The Constitutional Court yesterday said that a law barring the “responsible” party from filing for divorce is not flawed in principle, but ordered the Legislative Yuan to better define the clause and provide a statute of limitations.
Article 1,052 of the Civil Code states: “Either the husband or the wife may petition for a juridical decree of divorce ... except if either the husband or the wife is responsible for the event, only the other party may petition for the divorce.”
Kaohsiung Juvenile and Family Court Judge Chu Cheng-kun (朱政坤) and two individuals embroiled in extramarital lawsuits filed for the constitutional interpretation, claiming that the article contravened the legal principle of proportionality.
Photo: Wang Yi-sung, Taipei Times
Legal experts said on condition of anonymity that under the Civil Code, only the person who “is not” or “is less” at fault can file for divorce.
Chu and the others argued that Article 1,052 limits the constitutionally guaranteed right to freedom of marriage.
After reviewing the case, the court ruled that the proviso in principle does not contravene the Constitution’s guaranteed right of freedom of marriage.
However, it did find the blanket ban barring the party responsible for the act causing the breakdown of the marriage from filing for divorce — regardless of whether it occurred so far in the past that it has exceeded legal memory or how long it continued — might be too strict.
In this sense, the proviso contravenes the freedom of marriage under the Constitution, it said.
The court ordered competent authorities to immediately draft an amendment to the article that would bring it in line with the Constitution and implement it within two years.
Should the amendment take longer than two years to pass, all rulings after March 24, 2025, should observe the spirit of the ruling, the court said.
It suggested that legislators define the “period” after or during an act causing the irreparable breakdown of a marriage for it to be considered as such.
It also suggested that legislators observe similar cases in foreign countries and consider eligible relaxing causes to file for divorce.
The legal system should adapt to the times and make provisions so that the rights of individuals without fault and children still under their care are protected by the law during the divorce process, the ruling said.
Disagreeing with the ruling, Chu said the proviso prevents couples who have already separated in spirit from being able to separate legally.
The Ministry of Justice said the proviso protects the sanctity of marriage, as it prevents any one party from unilaterally dissolving the marriage.
Additional reporting by Wu Cheng-feng
Hong Kong singer Andy Lau’s (劉德華) concert in Taipei tonight has been cancelled due to Typhoon Kong-rei and is to be held at noon on Saturday instead, the concert organizer SuperDome said in a statement this afternoon. Tonight’s concert at Taipei Arena was to be the first of four consecutive nightly performances by Lau in Taipei, but it was called off at the request of Taipei Metro, the operator of the venue, due to the weather, said the organizer. Taipei Metro said the concert was cancelled out of consideration for the audience’s safety. The decision disappointed a number of Lau’s fans who had
Commuters in Taipei picked their way through debris and navigated disrupted transit schedules this morning on their way to work and school, as the city was still working to clear the streets in the aftermath of Typhoon Kong-rey. By 11pm yesterday, there were estimated 2,000 trees down in the city, as well as 390 reports of infrastructure damage, 318 reports of building damage and 307 reports of fallen signs, the Taipei Public Works Department said. Workers were mobilized late last night to clear the debris as soon as possible, the department said. However, as of this morning, many people were leaving messages
A Canadian dental assistant was recently indicted by prosecutors after she was caught in August trying to smuggle 32kg of marijuana into Taiwan, the Aviation Police Bureau said on Wednesday. The 30-year-old was arrested on Aug. 4 after arriving on a flight to Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, Chang Tsung-lung (張驄瀧), a squad chief in the Aviation Police Bureau’s Criminal Investigation Division, told reporters. Customs officials noticed irregularities when the woman’s two suitcases passed through X-ray baggage scanners, Chang said. Upon searching them, officers discovered 32.61kg of marijuana, which local media outlets estimated to have a market value of more than NT$50 million (US$1.56
FATALITIES: The storm claimed at least two lives — a female passenger in a truck that was struck by a falling tree and a man who was hit by a utility pole Workers cleared fallen trees and shop owners swept up debris yesterday after one of the biggest typhoons to hit the nation in decades claimed at least two lives. Typhoon Kong-rey was packing winds of 184kph when it slammed into eastern Taiwan on Thursday, uprooting trees, triggering floods and landslides, and knocking out power as it swept across the nation. A 56-year-old female foreign national died from her injuries after the small truck she was in was struck by a falling tree on Provincial Highway 14A early on Thursday. The second death was reported at 8pm in Taipei on Thursday after a 48-year-old man
RSS