Policy Document
Matrimonial Causes Act 1857
Benefits & Requirements
Coverage: Eligible groups or beneficiaries
Husbands and wives whose partner had committed adultery.
Criteria for coverage
- Section 27 of the Act enabled a husband to divorce his wife only if he could prove that she had committed adultery - Simple (even if repeated) adultery would not be sufficient for a wife to divorce her husband: in order for a woman to be granted a divorce, her petitioner had to prove not only that her husband had committed adultery, but also that the adultery was incestuous, or that he was guilty of bigamy or cruelty (“rape, sodomy and bestiality”), or that he had deserted the wife for two years or more (Cretney, 2005; Woodhouse, 1959)
Does this law grant the right to unilateral divorce?
No
Remarriage waiting period after divorce is finalised
Not mentioned
Alimony orders established by this document: eligible beneficiary
Not mentioned
Alimony orders established by this document: eligibility criteria
Not mentioned
Types of custody established by this document
Not mentioned
Visitation rights established by this document
Not mentioned
Child support: age of emancipation for child support
Not mentioned
Child support: maximum percentage of parent's average net income
Not mentioned
Read the Law
Full Text Source in English
1857, chapter 85
Original full text source in native language
1857, chapter 85
Full text web source in English
http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2012/5/pdfs/ukpga_20120005_en.pdf
Secondary Literature & Sources
Secondary literature
- Cretney, S. “Ending Marriage by Judicial Divorce under the Matrimonial Causes Act 1857”. In Cretney, S. “Family Law in the Twentieth Century: A History”. Oxford University Press, Oxford (2005): 162-196.
- Probert, R. “The Controversy of Equality and the Matrimonial Causes Act 1923”. Child and Family Law Quarterly 11(1) (1999): 33-42.
- Woodhouse, M.K. “The Marriage and Divorce Bill of 1857”. American Journal of Legal History 3(3) (1959): 260-275.