Grounds Of Divorce And Dissolution Flashcards
Babiarz v Poland 2017
No ‘right’ to divorce under ECHR law
Hunter v Hunter 1883
Wife who used to be a prostitute was told by husband during an argument: ‘go back to your old ways’
She did this and when husband sought a divorce on basis of adultery she raised defence of lenocinium
Defence failed because husband has spoken in anger (wasn’t serious and had spoken out of turn)
Gallacher v Gallacher 1928
Husband and wife separated and no longer living together as a couple
Husband wrote to estranged wife asking for a ground for divorce
In response, wife entered into sexual relationship with another man but later pleaded lenocinium
Defence succeeded as letter amounted to encouragement and wife’s adultery was response to that encouragement
Makes it clear that lenocinium must be direct response from the spouses encouragement
White v white 1966
Behaviour of husband caught by police having sex with another man in Glasgow central train toilets was unreasonable behaviour
Hastie v Hastie 1985
Behaviour of wife making false allegation of incest about her husband resulted in unreasonable behaviour
Taylor v Taylor 2000
Husband single minded obsession with career to exclusion of everything else e.g. wife and children, took no part in domestic duties/childcare was unreasonable behaviour
Owens v Owens 2018
Important Supreme Court case (English case)
Loveless marriage, been married very long time
Mrs Owens wanted divorce but mr Owens did not agree
She struggled to find an applicable ground for divorce in English law
Only option she had was to try and establish unreasonable behaviour
She argued he treated her with lack of love, moody, undermined her in public
Court did not accept that this amounted to unreasonable behaviour and the Supreme Court agreed
Minor irritations to not amount to unreasonable behaviour
Mrs Owens was effectively trapped
