The Place of Human Rights in the Private International Law of the Union in Family Matters

1. The protection of fundamental rights in the Union’s legal system. – 1.1. Article 6 of the Treaty on European Union and other relevant sources. – 1.2. Fundamental rights concerning family and child-related matters. – 1.3. The functions performed by private international law rules – 2. Harmonisation as a way to enhance the protection of fundamental rights. - 3. The impact of human rights on the design of private international law rules. – 3.1. Fundamental rights as a factor of openness towards foreign judgments and foreign law. – 3.2. The relevance of human rights to the choice of connecting factors. - 4. A human rights-oriented interpretation of the Union’s private international law. – 4.1. Human rights as a key to the interpretation of the Union’s autonomous notions. - 4.2. Human rights as a guideline in the exercise of judicial discretion. – 5. Concluding remarks.