Eekelaar’s ‘Modest Proposal’ For Reforming The Law of Marriage

The divorce law currently in force (1975) in the Federal Republic of Germany is determined by the Marriage Law of 1946, Law no. 16 of the Control Commission, and is based on the guilt principle. Reform of this law has been on the public agenda for some years, and in particular a continuous discussion has taken place since 1970, when the Minister of Justice made public a provisional draft for the reform of marriage and family law. Such a change has come to seem necessary because of the frequency of ‘conventional’ divorces, which make a farce of divorce proceedings, and because of changes in the attitudes towards divorce of the general public. To facilitate understanding of the divorce scene in Germany, the present legislation will be contrasted here with both the past situation and the proposed reforms, and all this will be looked at in the light of the actual behaviour of those involved.

I am a child of the 1970s. I grew up in Adelaide in the Dunstan decade. My earliest political recollection is of my parents discussing the dismissal of Whitlam in 1975. I believed university educat...

Introduction: The reform of Islamic marriage law is fundamentally influenced by many factors.Purposes of the Research: This paper aims to find out what factors caused the reform of marriage law in the Islamic world, and what the wisdom of the reform of marriage law is for the Muslim community.Methods of the Research: This research employs the library study approach (library research). Primary sources of information are derived from publications pertaining to the discourse on the reform of marriage law in the Islamic world.Results of the Research: The results of the study show that there are many things that become factors causing the reform of the marriage law, but the main factor is the development of the times in terms of socio-cultural changes so that new problems arise that need new laws in response to this. While the wisdom of the renewal of the marriage law is to keep the teachings of Islam in the family field still accepted by modern society.

This chapter presents Benjamin Harrison’s inaugural address. According to Harrison, taking the oath in the presence of people becomes the practice as a mutual covenant, regardless of the lack of constitutional or legal requirements. The address highlights the growing population of the Territory of Dakota while considering virtues of courage and patriotism as proof of their continued presence and increasing power. Harrison suggests amending naturalization laws to ensure the inquiry of character and good disposition of persons applying for citizenship. The chapter mentions the interest concerned with the reformation of election laws and the significance of education, virtue, justice, and patriotism.

Using models for expressing legal requirements is now commonplace in Requirements Engineering. Models of legal requirements, on the one hand, facilitate communication between software engineers and legal experts, and on the other hand, provide a basis for systematic and automated analysis. The most prevalent application of legal requirements models is for checking the compliance of software systems with laws and regulations. In this experience paper, we explore a complementary application of legal requirements models, namely simulation. We observe that, in domains such as taxation, the same models that underlie legal compliance analysis bring important added value by enabling simulation. Concretely, this paper reports on the model-based simulation of selected legal requirements (policies) derived from Luxembourg's Income Tax Law. The simulation scenario considered in the paper is aimed at analyzing the impact of a current tax law reform proposal in Luxembourg. We describe our approach for simulation along with empirical results demonstrating the feasibility and accuracy of the approach. We further present lessons learned from the experience.

Before the Bride Really Wore Pink

Marriage law in England and Wales is a historical relic which reflects a bygone age. Successive governments have made a series of progressive but ad hoc reforms, most notably the introduction of civil partnerships and same-sex marriage. However, this has resulted in a legal framework which is complex and controversial, especially in relation to religion. Different rules apply to different religions and some of the legal requirements indirectly discriminate against some religions that do not have a tradition of marriages occurring in a place of worship. This leads to the problem of unregistered religious marriages where the couple have a religious marriage but do not comply with the requirements to make it legally binding and so on relationship breakdown they do not have the rights that legally married couples enjoy. Moreover, unlike many jurisdictions English law does not recognise weddings conducted by humanist or independent celebrants as being legally binding. This book provides the first accessible guide to how contemporary marriage law affects religion and identifies pressure points particularly in relation to non-religious organisations and unregistered religious marriages. It reveals the need for the consolidation, modernisation and reform of marriage law and sets out proposals for how the transformation of these laws can be achieved.

This article analyses the legal processes of recognising customary and religious (Muslim) marriages in South Africa's constitutional democracy. It argues that the best interpretation of the Constitution requires laws that address cross-cutting issues of recognition and redistribution relating to religion/culture and gender, and that the best way to achieve this is through a ‘pluralistic solidarity’ that enables dialogue on how to secure cultural and religious recognition without undermining the rights of women. It examines how the different processes of cultural/religious law reform in South Africa have become sites of struggle over the meaning of collective and individual identity, public/private power, citizenship and rights, and gender and democracy, and how particular sociopolitical conditions, ideological struggles and overarching conflicts and interests have shaped each process of law reform. Thus it distinguishes between the ideal and the possible, the normative and the strategic, in law reform. It notes the conditions under which the incomplete process of recognition of Muslim marriage law has seen a greater deference to religious norms and private regulation than customary law reform, which saw a greater institutionalisation of gender equality norms. The article concludes by emphasising the open-ended nature of legal processes, the possibilities of using courts to challenge ongoing inequalities in religion and custom, and the ever-present role of politics in legal outcomes.

