Search

This paper contributes to international feminist debates on shared parenting and family violence via reforms to Canada's Divorce Act, in force since 2021. Looking backwards, it reviews parliamentary debates and early judicial discussions. The documentary review reads the reforms as an unstable compromise between calls from feminist voices and experts on family violence and from groups representing fathers. Family violence is now defined broadly and declared relevant to children's welfare. But language in the statute may undermine its seriousness. Exposing the tensions underlying these reforms is useful for Canadian participants in family justice and for scholars, practitioners, and policymakers elsewhere, exemplifying the promise and perils of reform in this area. Looking ahead, the paper offers recommendations to higher courts. Appellate judges should read rules on contact with both parents and parental cooperation in the light of the new recognition of family violence, taking the latter as an overarching objective of the statute. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An introduction is presented in which editor discusses various articles within the issue on topics including Women's Co-operative Guild's campaign for divorce law; Women's Voluntary Service (WVS) in the Second World War and politics of housewifery' within the British Labour party.

Women are the primary victims of domestic violence, but their experiences are often ignored in Chinese judicial judgments. Among 350 Chinese civil judgments on domestic violence in 2020, more than 96% involved female victims, and they faced various judicial dilemmas when seeking civil remedies. The court confirmed the existence of domestic violence in 26% of the cases, and 27% of applications for personal safety protection orders were rejected. More than two-thirds of female plaintiffs' divorce applications were not approved, and they received no compensation. This study analyzed the cause of these judicial dilemmas and proposed some solutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper highlights Professor Gavin Jones’ seminal work on Asian divorce patterns, with a particular focus on Southeast Asia’s Muslim communities. Beginning in the 1980s, Jones addressed the challenges of fragmented and often unreliable demographic data on divorce. With careful compilation and analysis of aggregate data, paired with firsthand surveys and ethnographic studies, he set a foundation for examining shifting divorce trends in Southeast Asia. His findings challenged prevailing ethnocentric perspectives and questioned the notion that modernisation invariably leads to rising divorce rates. Jones stressed the importance of understanding divorce within the broader social, cultural, and historical contexts of the respective societies. Beyond his individual research, he was instrumental in cultivating a community of scholars studying marriage and divorce in Asia and fostering collaborations. Jones’ insights into Asia’s demographic shifts have been invaluable, and his legacy will continue to influence demographers for generations to come. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article discusses the challenges faced by Africanist and African women's and gender studies scholars. It highlights the creation of the African Feminist Initiative (AFI), a virtual community that focuses on feminist issues in Africa and the African diaspora. The article emphasizes the importance of transnational collaborations and the use of digital spaces for expanding their platform. It also discusses the growth of feminist organizations in Africa, the attention to gender studies in universities, and the challenges faced by scholars in this field. Despite these challenges, there is optimism about the future of women's and gender studies in Africa, with young feminists advocating for change and students committed to decolonial praxis. [Extracted from the article]

The construct Love has been the subject matter of voluminous popular literature and has attracted extensive scholarly attention for many decades. Yet, there is a dearth of studies that examine the scope and breadth of the intellectual structure of modern scholarship on this ubiquitous topic. The current study reports on a bibliometric content analysis of 1,562 peer-reviewed articles indexed in the field of psychology from 2012-2021. The most prominent investigatory topics identified, in rank order, were: Theory/Models, Brand love (marketing), Cultural factors, LBGTQ, Measures/Scales, Religion/Spirituality, Neurophysiology, Therapeutic issues, Mother love, Love styles, and Social media. Interestingly, several topical areas received scant investigatory attention (less than 1% of dataset), i.e., infidelity, divorce, falling-in love, sibling love, love of pets, suicide, loneliness, and cognitive styles. These findings a) offer a panorama on the state of contemporary scholarship regarding the subject matter of love, b) present a framework as a basis for the study of evolving research trends, and c) provide a tapestry in conceptually describing the essence of love. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article compares the integration of customary law in Nigeria and South Africa as applicable to custody and family law disputes. Topics discussed include challenges posed by customary law on family law, international legal treaties like the Convention on the Rights of the Child and Protocol on the Rights of Women in Africa, repugnancy doctrine, marriage, divorce and child custody in Nigeria, and operation of customary courts, divorce and child custody under the South African customary law.

The article discusses divorce settlement issues in Florida, particularly how to ensure the equitable distribution of properties and other assets between the partners. Also cited are the limitations of common law in achieving equity in property distribution and the efforts by state courts, particularly the Florida Supreme Court,to achieve divorce fairness and equitable property distribution.

