Marriage and Divorce Laws of the World Part 15

9. Wife's desertion of husband.

10. Wife's refusal for one year to perform marital duty.

11. Husband's cruelty to wife.

12. Husband's apostasy from the Jewish religion.

13. When the husband is a fugitive from justice.

14. Neglect of husband to support his wife.

15. Persistent vicious and disorderly manner of life on part of the husband.

16. Husband's admission that he is incurably impotent.

17. The contraction by the husband of a loathsome disease.

18. The adoption by the husband of a dishonest or disgusting occupation.

19. Such conduct on the part of the wife as causes her husband, without deliberation, to violate the ritualistic requirements of the Jewish religion.

PROCEDURE.--The rabbi is the judge in the first instance of a divorce pet.i.tion. Appeal from his decision lies to the civil authorities.

In the ordinary divorce case the first action by the rabbi is an attempt to reconcile the parties. A confession of the guilty party is competent evidence.

The divorce becomes effective by the man delivering to the wife, after the rabbinical decision, a bill of divorcement. This is done even if the wife is the successful suitor. The husband can be compelled to make such a delivery.

EFFECTS OF DIVORCE.--The dowry (_Nedunya_), which was settled on the wife at the time of the marriage, must be returned to her if she is the innocent party. The woman retains the name of her divorced husband. Both parties are free to marry again.

CHAPTER XVI.

HOLLAND.

MARRIAGE.--A male must be eighteen years or more and a female sixteen years or more in order to be lawfully married.

Marriage is forbidden between all descendants and ascendants, legitimate or otherwise, and in the collateral line marriages are forbidden between brothers and sisters of the whole or half blood, legitimate or illegitimate.

Marriage is also forbidden in Holland between brothers-in-law and sisters-in-law, between uncle and niece, or granduncle and grandniece, and between aunt and nephew, grandaunt and grandnephew, legitimate or otherwise.

The Queen has power under the law to grant a dispensation for good reasons relieving any couple from the effect of such prohibitions. She has also power, for sufficient cause, to permit persons under age to contract marriage.

As a preliminary to marriage children must ask the consent thereto of their parents, but the consent of the father is sufficient. If the father is dead the consent of the mother suffices.

If the mother and father are both dead the grandparents take their places.

Marriage is treated in Holland as a civil contract.

CELEBRATION.--The ceremony of marriage must take place publicly in the town hall before a registrar, but not until three days after the publication of banns. Four male witnesses of full age must be present. If one of the parties is unable to attend the town hall the marriage may be solemnized in a private house, but in such a case six male witnesses of full age are necessary. A religious celebration of the marriage cannot be performed until the officiating clergyman is shown proof that the civil marriage has already taken place.

FOREIGN MARRIAGE.--A marriage concluded in a foreign country between two Hollanders, or between a Hollander and a foreigner, is recognized as valid in Holland if celebrated according to the requirements of the foreign country, and provided the banns were duly published, without opposition, in the place or places of residence in Holland of the contracting parties, and provided such marriage is not in contravention of the law of Holland.

ANNULMENT OF MARRIAGE.--A marriage may be judiciously annulled on the following grounds:

1. Previous existing marriage of one of the parties.

2. Want of free consent on the part of one or both of the parties.

3. Mistake as to ident.i.ty of person.

4. Insanity or deficient mentality of one or both parties.

5. Lack of marriageable age.

6. Relationship within prohibited degrees.

7. Marriage with an accomplice in adultery.

8. Absence of requisite number of witnesses.

9. Marriage in spite of an objection raised on publication of the banns, in case the objection proves to be well founded.

10. Marriage in violation of any other legal requirement.

DIVORCE.--In Holland a marriage can be dissolved in one of four different ways:

1. By death of one of the parties.

2. By the absence of one of the spouses for the period of ten years or more, coupled with the remarriage of the other spouse.

3. By a divorce p.r.o.nounced after a judicial separation has been obtained by one of the spouses.

4. By a divorce p.r.o.nounced in the first instance for one of the causes hereinafter stated.

The causes for an absolute divorce are:

1. Adultery.

2. Malicious abandonment continued for five years.

3. Judicial condemnation of one of the spouses to prison for an infamous offence.

4. Grave bodily harm inflicted by one spouse upon the other.

PROCEDURE.--The action for divorce must be inst.i.tuted before the judge of the district where the husband is domiciled, except when the cause alleged is malicious abandonment, in which case the suit must be brought before the judge of the district in which both parties had their last common domicile.