The Matrimonial Causes Act 1937 ( 1 Edw. 8. & 1 Geo. 6. c. 57) 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 reorganising of the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage, thus dissolving the M ...

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 Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. 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

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...

, its associated

Mothers' Union The Mothers' Union is an international Christian charity that seeks to support families worldwide. In addition to mothers, its membership includes parents, men, widows, singles and grandparents. Its main aim is to support monogamous marriage and f ...

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

Matrimonial Causes Act 1857 The Matrimonial Causes Act 1857 ( 20 & 21 Vict. c. 85) 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, establishi ...

– 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 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 consequences, the concept ...

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

incest Incest ( ) is sexual intercourse, sex between kinship, close relatives, for example a brother, sister, or parent. This typically includes sexual activity between people in consanguinity (blood relations), and sometimes those related by lineag ...

sodomy Sodomy (), also called buggery in British English, principally refers to either anal sex (but occasionally also oral sex) between people, or any Human sexual activity, sexual activity between a human and another animal (Zoophilia, bestiality). I ...

cruelty Cruelty is the intentional infliction of suffering or the 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 involv ...

(roughly equivalent to

domestic violence Domestic violence is violence that occurs in a domestic setting, such as in a marriage Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes r ...

) and other possible reasons. In 1912, a

Royal Commission A royal commission is a major ad-hoc formal public inquiry into a defined issue in some monarchies. They have been held in the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Norway, Malaysia, Mauritius and Saudi Arabia. In republics an equi ...

had recommended further liberalisation (a minority report by Archbishop

Cosmo Gordon Lang William Cosmo Gordon Lang, 1st Baron Lang of Lambeth, (31 October 1864 – 5 December 1945) was a Scottish Anglican prelate who served as Archbishop of York (1908–1928) and Archbishop of Canterbury (1928–1942). His elevation to Archbishop ...

, Sir William Anson and Sir

Lewis Dibdin Sir Lewis Tonna Dibdin (19 July 1852 – 12 June 1938) was an ecclesiastical lawyer and Dean of the Arches. He was born the third son of the Rev. Robert W. Dibdin, of St. Giles's, London and went to St John's College, Cambridge. He trained fo ...

dissented). The

feminist Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideology, ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social gender equality, equality of the sexes. Feminism holds the position that modern soci ...

-allied National Union of Societies for Equal Citizenship 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, a mental health condition, or a psychiatric disability, is a behavioral or mental pattern that causes significant distress or impairment of personal functioning. A mental disorder is ...

A. P. Herbert

A. P. Herbert Sir Alan Patrick Herbert CH (known as A. P. Herbert; 24 September 1890 – 11 November 1971), was an English humorist, novelist, playwright, law reformist, and, from 1935 to 1950, an independent Member of Parliament for Oxford University. Bo ...

(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 ''Holy Deadlock'' is a 1934 satirical novel by the English author A. P. Herbert, which aimed to highlight the perceived inadequacies and absurdities of contemporary divorce law. The book took a particularly lenient view of the need for divorces, ...

'' (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 Bicameralism, 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 ...

upon the resignation of the

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

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 Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...

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 wh ...

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

Evesham Evesham () is a market town and Civil parishes in England, parish in the Wychavon district of Worcestershire, in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands region of England. It is located roughly equidistant between Worcester, England, Worceste ...

Rupert de la Bère Rupert may refer to: * Rupert (name), various people known by the given name or surname "Rupert" Places Canada * Rupert, Quebec, a village * Rupert Bay, a large bay located on the south-east shore of James Bay *Rupert River, Quebec *Rupert's Lan ...

. 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 statesman and Conservative politician who was prominent in the political leadership of the United Kingdom between the world wars. He was prime ministe ...

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 is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...

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 after being given

royal assent Royal assent is the method by which a monarch formally approves an act of the legislature, either directly or through an official acting on the monarch's behalf. In some jurisdictions, royal assent is equivalent to promulgation, while in othe ...

on 30 July 1937.

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