The Mālikī law school grants a wife the right to judicial divorce if her husband harms her. Mālikīs distinguish between harm that is legally actionable and harm that is non-actionable. A husband causes actionable harm (ḍarar) when he violates his wife's rights, which Mālikī scholars define broadly. By establishing ḍarar as grounds for divorce, Mālikīs demonstrate their willingness to limit a husband's marital authority and increase opportunities for a woman to leave her marriage. In this study, I highlight the types of evidence and procedures Mālikī jurists use to establish ḍarar and facilitate judicial divorce by examining four cases that deal with emotional, sexual, and physical harm. Through a substantive approach to law, Mālikīs offer several ways for a woman to collect evidence, prove her claim of harm, and receive a divorce. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While the challenges of family law reform and barriers to justice are widely studied, there is a gap in our understanding of the gendered nature of the use of courts in West Africa. Through analysis of judicial decisions in Courts of First Instance (Tribunaux de Première Instance) in Allada and Cotonou, Benin, this article examines how women and men use lower courts in family law cases. This article finds that despite barriers to access to formal institutions, women use these courts in equal numbers as do men, and they use them for divorce, as well as to claim child custody, child-support and alimony. Men mostly use family law courts to determine paternity and to seek divorce. Despite a widespread lack of confidence in courts and tribunals, these Courts of First Instance are a tool for women to challenge social hierarchy and to claim rights for themselves and their children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper aims to answer the question if and under which conditions a talaq performed in an Islamic state may be recognised in European states. The authors provide an analysis of various forms of talaq performed in different Islamic states and reach conclusions on the effects that may be recognised in Europe, with an outlook towards a possible uniform approach. The recognition of talaqs in England and Wales, Germany and Bosnia and Herzegovina are used as examples for different solutions to similar problems before European courts. The EU legislator has not adopted a uniform approach to the application and recognition of talaqs in the EU. The CJEU got it wrong in Sahyouni II and missed the opportunity to contribute to a uniform EU policy but its subsequent decision in TB opens the door for the CJEU to overturn Sahyouni II if another case concerning a non-EU talaq divorce comes before them. The Hague Divorce Convention of 1970 is an international instrument that provides for appropriate solutions. Ratification by more states in which a talaq is a legally effective form of divorce and by more European states would provide the much-needed security for families moving from Islamic states to Europe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper studies whether unilateral divorce affects women's welfare. Unilateral divorce refers to a divorce regime where each of the spouses can dissolve the marriage unilaterally (i.e. without mutual consent). First, it builds a simple theoretical model that finds that women are better off under unilateral divorce than under mutual consent. Second, it makes use of data from the U.S. between 2003 and 2014 to explore empirically whether unilateral divorce affects the amount of time women devote to three different activities that might be seen as proxies of their level of welfare, such as, housework, leisure and relaxing activities, and personal care. We find causal evidence suggesting that unilateral divorce improves women's welfare. Namely, it reduces housework carried out by women, while it increases their amount of time devoted to leisure and relaxing activities, and personal care. Further results suggest these changes are not due to improvements in gender equality per se. Moreover, we find that the decrease in housework and the surges in leisure and relaxing activities are permanent, whereas the increase in personal care is temporary. These findings are important from a policy perspective to motivate the introduction of unilateral divorce laws. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Divorce was legalized in France during the French Revolution and remained legal (though more restricted) during the Napoleonic period. With the return of the Bourbons in 1815, however, it was almost immediately outlawed. The Revolution of 1830 and the ascension of the more progressive Louis-Philippe d'Orléans led to hopes that divorce would soon be reinstated, but they were quickly disappointed as the conservative Chamber of Peers squashed all attempts at restoring it. This article examines an 1835 novel, Aloïse Christine de Carlowitz's Le Pair de France ou Le Divorce , which traces the debates about divorce in the years before and after 1830. The first section focuses on Carlowitz's representation of these discussions and of various perspectives on the law and social reform. The second section considers how Carlowitz relates the divorce plot to the political changes in France between 1830 and 1834 through a series of parallels between historical events and the private drama of the protagonists. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Constantly increasing and being a social problem, divorce also causes individuals various problems. This study aims to examine the divorcing experiences of divorced men in the context of masculinity. The study was designed according to the convergent parallel pattern of the mixed method. Along with the socio-demographic questions for the quantitative phase of the study, FISHER Divorce/Separation Adjustment Scale-Short Form and Life Satisfaction Scale were used. In the qualitative stage, a semi-structured interview form was used, which is in line with the quantitative data collection tools prepared by the researcher. Data were collected from 400 divorced men for the quantitative phase and 18 divorced men for the qualitative phase of the study. The quantitative and qualitative data were analyzed separately. In the quantitative findings of the study, the demographic information of the participants and the related factors of the scales were presented. In the qualitative part, data on experiences with children and experiences on legal processes of divorced men, coping mechanisms and divorce adjustment are presented. In the last part, quantitative and qualitative data were combined and discussed together with the literature. According to the research results, the phenomenon of divorce affects all related parts. In this sense, it has been understood that men have negative experiences in the case of divorce and that they have many problems during and after the divorce. It is seen that divorced men mainly experience the following problems; economic problems, psychological problems, accommodation problems, not being able to see their children, alimony problems, parental alienation problems, loneliness, exclusion, etc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Emilie Biland's book, "Family Law in Action: Divorce and Inequality in Quebec and France," examines the role of law and its institutions in perpetuating inequalities in contemporary societies. Biland compares the divorce and separation processes in Quebec and France, highlighting similarities and differences in how these systems manage inequalities. The book argues that despite advancements in women's rights and the emphasis on individual responsibility in intimate relationships, family law systems continue to contribute to class and gender inequalities. The analysis reveals that unequal access to the law and justice, interactions with judges and lawyers, and post-separation regulation all contribute to these inequalities. While the book does not provide specific solutions, it offers a comprehensive and interdisciplinary account of the problem of inequality within family law systems. [Extracted from the article]