This research analyzes the role of witnesses in marriage contracts, especially differences of opinion among ulama. The majority of ulama are of the opinion that the presence of witnesses is a legal requirement in a marriage contract because of its function as proof, preventing disputes, and safeguarding the benefit of the people. However, Abu Tsaur has a different view, namely that the marriage contract remains valid without the presence of witnesses. This research examines the arguments that support these two opinions and analyzes the causes of differences of opinion, which are influenced by historical, cultural factors and the ijtihad of the ulama. Through normative and comparative methods, this research concludes that these differences of opinion show the dynamics of ijtihad in Islam and the importance of understanding the historical context and objectives of the Shari'a in understanding a law. In the context of Indonesian positive law, the presence of witnesses is also regulated in the marriage law, but with a different emphasis. This research has practical implications for the implementation of marriage contracts, resolving marriage disputes, and the development of family law in Indonesia.

What are the functions of the waiting period in marriage law? To get at this question, 235 couples in Milwaukee County were studied who had applied for a marriage license but did not return to get it. Negroes were found to be overrepresented in this group compared to a like number of applicants who did return for their licenses. The waiting period is not only a time for reconsidering a hasty marriage, but a period of grace for proving eligibility for marriage. Those deflected from marriage by legal requirements seem to be poor risks for satisfactory marriage.

This article examines the problem of identity forgery in polygamous marriages in Lampung Province. This case arises because the husband is not open to the first wife and the strict regulations regarding polygamy. The purpose of the research is to analyse identity forgery from the perspective of Islamic law and positive law as well as preventive efforts that can be made as an Islamic family law reform in Indonesia. The method used is qualitative, with a case study approach, type of field research, data collection techniques, through observation, interviews and documentation. Interview respondents from the Head of the Lampung Province Religious Affairs Office, religious leaders and six perpetrators of marriage identity forgery. The findings show that identity forgery is done to trick the wife and the KUA, and violates the principles of justice in Islam and Marriage Law No. 1 of 1974. Prevention efforts involve increasing public awareness, the capacity of registration agencies, and revising stricter regulations. The conclusion states that these measures can prevent identity forgery and strengthen law enforcement, as well as contribute to a more just and transparent reform of Islamic family law.

In the Discussion of the Position of Husband and Wife in Islamic Marriage Law, which is based on the Qur'an and Hadith, it continues to develop following social and cultural changes. Modern challenges such as gender equality and child protection encourage the need for this legal reform. Several Muslim countries, including Indonesia, have carried out reforms to adapt to the needs of the times. This study uses a qualitative approach with a literature study, reviewing secondary sources such as books, journal articles, and legal documents. The analysis was carried out descriptively-analytical and comparatively to compare the reform of marriage law in several Muslim countries. The results of the study show that the reform of marriage law in the Islamic world is the result of the interaction between tradition and modernity. Countries such as Tunisia, Morocco, and Indonesia have adopted reforms that are more in favor of women's and children's rights. Despite cultural barriers and conservatism, dialogue between scholars, government, and society is important to create relevant change.

In 2008, the Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams made a speech which ignited a fervent debate over Islamic divorce and the role of the shari’a councils in the United Kingdom by suggesting that English law could accommodate aspects of Islamic Law. The crux of the debate has been that Muslim women are left vulnerable through the common practice of not registering nikah unions as marriages, which has led some to suggest registration should become a legal requirement. While this would provide them some legal protection, there are features of a legally enforceable nikah that provide women with rights such as the protection of their wealth, which go beyond the provisions of the current English marriage contract. There is understandable resistance to changing the nature of marriage in English law which, while historically fluid, is rooted in a Christian framework. In this paper a new paradigm is developed to overcome these concerns. It is proposed here that the institution of marriage should incorporate nikah as a separate and different form of contractual union, just as civil partnership was originally formulated to provide a form of marriage union tailored to the specific needs of same sex couples.

The reform of Islamic family law is not only related to legal matters but also to the social and cultural values surrounding it. In Indonesia, the development of Islamic family law has relied on the government and the legislature, as reflected in the enactment of the Marriage Law and the Compilation of Islamic Law. However, the lengthy legislative process, which is often laden with political interests, makes it difficult to accelerate legal reform. This study aims to analyze the role of the Supreme Court, particularly the Religious Chamber, as an institution with the potential to expedite the reform of Islamic family law through its judicial authority. applying a qualitative method and descriptive analysis, this research finds that the Supreme Court contributes significantly to Islamic family law reform through progressive decisions and the Plenary Meetings of the Religious Chamber producing legal formulations. The main findings show that the reform agenda promoted by the Supreme Court focuses on strengthening the protection of women’s and children’s rights. The study also identifies two major challenges in implementation: variations in judges’ adherence to the plenary formulations and limited public access to information regarding the plenary outcomes. These findings underscore the importance of optimizing the role of the Supreme Court as a strategic driver in accelerating the reform of Islamic family law in Indonesia.

Successive governments have made progressive, but ad hoc reforms to marriage law in Britain. This book provides the first accessible guide to how contemporary marriage law interacts with religion. It reveals the need for the consolidation, modernisation and reform of marriage law and sets out proposals for transformation.