway, Portugal, Scotland, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland. 28 C. Hamilton, K. Standley and D. Hodson, Family Law in Europe, op. cit. (n. 25), pp. 549-598. See also the loose-leaf publication by W. Pintens (ed.), Family and Succession Law, International Encyclopedia of Laws, The Hague 1997. 29 See the report of the Council of Europe, July 1997, pp. 10-11