The trendy drama, a new TV genre coined to signify contemporary trends, initially emerged in Japan in the 1980s and became popular with middle-class audiences across East Asia for portraying Western-like chic metropolitan lifestyles. This television genre typically consists of a 10 to 13 episode long miniseries with 60 to 90 minute episodes. Their narratives focus on love affairs between rich, attractive, hard-working elites as they question traditional Han Chinese values and consider whether women should be independent, allowed to work, have sex outside marriage, and divorce. While specifically Chinese, these values have influenced cultures across East Asia. While espousing liberal and feminist ideals, they roam from trendy stores, such as fashion clothing and cosmetic shops, to expensive restaurants, and back to their luxurious apartments. Quickly, these dramas became so associated with highlighting current global and local trends and countering tradition that they became known as "trendy dramas". This genre quickly took off and soon thereafter, South Korea and Taiwan partnered together to create their own versions of trendy dramas that helped generate much of contemporary East Asian popular culture, including the rise of K-Pop. Based on Mittell's claim that genres function as a means of framing mass audiences' taste, here I explore the role of this TV genre in the context of globalization and local culture in East Asia and its effect upon reshaping social meanings during the 1980s and the early 2010s. In particular, the Taiwanese trendy dramas played a key role in elevating this genre within the Asian TV market. In this article, I argue that in Japan, Taiwan, and South Korea, the trendy drama became a way to debate Han cultural values and their role in the lives of liberal metropolitan Asians. In the process, this genre helped reshape the East Asian TV market along with popular culture around the globe. I will begin by describing the history of the trendy drama before focusing on how it debates traditional beliefs and considers the value and utility of feminism and individualism in contemporary urban Asia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Katherine Lemons's I Divorcing Traditions i is one of the most significant of the latter, exploring various state and non-state mechanisms that adjudicate Muslim personal laws, especially Muslim divorce laws. Lemons argues that, in practice, the state courts therefore share their adjudicative duties with a series of alternative religious institutions that are "both separate from and entangled with state legal adjudication forums" (6). [Extracted from the article]

