Evolución del concepto de familia desde la Constitución de 1991

Abstract

Over the years, the family has faced great transformations in its composition, functioning and scope, as a consequence of the fluctuating links between people. The new forms of cohabitation have not always been protected by the legal system. Therefore, the overall objective of this paper is to analyse the evolution of the legal concept of "family" in Colombian law over the last thirty years, by means of a theoretical documentary review of legal dogmatics. Initially, it shows the legal panorama of the family and its members prior to the 1991 Constitution, in which the legislator did not have constitutional criteria and how it timidly began to establish differences in the treatment of the rights of married women and children. Additionally, it shows the progress in the protection of the best interests of children and how legal and natural ties are no longer the only formula for the configuration of families, the forms of human coexistence are more broadly conceived. In this respect, the family concept has implied the call for new normative provisions - more appropriate to these realities - and, failing that, extensive interpretations of the already existing norms.