Sambo - mer än att sambo: En studie av sambobegreppet i offentligrätten

Sammanfattning: This study examines the construction and boundaries of the legal definition of cohabitation as well as the relation’s consequences in public law decisions, examining housing allowance, distraint, and the right to cohabit in nursing homes. Cohabitation lacks the marital formalities, such as marriage and divorce, and is therefore inherently an informal relationship. In addition, the requisites constructing the legal definition of cohabitation – that is, two people who permanently live together in a romantic relationship and household – are difficult, if not impossible, to define. Moreover, the definition carries historical and cultural assumptions of the family, which makes it normative and exposed to arbitrary assessments. Furthermore, cohabitation have, in comparison to the marital union, few legal consequences in regard to family law. Even so, cohabitation is equated with marriage in public law, which means that the legal presumptions, rights, and obligations that are applicable for married couples are also applicable for cohabitating couples. However, because of the informality of the cohabiting union, there are no clear boundaries for when the regulations will be applied, which makes the application legally insecure. In addition, the romantic relationship plays an essential part in the legal construction of the cohabiting union, but as the modern romantic relationship is unstable and inconstant, it makes an inadequate choice for a legally secure definition. Nonetheless, it is by the requisite of the romantic relationship that cohabitation is being equated to marriage and by which marital rights and obligations are being applied to the union, even though these are not described in any type of cohabitation legislation. The relationship is furthermore a fundamental factor in separating other types of households, such as siblings or friends living together, from the legal definition of cohabitation. In the legal documents assessed, these households are depicted as divergent and unnatural, while the romantic relationship is described as natural and normal. This distinction makes it impossible to include other types of households, other than the romantic relationship, which can affect the outcome of legal decisions.