Both Singapore and the United Kingdom have enacted similar legislation (viz, Chapter 4A of the Women's Charter 1961 and Part III of the Matrimonial and Family Proceedings Act 1984, respectively) which provides the courts with the power to grant financial relief following foreign divorces. In its recent decision in VEW v VEV, the Singapore Court of Appeal considered whether an anti-suit injunction should be granted against an application for financial relief in the United Kingdom following a divorce in Singapore where an order for financial relief had already been made by the Singapore court. This note compares the approaches adopted by both jurisdictions and argues that the Singapore Court of Appeal's balancing exercise between competing public policies in VEW v VEV should be welcomed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Child maintenance includes the child's rights to bread, clothing, shelter, education, and health, as well as the right to parental attention, affection, and protection. The purpose of this study is to find out and analyze legal policies in resolving child maintenance cases due to divorce in religious courts. In this study, the author uses a type of empirical normative legal research, namely legal research that combines normative legal research and social law research. Analysis of legal policies in resolving child maintenance cases due to divorce in religious courts, it can be concluded that the implementation of legal policies still requires improvement in ensuring the best interests of children are met. In the event of a divorce dispute involving a child, the judge will consider factors such as the best interests of the child, the parent's ability to meet the child's needs, and other relevant factors in decision-making regarding child maintenance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper differs from the researches of other critics who study Charles Dickens's novel Hard Times as a political novel that critiques industrialism and the autocratic discourse that oppresses the poor, while at the same time overlooks the social discourse related to marriage and divorce. This paper sheds light on two cases of troubled marriages in the novel and how these failed marriages cause depression and low self-respect for couples. Dickens expresses his boredom and dissatisfaction with his wife, Catherine Hogarth, through the desire of his characters, Stephen and Louisa, for a divorce or legal separation. The poor Stephen cannot divorce his alcoholic wife because it is costly and realizes that the laws of divorce have been made for the rich. The innocent Louisa marries old Bounderby to please her father and to provide financial aid for her dissolute brother and finds out that she has been exploited by the patriarchal rules of her society that ignores her female identity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The fact that legal issues support local wisdom, ethics, and human rights and the way in which they operate in the nation-state are not well-understood; however, this is a significant issue. Indonesian independence, achieved on 17 August 1945, initiated substantial changes in the religious life of Indonesians. While most of Indonesia is Islamic, other religious beliefs include Hinduism and Christianity. Indonesia did not consider the Balinese a formal religious group in 1945. However, because of the Mount Agung eruption in Bali, many Balinese migrated outside the island. They lived in Lampung (Sumatra), certain places in Java, Palangkaraya (Borneo), Palu (Celebes), and other areas in the Indonesian archipelago, and have lived there for a long time. The total number of Balinese at the present day is around three million, but outside Bali, their number is 10 million. Their number increased throughout the Old Regime, the New Order, and the Reformation periods until the present time. They face many significant problems regarding the marriage and divorce laws juxtaposed with national law, as is the case with other religious communities, such as the Islamic community in Indonesia. Several important questions need to be addressed in this paper. First, what is adat law, or customary law, in Bali and outside Bali regarding the concept of Hindu Nusantara? Second, how should customary law be implemented, for example, relating to marriage and divorce issues in the building of the nation-state? Third, what is the customary law relating to the present situation of the Hindu communities in Indonesia? These are some significant questions. By using interdisciplinary approaches to customary laws, religious history, anthropology, and sociology, we expect to have a better understanding of how the Balinese customary law can become part of the formal law in modern Indonesia. By understanding these issues, it will be possible to strengthen national regulations by adopting certain values of customary law in modern Indonesia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: To report an analysis of the concept of post‐separation abuse and its impact on the health of children and adult survivors. Design: Concept analysis. Data Sources: A literature search was conducted via PubMed, Cochrane and Embase and identified articles published from 1987 to 2021. Methods: Walker and Avant's (2019) eight stage methodology was used for this concept analysis, including identifying the concept, determining the purpose of analysis, identifying uses of the concept, defining attributes, identifying a model case and contrary case, antecedents and consequences and defining empirical referents. Results: Post‐separation abuse can be defined as the ongoing, willful pattern of intimidation of a former intimate partner including legal abuse, economic abuse, threats and endangerment to children, isolation and discrediting and harassment and stalking. An analysis of literature identified essential attributes including fear and intimidation; domination, power and control; intrusion and entrapment; omnipresence; and manipulation of systems. Antecedents to post‐separation abuse include patriarchal norms, physical separation, children, spatiality and availability, pre‐separation IPV and coercive control and perpetrator characteristics. Consequences include lethality, adverse health consequences, institutional violence and betrayal, such as loss of child custody and economic deprivation. Conclusion: This concept analysis provides a significant contribution to the literature because it advances the science for understanding the phenomenon of post‐separation abuse. It will aid in developing risk assessment tools and interventions to improve standards of care for adult and children survivors following separation from an abusive partner. Impact: This concept analysis of post‐separation abuse provides a comprehensive insight into the phenomenon and a theoretical foundation to inform instrument development, future research and intervention. Post‐separation abuse is a complex, multi‐faceted phenomenon that requires differential social, legal and healthcare systems responses to support the health and well‐being of survivors and their children. Impact: This concept analysis provides a significant contribution to the literature because it advances the science for understanding the phenomenon of post‐separation abuse. It will aid in developing risk assessment tools and interventions to improve standards of care for adult and children survivors following separation from an abusive partner. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research into the Divorce and Matrimonial Causes Act 1857 has revealed surprising and unexpected findings, particularly surrounding the accessibility of the Divorce Courts, and the relatively slow uptake of English and Welsh couples who sought to legally dissolve their unions. The aftermath of this process – when the dust of the court room had settled and the litigation was (one way or another) complete – has received significantly less attention, with our knowledge of post-divorce life limited predominately to brief discussion of remarriage statistics. This article uses divorce petitions, census returns, probate records, newspaper reports, and parish records, to reconstruct five case studies to explore what happened to couples after their divorce petitions had been heard and a judgment made. Although in some cases divorce could represent a distinct end point in a relationship and the start of a new stage of the lifecycle, for others an appearance before the Divorce Court was a further step in a longer series of litigation, as well as an event that continued to exert influence on their socio-economic opportunities and prospects. These case studies reveal important new information about how individual understanding of the law influenced the decision-making processes of the men and women whose marriages had ended and indicate the wealth of research waiting to be carried out. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The widely accepted view in Islamic law regarding divorce is that it can be carried out through a unilateral declaration of intent by the husband. There is a right to three divorces, the first two of which are revocable. The use by the husband of clear words of divorce or the use of indirect or allusive words with the intention of divorce result in divorce. According to most, it is possible for the man to do a triple divorce at once by mentioning the number or by way of repetition of the pronouncement of divorce. Tying divorce to a condition or a time has been accepted as valid among jurists. Divorce of the intoxicated person is valid according to most jurists and some also see valid the divorce of the mukrah, madhush, haazil, and mukhti. The husband does not have to have witnesses for the divorce, the reversal of the divorce, nor does he have to register it with a court or share these decisions with his wife. The rule is for divorce procedures to be handled within the family while going to the court is the exception. However, in Islamic family laws, considering today’s circumstances, possibilities, and needs, stipulate the registration of the divorce with a court or going to the court to seek divorce. There are also some who require two witnesses for divorce or for the reversal of a divorce alongside registration. In the new regulations multiple divorces by mentioning numbers or by repetition have been regarded as a single divorce, the divorce of the intoxicated, mukrah, madhush, haazil, and mukhti has been regarded as invalid. In these regulations it has usually been preferred for declaration of divorce tied to a condition or a time to not result in a divorce. The main purpose of these changes is thought to be the interests of the family and legal protection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Divorce of adultery provisions is one of the special reasons for divorce, which is not defined in the Turkish Civil Code. TMK m. In the 161 provision, only the eviction party does not have the right to file a lawsuit for divorce due to adultery and there are periods of deprivation of rights. The issue of the fact that the regulation of the article does not respond to some important and current issues regarding the divorce of the adultery provision has been made open to discussion. The examination of the conditions of divorce in the provision of adultery has also made it remarkable for practices and evaluations. One of the financial consequences of divorce is the request for moral compensation. The basis of non-pecuniary compensation for spouses is Turkish Civil Code m. 174/2 constitutes the provision. In its previous decisions, the Court of Cassation made decisions that the spouse could not even ask for nonpecuniary damages from the other spouse in the event that the adultery judgment was divorced, and later changed its decision on this issue. The spouse cannot claim compensation based on this provision against third parties who participated in the act of adultery. The processes of the third party under the auspices of compensation were discussed and the opinion was changed by the Court of Cassation in accordance with the conflicting provisions. Finally, the decision to unify the jurisprudence was suspended and these accumulations were tried to be eliminated. During this period, we will also state our views on whether the final decision will be in place during this period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Marriage, Separation & Divorce in England, 1500-1700 by K. J. Kesselring and Tim Stretton Their answer involves England's common-law custom of coverture and its "uncommon way of dealing with marital property", as reflected in early modern England's secular courts, which have been neglected by those studying marital separations and divorce (2). Kesselring and Stretton's monograph is now required reading on the English history of separation and divorce. [Extracted from the article]

