DIVORCE LAW

Evening Post, Volume CXXVII, Issue 132, 7 June 1939, Page 18

DIVORCE LAW

RESTITUTION CASES

JUDGES IN ACCORD

LONGER COMPLIANCE PERIOD

'By Telegraph—Press Assoeistion.) AUCKLAND, June 6. The hope that the Legislature would give careful consideration to the aspect of the divorce law which enables divorce to be obtained in a comparatively short space of time as a sequel to non-compliance with a decree for restitution of conjugal rights, was expressed by Mr. Justice Fair in the Supreme Court. Both he and Mr. Justice Callan, who were dealing with numbers of divorce petitions, referred to the recent pronouncement of the Chief Justice (Sir Michael Myers), when he expressed his intention of lengthening from the usual 14 or 28 days to three months the period for compliance with an order for husband or wife to return. "I am obliged by law to grant the petition in this case," said Mr. Justice Fair, after hearing the petition of a husband, who sought divorce on the ground that his wife had failed to comply with an order of the Court to return to him. "If I had any discretion in the matter," his Honour continued, "I would be inclined to give grave consideration to the question whether I should exercise that discretion in favour of dissolving a marriage which has been in existence only some eighteen months. "Persons entering into a contract of marriage should normally realise that they are undertaking serious obligations, and certainly very grave reasons should be shown for dissolving a marriage before the parties to it have made every attempt to continue the relationship into which they have entered. SHORT LEGAL COURSE. "The law normally has regard to that position," his Honour continued, "and normally, except in cases of grave misconduct, requires a period of some three years to elapse before one of the parties can have the marriage dissolved, but owing to the position in regard to failure to comply with an order for restitution of conjugal rights, it so happens that, in many cases, the petitioner can claim divorce after a very short period indeed. "That, however, is the law as it stands, and I am bound to administer it as it stands. If legislation decides to change it, then it will be changed, but, in any case, I hope the matter will be given consideration. "In this case I will grant a decree nisi, to be moved absolute after the c piration of three months." The position was again referred to by Mr. Justice Fair after hearing a petition for restitution of conjugal rights. His Honour said the question of the form of the decree in such cases had recently been the subject of a pronouncement by the Chief Justice. In the past it had been usual to require respondent to return to her husband within 14 or 28 days, but in the great majority of cases respondent failed to comply, and so she had been legally guilty of desertion, and divorce proceedings had, in a great number of cases, been founded upon failure to comply. FOLLOWING LEAD OF CHIEF JUSTICE. As a result, young persons who had been married for a short period, sometimes under two years, or even under 12 months, had had their marriage dissolved before they had really made a serious attempt to reconcile their differences and endeavour to make their association of husband and wife a permanent one, said his Honour. So long as that method of proceedings was open to the parties, they were entitled to adopt it, but it seemed that no good purpose was served by making an order to be complied with in a short period. Instead of assisting the parties to come together again, a short period might actually operate to prevent a reconciliation. His Honour went on to say that, in the case before him, he believed that the husband genuinely desired his wife to return, and he would make an order for her to do so within two months. Referring to the same matter, Mr. Justice Callan said that Mr. Justice Fair and he had discussed the position and had decided, in general, to follow the lead of the Chief Justice. He later made four orders for restitution of conjugal rights, fixing the period in every case at three months/