The filiation is the transmission of the Parenté when a person goes down from another.

One distinguishes the Consanguinité here (genetic degree of similarity between two individuals having family ties)) and the relationship with the broader direction which relates to as much the bonds of Procréation (parent, génitrice and offspring) that bonds more purely social and cultural of the statutes of father, mother, wire and girl.

She included/understood, in French right, three different types of filiation: legitimate filiation, natural filiation and the adoptive Filiation; the two first are in the course of legal unification under the concept of filiation biological. The right is interested in filiation in what it directs the question of the Succession S and heritage S but also that of the Parental authority. However, this division always has course in many countries, at least at the sociological level.

Filiation: legal stakes

The Filiation legitimates

The child legitimates was that which was conceived whereas his/her parents were linked by the Mariage. The statute of child legitimates was very important before the reform of filiation in the Civil code French. It had a statute higher than that of the natural children. Filiation is treated in the Civil code with articles 312 and following.

The natural Filiation

The natural filiation characterized the newborns except Mariage. It can be simple or hybrid, whereas their parents were not, at the time of the design, engaged in the bonds of the marriage. This filiation recognized modes of establishment and effects specific and could disappear by steps from legitimation (a natural child could become legitimate by the effect of a legitimation).

The adoptive Filiation

The adoptive filiation is born with creation by judgment from a bond from filiation between two people who, under the report/ratio of blood, are generally foreign one with the other. One distinguishes the plenary Adoption and the simple Adoption.

Biological filiation: the reform of 2005-2006

Distinction between " child naturel" (newborns except marriage) and " child légitime" , inherited the Civil code of Napoleon, is about to disappear via a ordinance, taken on the base of the law of the December 9th 2004 of simplification of the right, presented by the Minister for justice Pascal Clément on July 4th 2005. This last recognized that the distinction had " lost very carried legal and practical since the legislator had devoted the perfect equality between the children whatever them filiation". If the law on the successions of 2001 had in particular affirmed the successional matter equality, it did not call into question the distinction between children " légitimes" and " naturels" , whereas 46% of the children are born today except marriage.

According to the ", Minister of Justice; maternal filiation will be established by the mother nomination in the birth certificate of the child, that it is married or not, and without it need has to make the step of recognition; the presumption of paternity of the husband, who automatically establishes filiation in his connection, is on the other hand preserved. The nonmarried fathers will have to thus always recognize the child to establish the bond of filiation". In addition, the text envisages to bring back from 30 to 10 years the term of limitation in the legal actions relating to filiation.

The reform is coming into effect on July 1st 2006. But the legal provisions transient deserve an attentive examination.

The filiation from an anthropological point of view

The filiation is, according to Ghasarian, “the principle controlling the transmission of the relationship”. It determines the identity of an individual in a company, while defining which he inherits his land rights , its titles, its moral obligations, i.e. its Social status. Filiation is an important component in the complex play of the rules of Mariage. It is necessary moreover to keep in mind that the concept of filiation biological (blood ties) is covered by its social use: one thus distinguishes since D. Schneider the biological relationship from the social relationship.

The anthropologists distinguish three types of filiation:

  • unilinear Filiation patrilineal or matrilinéaire ,
  • bilinear Filiation ,
  • undifferentiated Filiation .

Binary filiation

It is the most widespread organization. Filiation is imposed on each one, on the side of the father or the mother, and determines to which of the two groups (of filiation) an individual belongs. It is a system where the members of the group of filiation are connected either exclusively by the men, or exclusively by the women; there is thus one of the two kinds which cannot transmit the membership of its own group to his/her children.

  • patrilineal filiation or agnatic (in English patrilineal descent ):

In this type of filiation, the individual belongs to the consanguineous parental group of his father. In this type of company the men thus have generally authority on the whole of the social life, since they are with the source of the relations which set up the group. The marriages are here frequently with residence patrilocale , which means the departure of married out its hearth of origin, to join that of her husband.

One finds examples of this type of filiation at the Nuer S of the Sudan studied by Maurice Leenhardt, in the dynastic principle of the old China, in Greece and ancient Rome, ansi that in the world Musulman.

  • uterine filiation matrilinéaire or (in English 'toggle filiation ):

The individual is this time included in the consanguineous group of his mother: the rights are transmitted by the women. The husband, even if he is parent, is in this case a man of little importance, since he does not belong to the group of his wife. In the case of a residence matrilocale , i.e. at the time of the marriage the husband joined the hearth of his wife by forsaking to it his, the figure of male authority is played by the frêre of his wife. That Ci as a member of the group of his wife, will be the social father of her biological children. Let us note well that this husband who appears to us in the Occidental culture like dispossessed of these biological children, has in fact the load of the biological children of his own sister, whom he regards as his.

One finds also companies where the relationship is patrilineal whereas the property right (including the state of free man) is matrilinéaire. In this system, the women do not have more political power than in the precedent, although their economic and religious roles are more important. This is why it is necessary to clearly distinguish filiation matrilinéaire and the Matriarcat: the relationship matrilinéaire is most of the time patriacale.

One finds example of companies with filiation matrilinéaire in the Îles Trobriand described by Bronislaw Malinowski, where at Mnong Gar. It is necessary to keep in mind that on the surface of the sphere the majority of the companies adopted filiation patrilinéraire.

Bilinear filiation (known as also double filiation )

This filiation is rare: it combines the two preceding systems of filiation. The individual obtains precise social aspects on each side: family name, rights, duties, statutes, goods, worship of the ancestors, etc Examples: at the Juifs the relationship is patrilineal, although the judeity is transmitted by the women; at the Tuaregs; at the Hereros.

Bilateral or undifferentiated filiation (known as cognatic )

Contrary to the unilinear filitation, the sex is not determining here. An individual belongs to at least two groups of relationship, those of his two parents, but generally they are the groups of the four large parents who are taken into account. The scientific community generally agrees to estimate at 50% the share of this type of system of relationship within the whole of the human society.

Critical of this typology

Ethnologists pointed out that these divisions are too rigid to describe the really effective relationships in the companies: there would be in the facts a proportion between patrilinearity and matrilinearity. For Rodney Needham in “the Relationship in question”, there is “no principle of single filiation”. The conformity of a company to a uniform model is thus according to him improbable. Consequently, the classification of the companies according to these criteria does not have anything obvious.

See too

Internal bonds

External bonds

  • right of filiation by S.O.S-Net

Bibliographical references

  • Political and filiation , Collective, Kime, 2004, international College of Philosophy, 206 pages, ISBN: 2841743446.
  • Right of the family: Cohabitation, Pacs and marriage, Divorce, Filiation , Corinne Renault-Brahinsky, Gualino Editor, 2003, Memoranda, 192 pages, 5th edition, ISBN: 2842006127.
  • the place of the father , Collective, Harmattan, 2003, Free spirits pol., 136 pages, ISBN: 2747512835.
  • Introduction to the study of the relationship , Christian Ghasarian, Editions of the Threshold, 1996.

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