Rising rates of divorce in Taiwan prompted debates over changes in the meaning of family, which must be understood alongside changes in attitudes toward divorce. The diffusion and lagged diffusion theories offer competing hypotheses regarding divorce attitude change by education and gender over time. Using the Taiwanese Social Change Survey, this study examines the trends in attitudes toward divorce in Taiwan over three decades (1985–2015). We test the diffusion and lagged diffusion theories by examining the relationships between higher educational attainment, gender, and attitudes towards divorce. We find that Taiwanese men and women became more open toward divorce in general along with higher education expansion. Increased acceptance toward divorce is more substantial for the college educated than those without, and college-educated women are more open to divorce than are college-educated men. The results support the diffusion theory and highlight the importance of education and gender in shaping attitude shift. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article describes our work at the interface between the legal and the psychosocial in relation to mental health needs arising in families. Working at the legal–psychosocial interface, interventions and treatment strategies are not given in advance but are built with all those involved, including the family and those who may be significant for the family as well as family therapists and judicial practitioners. In addition, psychology students from the UBA (Universidad de Buenos Aires, Argentina) who are engaged for their professional practice in the area of Justice—Working with Families in the Legal Field—observe and actively participate in this process. The work at the legal–psychosocial interface is interdisciplinary and requires a permanent dialogic effort among all practitioners of the different disciplines in order to promote alternatives that generate innovative solutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Legal consciousness is not a monolithic concept even in the minds of individual actors. Invoking the law is sometimes viewed positively and at other times not. My study reveals that ordinary people in China consider lawsuits seeking divorce to be acceptable but strongly disapprove of lawsuits seeking intergenerational support. My detailed analysis of this sharp contrast suggests that people consider legal mobilization favourably when claims are brought by the 'right' people in the 'right' cases, but that they bitterly oppose it when the 'wrong' people bring the 'wrong' kinds of cases. In this article, I explain how these categories of 'right' and 'wrong' legal claims and plaintiffs come into being and how they shape the legal consciousness of potential litigants in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

