Legal Recognition of Live-In Relationships: A Cross-Country Analysis of India and France

The article draws a comparison between the legislative frameworks surrounding live-in relationships in India and France. It examines the mode and limitations of legal recognition of such relationships in the two nations, and what implications exist for the couples living in this arrangement. Live-in relationships in India have been beginning to find some legal footing largely via judicial interpretation that are gradually stretching protections under certain conditions. By contrast, the French law permits such couples to proceed on a more stipulated and defined legal pathway via the Pacte Civil de Solidarité (PACS) that comes with formalized recognition and the same rights and responsibilities that one gets in marriage under a variety of legal regimes. The paper sharply brings out the cultural, historical and legal differences between the two nations in acceptance and regulation of live-in relationships. It points at how legal recognition holds security for couples – especially concerning questions of property rights, inheritance and parental responsibilities – within the larger tide worldwide to recognize the various forms of family structures.