family law

The plaintiff sued his ex-wife, the appellant, and requested recognition that a piece of real estate was his private property. The plaintiff noted that he and his wife were in a registered marriage for a certain period. The plaintiff made money as an individual entrepreneur (in Ukraine, this term means an individual that owns his or her business and possesses all the profit). While running his business, he acquired real estate and registered title. The plaintiff invested his own money in this property.

The plaintiff requested that the court grant his divorce from his wife, the respondent. He argued that their married life had ended. After the respondent took the children and his property and left him in 2014, she lived separately from plaintiff, did not have marital relations with him, nor run a joint household with him. The first-instance court granted the divorce and concluded that the family had broken up and continuing the marriage was against everyone’s interests. The Court of Appeal left the decision of the first instance unchanged.

Divorce Act of Saint Lucia, Part 1 Divorce, Section 3 Breakdown of Marriage to be Sole Divorce, Section 4 Proof of Breakdown, Section 5 Restrictions on Petitions for Divorce, Section 9 Opposition to Decree, Section 17 Abolition of Bars

The Domestic Relations Law of 1973 governs various aspects of marriage, divorce, and custody of children—while also providing protections for women’s property rights in marriage.  The statute sets forth the requirements for a valid marriage, procedures to obtain a marriage license, duties and liabilities in marriage, guardianship and adoption of children, and the procedures to obtain a divorce. Chapter 2 outlines the requirements for a valid marriage. §2.2 provides that when men reach 21 years old and women reach 18 years old, they are per se capable of entering into marriage.

The Samoa Family Court Act 2014 ("The Act") establishes the Family Court as a division of the District Court and confers jurisdiction to hear and determine matters under key family laws, including the Infants Ordinance 1961, Family Safety Act 2013,

The Family Violence Act 2024 (“FVA”) was ratified in 2024, replacing the Domestic Violence Act 1996. The FVA adopts a broad definition of “family member” including spouses, cohabitants and children, and expands the concept of domestic violence to include family violence. Family violence is defined as any physical, sexual, emotional, or economic abuse that is threatening, controlling, or coercive and causes a family member to fear for their safety. Additionally, causing a child to be exposed to such behavior is also considered family violence.

The petitioner was a mother who moved with her husband, the respondent, to Canada with their three minor children in 2009. The respondent moved back to Lahore, Pakistan and the children stayed with the petitioner in Canada. The respondent wanted the entire family to move back to Lahore. To this end, he approached the Guardian Court in Lahore and declared himself as the guardian of the person and property of his children. When they came to visit him, he refused to let the children go back to Canada.

Law No. 21,367/2021 amended the Civil Marriage Law to remove homosexual conduct as a ground for fault-based divorce. The reform established that sexual orientation cannot be invoked as a basis for dissolving a marriage. Divorce continues to be available where there is serious misconduct making married life intolerable, applied equally regardless of a spouse’s sexual orientation.

Article 22 modified the French Civil Code, establishing a new civil law for eviction of a violent spouse from the matrimonial home. Specifically, the law amended the French Civil Code to provide that, where a violent spouse puts their spouse or children in danger, the judge may order separate residence, indicating which spouse may continue to live in the matrimonial home. Absent special circumstances, it is the violent spouse who should be ordered to leave the matrimonial home.

The Marriage Equality Act amended New York’s Domestic Relations Law to make civil marriage equally available to couples regardless of gender. It states that a marriage is valid whether the spouses are of the same or different gender, and bars officials from denying a marriage license based on the applicants’ gender identity.