End-of-relationship rituals are not respected within Protestant churches. Therefore, many church websites emphasize that there are no official divorce rituals to this day. This is despite the fact that there are numerous impulses for divorce rituals, some of which are also firmly established in church practice. Practitioners who devote themselves to these rituals often have to be innovative. This article presents three unpublished drafts for separation rituals, which are understood as expressions of ritual design. Experiences from academic teaching show that the field divorce rituals is particularly suitable for initiating learning processes on ritual design, a skill of great importance for future pastors. Although divorce rituals are unpopular now, they are likely to become part of the standard repertoire of churches soon. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores a story taken from the Talmud Bavli (Yevamot 65b) which describes a dialogue between the arguments raised by an anonymous woman and a rabbinical judge, R. Ammi, with regard to her demand for a divorce and for receipt of the payment for her prenuptial agreement. The article examines aspects relating to the design of the Talmudic story, which belongs to the genre of halakhic stories containing an argument, the law, and its explanation, i.e., elements that are not always explicitly stated in the Talmudic text. The article also examines the point of encounter between the pleas of the anonymous woman who sought a divorce from her husband alleged that he was infertile and that she wished to have a child, versus the strict customary legal halakhic law that exempted her from the religious obligation to procreate and therefore did not protect her rights. In addition, the article provides the context of the woman's pleas in court and the attitudes of the judge towards the woman, as evident in two contradictory rulings with regard to the anonymous woman. Finally, the character of the anonymous woman, as reflected in the story, is described. This article joins a gradually developing trend in recent years within the study of the Talmud Bavli that addresses issues related to women's status and gender discourse. Nevertheless, it is notable that different orientations emerged in the research with regard to gender issues from the mid-1990s onwards. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the status and treatment of "semi-free" people, slaves, and female slaves in Ancient Israel. It explains that "semi-free" people were native or captive individuals who worked part-time on their own and part-time in palace and temple households, while slaves were primarily foreigners, mainly prisoners of war. It highlights the differences in the treatment of male and female slaves and how the laws that governed them were a mixture of family law and property law.

A matrimonial proceeding on its own is complex and can have far‐reaching implications. Add in a spouse filing for bankruptcy in the midst of the proceeding, and the process becomes even further complicated and quite possibly hostile. This Note analyzes the bad‐faith tactics of debtor spouses filing for bankruptcy in the middle of a divorce proceeding and proposes an amendment to the Bankruptcy Code that permits bankruptcy courts to dismiss bad faith petitions before they negatively impact divorce proceedings. Key points for the family court community: Spouses filing for bankruptcy can file either jointly or separately.When bankruptcy proceedings commence, an automatic stay on the distribution of assets is created.A party may file a motion to the Bankruptcy Court to terminate or modify the automatic stay if the court finds sufficient reasons.The Non‐Debtor spouse takes on the position of an unsecured credit holder.Divorce proceedings begin with a preliminary injunction that precludes spouses from selling off assets or spending marital funds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

"A History of Divorce Law: Reform in England from the Victorian to Interwar Years" by Henry Kha explores the Matrimonial Causes Act of 1857 and its significance in the history of family law. Kha argues that previous scholars have primarily viewed the act as a procedural reform, but he believes it was a landmark moment that made divorce more accessible and signaled a shift from religious to secular authority. However, Kha's argument is challenged by the fact that the act maintained a double standard between men and women in divorce grounds. The book also examines the erosion of divorce law foundations in the early 20th century, but fails to fully explore the impact of the act on the number of divorces. [Extracted from the article]

