Title: The place of private ordering in regulating families in Kenya

Authors: Michael Wabomba Masinde; Anne Anyango Rasowo

Addresses: School of Law, Moi University, P.O. Box 3900-30100, Eldoret, Kenya ' School of Law, Moi University, P.O. Box 3900-30100, Eldoret, Kenya

Abstract: In civil jurisdictions, the family is a core unit of the society. It therefore, goes without saying that regulation of families is a matter of public interest. Public ordering of families has always taken precedence in regulation of family unit. With time, however, private ordering has become a mechanism or a means of regulating families. Pragmatic arguments have been advanced for and against both public and private ordering of families. Such arguments are religious, philosophical, legal as well as ethical. The evolving and constantly changing societal values have also encouraged incorporation of private ordering in regulation of family. This is because in certain instances changes in the society are ahead of the law and therefore, the law has to play a catch-up, for example; in the case of emerging non-traditional family units and new technologies in reproduction. This article reviews issues surrounding private ordering and seeks to establish the place of private ordering in regulation of families in Kenya.

Keywords: private ordering; family law; human rights; family rights; Kenya; family regulation; family units; reproduction; societal values.

DOI: 10.1504/IJHRCS.2016.076045

International Journal of Human Rights and Constitutional Studies, 2016 Vol.4 No.1, pp.75 - 84

Received: 17 Nov 2015
Accepted: 18 Nov 2015
Published online: 22 Apr 2016 *

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