The Matrimonial Causes Act 1937 is a law on

divorce Divorce (also known as dissolution of marriage) is the process of terminating a marriage or marital union. Divorce usually entails the canceling or reorganizing of the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage, thus dissolving the ...

in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

. It extended the grounds for divorce, which until then only included adultery, to include unlawful desertion for three years or more, cruelty, and incurable insanity, incest or sodomy. Apart from the Roman Catholic Church,

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...

and its associated

Mothers' Union The Mothers' Union is an international Christian charity that seeks to support families worldwide. Its members are not all mothers or even all women, as there are many parents, men, widows, singles and grandparents involved in its work. Its main ai ...

, there was broad support for divorce law liberalisation, as this legislation had not been significantly amended since the passage of the

Matrimonial Causes Act 1857 The Matrimonial Causes Act 1857 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The Act reformed the law on divorce, moving litigation from the jurisdiction of the ecclesiastical courts to the civil courts, establishing a model of marriage ...

, when adjudication had been removed from church courts and placed before secular courts.

Origins

Previously, before The Matrimonial Causes Act 1923, men could divorce women on the basis of

adultery Adultery (from Latin ''adulterium'') is extramarital sex that is considered objectionable on social, religious, moral, or legal grounds. Although the sexual activities that constitute adultery vary, as well as the social, religious, and legal ...

, but women were required to prove that their male partners had undertaken adultery ''and'' additional offences, such as

incest Incest ( ) is human sexual activity between family members or close relatives. This typically includes sexual activity between people in consanguinity (blood relations), and sometimes those related by affinity (marriage or stepfamily), adoption ...

sodomy Sodomy () or buggery (British English) is generally anal or oral sex between people, or sexual activity between a person and a non-human animal ( bestiality), but it may also mean any non- procreative sexual activity. Originally, the term ''sodo ...

cruelty Cruelty is the pleasure in inflicting suffering or inaction towards another's suffering when a clear remedy is readily available. Sadism can also be related to this form of action or concept. Cruel ways of inflicting suffering may involve viol ...

(roughly equivalent to

domestic violence Domestic violence (also known as domestic abuse or family violence) is violence or other abuse that occurs in a domestic setting, such as in a marriage or cohabitation. ''Domestic violence'' is often used as a synonym for ''intimate partner ...

) and other possible reasons. In 1912, a Royal Commission had recommended further liberalisation, and the

feminist Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that society prioritizes the male po ...

-allied

National Union of Societies for Equal Citizenship The National Union of Women Suffrage Societies (NUWSS), also known as the ''suffragists'' (not to be confused with the suffragettes) was an organisation founded in 1897 of women's suffrage societies around the United Kingdom. In 1919 it was re ...

promoted a more equitable treatment of divorce law which made it easier for women to seek divorce when it considered the matter in 1923. However, nothing was done at that time to broaden grounds for divorce from adultery alone, to include permanent desertion of one's partner and family, and incurable and severe

mental illness A mental disorder, also referred to as a mental illness or psychiatric disorder, is a behavioral or mental pattern that causes significant distress or impairment of personal functioning. Such features may be persistent, relapsing and remitti ...

A.P. Herbert

A.P. Herbert Sir Alan Patrick Herbert Order of the Companions of Honour, CH (A. P. Herbert, 24 September 1890 – 11 November 1971), was an English humorist, novelist, playwright, law reformist, and in 1935–1950 an Independent (politician), independent Mem ...

(1890–1971) had previously been a lawyer and non-fiction author who specialised in legal matters, before he focused his attention on the question of divorce law reform. His best-selling novel '' Holy Deadlock'' (1934) may have galvanised public opinion on the issue. When a vacancy occurred in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...

upon the resignation of the

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...

Sir

Charles Oman Sir Charles William Chadwick Oman, (12 January 1860 – 23 June 1946) was a British Military history, military historian. His reconstructions of medieval battles from the fragmentary and distorted accounts left by chroniclers were pioneering. ...

, Herbert was elected as an

Independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

MP for the Oxford University constituency in November 1935.

1937

After two fruitless years in which Herbert's

private member's bill A private member's bill is a bill (proposed law) introduced into a legislature by a legislator who is not acting on behalf of the executive branch. The designation "private member's bill" is used in most Westminster system jurisdictions, in whi ...

languished in the ballot box, he sought the assistance of the Conservative Party MP for

Evesham Evesham () is a market town and parish in the Wychavon district of Worcestershire, in the West Midlands region of England. It is located roughly equidistant between Worcester, Cheltenham and Stratford-upon-Avon. It lies within the Vale of Evesha ...

Rupert de la Bère Sir Rupert De la Bère, 1st Baronet, (16 June 1893 – 25 February 1978) was a British businessman, soldier, and Conservative Party politician. He was the 625th Lord Mayor of London. Biography He was the son of Reginald De la Bère from Addle ...

. His draft legislation had been scrupulously prepared and it met with considerable public support and few obstacles. On its second reading, the Matrimonial Causes Bill passed 78-12. Prime Minister

Stanley Baldwin Stanley Baldwin, 1st Earl Baldwin of Bewdley, (3 August 186714 December 1947) was a British Conservative Party politician who dominated the government of the United Kingdom between the world wars, serving as prime minister on three occasions, ...

provided a day for the bill's third reading, which led to its successful passage (190-37). The

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the Bicameralism, upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by Life peer, appointment, Hereditary peer, heredity or Lords Spiritual, official function. Like the ...

proved compliant, and even liberalised the bill, shortening the time for desertion to two years, apart from instances of "hardship" and "depravity". However, it remained otherwise unchanged, with instant divorce for demonstrable adultery of either partner, as well for desertion after two years, or five years if the context was severe

. The law went into effect on 1 January 1938.

References

{{Reflist

Sources

*Geoffrey Best: "The Father of the Permissive Society" ''History Today'': 59(6): June 2009: 40-42. *A.P Herbert: ''Holy Deadlock'': London: Methuen: 1934. *A.P Herbert: ''The Ayes Have It : the story of the Marriage Bill'': London: Methuen: 1937. *Lawrence Stone: ''Roads to Divorce: England 1530-1987'': Oxford: Oxford University Press: 1990. Divorce law in the United Kingdom United Kingdom Acts of Parliament 1937

Origins

A.P. Herbert

1937

See also

References

Sources