This article explores how the campaign for, and changes to, the matrimonial and divorce laws of England in 1857 were approached in one very discrete area of Dickens's professional output, namely in his role as the "Conductor" of Household Words. It examines how the issue of divorce and the campaign for reform of the divorce laws, as well as the concurrent campaign for reform of married women's property rights, were approached from a journalistic perspective, both in Household Words and the Household Narrative of Current Events , whether an opinion as to the justice or efficacy of the divorce laws as they existed at the start of the run of Household Words in 1850 was expressed, and how the proposed changes to extant divorce laws were covered in Dickens's periodical publication. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Common law marriage has existed in the United States for more than 200 years. Although not permitted as widely today, every state continues to recognize a common law marriage from one of the handful of states that still permit parties to wed in this informal manner. In contrast, never has there been anything even approaching common law divorce—and for good reason. Namely, the states’ desire to ensure that those who leave unsuccessful marriages do so in such a way that their interests (as well as their children’s) are adequately protected. Nonetheless, even though not sanctioned by law, informal divorce not only exists but is far from uncommon. Specifically, by insisting on strict formality, states have perpetuated a system of divorce that—although much more accessible today than it was historically—effectively denies a large segment of the population the ability to legally dissolve a marriage. As a result, these individuals are more likely to forgo divorce altogether and instead simply go their separate ways without any judicial oversight whatsoever of the dissolution. In fact, a number of recent studies have not only revealed the extent of this practice but also revealed more troubling news that these individuals do not appear randomly in the population; instead, it is typically those of lower socioeconomic backgrounds, lesser education, and minority racial and ethnic communities who tend to informally separate in lieu of formally divorcing. This practice, dubbed a “poor man’s divorce,” is quite dangerous given that it leaves unsophisticated parties largely unprotected as they must decide amongst themselves—during a time of power imbalance and great interpersonal conflict—how to divide property and apportion parental responsibilities. Importantly, however, these informal “divorces” likewise compromise a number of important state interests. By focusing on those state harms and offering suggestions for reform, it is the goal of this Article that courts, legislators, and policy makers alike will be more incentivized and greater equipped to institute more meaningful access to divorce—particularly for those from marginalized communities—thus providing greater agency to those seeking to dissolve unsuccessful marriages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Africa's plural legal systems are often doubly bad for women: reinforcing patriarchal threads in indigenous practices while layering male-dominated Anglo-European laws atop. While these systems generally work to their detriment, women are sometimes able to take advantage of them. Under what conditions are women able to 'win' in Africa's plural legal systems? I examine women's interactions with the plural colonial court systems in the Gold Coast and Senegal. Based on an analysis of original court records in each country, I argue that women are more likely to win in plural legal systems in areas of operational ambiguity where applicable legal principles are contradictory. Leveraging this ambiguity enabled women in the Gold Coast and Senegal to win rights around inheritance and divorce, respectively. These victories were codified post-independence, though women face social pressures against exercising them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Shaw addresses the argument and form of Ghosts with his 1908 play, Getting Married. With the creation of a new "disquisitory" form, Shaw provides an analogue to Ibsen's Ghosts. In Getting Married, Shaw dramatizes one long discussion on the status of marriage and the necessity for liberalizing divorce laws. Central in the loose narrative are three distinct "New Women," repudiating their duty to Victorian idealism and providing a snapshot of the myriad outcomes for women facing the same problem as Ghosts's Mrs. Alving. In its dramaturgical construction and underlying theme, Getting Married can be seen as response to the Alving's terrible marriage in Ibsen's Ghosts. Lesbia Grantham, Mrs. George Collins, and Edith Bridgenorth function as the potential future iterations of Helene Alving. Getting Married responds, reimagines, and redresses through discourse and dramaturgy a potential world and a potential marriage contract for women that Ibsen's dramatic plotting excises. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We consider a new nonparametric test for serial correlation of unknown form in the estimated residuals of a panel regression model, where individual and time effects can be fixed or random, and the panel data can be balanced or unbalanced. Our test is robust against potential weak error cross-sectional dependence and error serial dependence in higher-order moments. This is in contrast to existing tests for serial correlation in panel data models, which assume error components to be cross-sectionally and serially independent. Our test has an asymptotic N(0, 1) distribution under the null hypothesis and is consistent against serial correlation of unknown form. No common alternative is assumed and hence our test allows for substantial inhomogeneity in serial correlation across individuals. A simulation study highlights the merits of the proposed test relative to a variety of existing tests in the literature. We apply the new test to the empirical study of Wolfers on the relationship between unilateral divorce laws and divorce rates and find strong evidence against serial uncorrelatedness even controlling for the fixed effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents several court cases tackled by the Utah Supreme Court, Utah Court of Appeals, and the U.S. Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals on legal issues like an appeal to challenge a municipality's transportation utility fee (TUF), aggravated assault, and a petition to modify an alimony award. The cases include Myers v. Myers, State v. Graydon, and Utah Sage, Inc. v. Pleasant Grove City.

