DIVORCE LAW

Otago Daily Times, Issue 23828, 7 June 1939, Page 12

DIVORCE LAW

RESTITUTION OF CONJUGAL RIGHTS FAILURE TO COMPLY WITH ORDERS ATTITUDE OF JUDGES <Peb United Press Association) AUCKLAND, June 6. "The hope that the Legislature would give careful consideration to the aspect of divorce; law which enables divorce to be obtained in a comparatively short space of time as the sequel to non-compliance with a decree for the 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 a 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 the order for a 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 a 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 Honor continued, "I would be inclined to give grave consideration to the question whether I should exercise that discretion in favour of dissolving the marriage which has been in existence for only 18 months. Persons entering into contract of marriage should normally realise that they are undertaking serious obligations, and certainty very grave reasons should be shown before dissolving a marriage before the parties to it have made every attempt to continue the relationship into which they have entered. " The law normally has regard to that position," his Honor 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. Owing to the position in regard to failure to comply with an order for the restitution of conjugal rights, it so happens that in many cases the petitioner can claim a 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 the Legislature decided 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 expiration of three months."

The position was jagain referred to by Mr Justice Fair after hearing a petition for the restitution of conjugal rights. His Honor said the question of the form of 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 the respondent to return to her husband within 14 or 28 days, but in the great majority of cases the 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 the failure to comply. 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. So long as that method of proceedings was open to 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, the short period might actually operate to prevent reconciliation. His Honor 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. Ai ~ Referring to the same matter, Mi 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 the restitution of conjugal rights, fixing the period in every case at three months.