Sibling Relationships in the Law and the Social Sciences
Project period: 2024-2025
Although siblings are part of the innermost family circle, family law scholars have thus far paid little attention to their legal position. The present interdisciplinary research project aims to both portray and close this gap. The project pursues several objectives. First, the current law on the legal status of siblings will be systematized and analysed with regard to liability, solidarity, participation, and third-party effects. Of particular interest is identifying those areas where there are differences or similarities vis-à-vis the legal treatment of other family relationships, such as parent-child and spousal relationships. Second, on this basis, it will be investigated whether the current law reflects a coherent and implicit understanding of the nature and intensity of sibling relationships. The central question here is whether the current law is based on a belief that siblings typically have close relationships, that siblings tend to not be especially close to one another, or that every sibling relationship is unique. In a third step, we consider social science research on siblings. To what extent does the landscape created by the law – as done indirectly through its configuration of rules on liability, solidarity, participation, and third-party effects – correspond to the current state of sibling research in the social sciences. The research undertaken here aims to lay the groundwork for corresponding policy recommendations.