Likely to outlive their typically older husbands, Florentine widows’ fate and that of their property were of abiding concern to husbands and their heirs. Widows’ dowries especially represented a “debt” for the husbands, which came due on the dissolution of marriage. A debt, however, in Florence and elsewhere, existed on the basis of trust, which for dowry arose at the point it was pledged by a woman’s father or other kin. The legal maneuvers of one Florentine widow, Monna Vaggia, and the reactions of learned jurists to the problems she raised, show that such trust might be taken to persist into widowhood, as her husband sought in his testament to keep her and her dowry at the service of his heirs and his family in general. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The editors of this excellent volume can't have believed their luck when, a few months after the workshop at which these papers were presented, the government issued a consultation paper on reform of the legal requirements for divorce (Ministry of Justice [1]). Fifty years of the Divorce Reform Act 1969: edited by J Miles, D Monk and R Probert, Oxford, Hart Publishing, 2022, 295 & xiii pp., £85 (currently £76.50), ISBN 978-1-50994-788-1 In Part Three, Rebecca Probert does for the novel what Brown's chapter does for film, exploring how novelists depicted the legal process of divorce, post-Divorce Reform Act. [Extracted from the article]

Ironically, feminist divorce reformers' activism took place at the same time that more middle-class married women were entering the workforce and fewer divorcing women could claim to have been full-time homemakers. As political opposition to the feminist movement grew, Kahn shows how feminist divorce reformers increasingly focused on gaining access to their ex-husband's private, employer-funded pensions. I Divorce, American Style i challenges the Twitterfueled misconception that white women are incapable of grassroots organizing by detailing how effectively these activists, whom Kahn terms "feminist divorce reformers", mobilized for their personal welfare. A national transformation in divorce law that made divorce cheaper, easier, and less stigmatizing, catalyzed the feminist divorce reform movement Kahn traces. [Extracted from the article]

Currently, the United States lacks uniform legislation addressing the disposition of frozen embryos in the event of a divorce, leading state courts to grapple with the issue of who should receive custody of the embryos; even when couples have stated advanced directives. Many state courts have strictly enforced these contracts, without considering the individual's significant change of circumstances. In neglecting these changes, courts often prevent an individual from creating a family. This Note proposes that courts consider the individual's significant change of circumstances regarding infertility so infertile individuals will have the ability to start a family. Key points for the family court community: Approximately 13% percent of American women aged 15–49 suffer from some sort of infertility problem.Of the approximately 61 million women ages 15–44 years old in 2011–2015, more than 7 million or 12%, had received infertility treatments.The various reasons couples use assisted reproductive technology ("ART") may be due to endometriosis, blocked or damaged fallopian tubes, ovulatory dysfunction, structural or functional disorder of the uterus, diminished ovarian reserve, egg or embryo banking, recurrent pregnancy loss, low sperm count, or other/unexplained infertility issues.Only a handful of states have statutes regarding the disposition of frozen embryos at the time of divorce that range in their requirements and interpretations.The states that have statutes in place do not account for the unforeseen change(s) in a party's infertility after the signing of the disposition contract. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Classical Islamic marriage and divorce laws focus on both spouses' ability to perform sexually. In fiqh texts, sexual disability is considered a serious medical condition. The fiqh literature lists certain sexual disabilities unique to men, unique to women, or shared by both sexes. Infertility (ʿuqm) is not found in any of these early fiqh lists, although we have proof in various Islamic religious texts that fertility and procreation have always been highly valued in society. In contemporary fatwas (from the Sunni world), the picture appears reversed, as fertility is given priority over sexual performance. In this paper, I illustrate this shift in attitude between the classical legal texts and contemporary fatwas. Then, I offer possible explanations for it. Among the main motivations suggested for the change are feminist Muslim writings, a growing awareness of human rights in the Islamic world, advanced medical technology, and economic factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The object of study of this essay is the protection of children and adolescents in the face of parental abuse, focusing on the effectiveness of psychological interventions in judicial lawsuits. Law and Psychology have joined forces in an attempt to prove the necessity of multidisciplinarity through demonstrations of early and late psychological interventions with completely different results. A reasonably new problem, since it is through the Divorce Law (BRASIL, Law 6.515/77) and the Federal Constitution of 1988 that the necessity for a new specialization, Family Law, was born. In tandem, Psychology had a consistent rise in recognition in 1972 through the implementation of the Federal Council of Psychology (BRASIL, 1962). With them being considered new sciences, there was a need to investigate whether the lack of scientific recognition of both sciences could be the reason for the damages children and teenagers experienced, lacking support to their needs. The first case experienced from 1981 to 1988 was methodologically compared with the second, from 2018 to 2021. We surveyed data from reliable institutions and brought testimonies from abused children, now adults, transcribed from the following documentaries, both publically available on the internet: "A Morte Inventada (2009)" and "O Amor Que Tu Me Tinhas". From these, it was demonstrated that although we have evolved substantially in terms of legislation, the object of study (children's permanence in harmful environments) does not offer the expected protection, as will be shown. However, our hypothesis demonstrates that qualified and (obligatorily) preemptive psychological intervention can drastically reduce the damage and trauma to children and adolescents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]