The Observatory on non-conjugality is a research project developed by Nova Law students Ana Reis, Constança Mota, Filipe Gama, Maria Inês Ribeiro and Madalena Lima, coordinated by Professor Nausica Palazzo, under the scope of the Jean Monnet Module “EU Family Law” held at NOVA School of Law and funded by the European Commission.

The long-standing social and legal conventions surrounding family structures have historically centered on sexual relationships. However, a growing number of experts in the field are now challenging this notion, contending that sexual bonds are not a necessary prerequisite for familial ties. Through our research, we have uncovered a wealth of evidence demonstrating that the enduring, interdependent connections forged between friends and relatives likewise deserve formal recognition and legal protection.

The research project carried within the observatory investigates the following question: why should a state recognize non-conjugal unions? Scholarship has advanced distinct arguments to support the cause of their legal recognition. The paper conducts an analysis of seminal scholarly reflections on the legal recognition of non-conjugal unions of friends and relatives to see how they frame the motives for legal recognition. The work identifies the following arguments: 

• one pivoting on the inherent worth of relationships of care;
• an argument pivoting autonomy and the possibility to choose one’s conception of the good life;
• one pivoting on non-discrimination, an empirical argument pointing to the gap between the reality of families and the law;
• a queer argument focusing on the ability of such families to disrupt narrow conceptions of family and current heteronormative paradigms;
• ultimately, an argument grounded in tradition (that is the idea that some such families are cherished in tradition, such as extended families but also friendship).