Mexican Proposal for the Ultimate Starter Marriage

The BBC has reported on a novel bill introduced to Mexico City's Legislative Assembly of the Federal District by Lizbeth Rosas Montero, a member of the Party of the Democratic Revolution, which would allow newly weds to enter into a marriage contract giving them two years to decide whether to call it quits or renew their vows. Says the BBC:

"Half of all marriages in Mexico City currently end in a split.
"[Montero] believes the contracts, allowing couples to 'renew or dissolve' the marital link after a pre-arranged term, would lead to more harmonious relationships and reduce the workload on family judges.
"Terms governing healthcare provision, the way children are educated, how much money was needed to support the family, and how dependents would be looked after in the case of a break-up would be set out in advance."

This is an interesting idea, which would seem to take the most useful features of a marriage agreement and add a fixed date when the parties would review not just the continuing fairness of their agreement but the continuing value of their relationship. Although I'm certainly in favour of reducing the court's workload, I'm not sure the idea has much potential for Canada given the ease with which couples are presently able to divorce under our present no-fault system.

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That's an Expensive Headache: Wife Receives Damages for Husband's Indifference

The Guardian has reported on the curious case of the French wife who sued for divorce based on, I assume, a violation of the duties of marriage under Article 242 of the French Civil Code. What makes the case interesting is the judge's decision to fine the husband 10,000 euros to compensate the wife for the particular violation complained of, namely "lack of sex over 21 years of marriage."

Under the antique English common law, marriage came with an abundance of rights and duties. The husband had the duty to provide his wife with the necessities of life and had the right to her domestic services, the right to her property and income, and the right to have her live with him and have sex with her as he wished, called consortium. It seems that the French civil code developed in a similar manner. Title V concerns the law on marriage, including the obligations marriage gives rise to (Chapter V) and the rights and and duties of spouses (Chapter VI), and Title VI concerns the law on divorce.

In this case the husband was sued for breach of Article 215 (Title V, Chapter VI), which provides that:

"Spouses mutually oblige themselves to a community of living."

The judge held that sexual relations are a part of a "community of living," and the Guardian quotes the judge as saying that:

"A sexual relationship between husband and wife is the expression of affection they have for each other, and in this case it was absent. By getting married, couples agree to sharing their life and this clearly implies they will have sex with each other."

Interestingly, from the size of the award, one can deduce that the going rate for sex in marriage is about 1.3 euros a day or about $1.80 Canadian at today's rate.

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Supreme Court Releases Decision on Foreign Divorces, Foreign Agreements and Effect of Foreign Law

The Supreme Court of British Columbia has just released its judgment in Sangi v. Sangi, a complex but important case which surveys the rules about when the courts of this province will recognize foreign divorces, how the court should evaluate the fairness of separation agreements negotiated under the laws of another country, and how the court should interpret and/or apply the laws of another country, along with a host of other matters such as:

• determining the credibility of a witness
• the drawing of adverse inferences following a party's failure present a witness to give evidence on an issue
• defending against a foreign judgment on the basis of fraud occurring in the foreign jurisdiction
• determining the authenticity of the records of a foreign court
• measuring whether a foreign agreement is unconscionable or unfair against domestic values and standards

This decision is very well written and provides an eloquent statement of the law in this area, and I would do it a disservice if I tried to summarize it further. Suffice it to say that if you have a legal problem in these areas, this decision is well worth your time to read.

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What's with that support case from Quebec?

A spousal support case out of Quebec is all over the headlines lately. The thing is, the case doesn't mean very much from a British Columbia perspective, and it's nothing for anyone in BC to worry about, and this doesn't always come through when you're reading newspaper digests of the case.

The Quebec case involves a common-law relationship and a claim for spousal support. The claimant is arguing that Quebec law breaches her Charter rights as it doesn't allow common-law couples to claim spousal support. That's not the case in BC, where our Family Relations Act has allowed common-law couples to claim support since the 1970s.

See? Doesn't mean much at all.

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