Recent Developments in the Law of the Matrimonial Home in England and Israel

Abstract

There is no accepted definition of the expression either in English or in Israeli law. Home for the purpose of this study is the family's headquarters, the dwelling place of the spouses, whether it be rented or owned by both spouses or only by one of them. The problem of the matrimonial home can be considered from two aspects. On the one hand there is the problem of the spouses and their mutual legal relations vis-a-vis the home. On the other hand the legal relations of the spouses as regards third parties have to be considered. It should be stated that the legal relations of the spouses inter se are governed in England and in Israel by two different sets of rules, in England by the common law supplemented by statute law and by principles of equity, and in Israel by religious communal law. The religious courts of Israel are given jurisdiction in matters of personal status by virtue of Article 51 of the Palestine Order in Council, 1922.1 To the extent that civil courts have concurrent jurisdiction, they apply the personal law of the parties concerned,2 i.e., the law applied by the respective religious courts