Jersey Law 6/1953
SEPARATION AND MAINTENANCE ORDERS (JERSEY) LAW, 1953.
____________
1 Definitions
2 Power
of Court to Make Order on Application of Wife
3 Power
of Court to Make Order on Application of Husband
4 Limitations
on Powers of Court
5 Power
of Court to Refuse Order in Cases More Fit for the Royal Court
6 Power
of Court to Order Interim Payments Where Application is Adjourned
7 Access
to Children
8 Power
of Court to Alter, Vary or Discharge Order, or to Remit Payments
9 Continuance
of Payments for Maintenance of Children in Certain Cases
10 Appeals
11 Proceedings
for the Recovery of Sums Due
12 Order
Revoked Ipso Facto by Continued Residence or Resumption of Cohabitation and
Suspended During Periods of Residence
13 Liability
of Husband in Respect of Wife’s Acts
14 Consequential
Amendments
15 Short
Title and Commencement
A LAW to
empower the Petty Debts Court to make orders with respect to the separation of
married persons, the legal custody of children of the marriage and the
maintenance of the wife and children, and for other purposes in connexion therewith, sanctioned by Order of Her Majesty in
Council of the
1st day of APRIL, 1953.
(Registered on the 25th day of April, 1953).
____________
STATES OF JERSEY.
____________
The 10th day of
February, 1953.
____________
THE STATES, subject to the sanction of
Her Most Excellent Majesty in Council, have adopted the following Law: -
ARTICLE 1
DEFINITIONS
In this Law unless the context otherwise requires –
“the court” means the court known as the “Cour pour le recouvrement de menues dettes” or the
“Petty Debts Court” constituted in pursuance of the “Loi sur la Cour
pour le recouvrement de menues
dettes” confirmed by Order of Her Majesty in
Council of the 9th day of May, 1891;
“habitual drunkard” means a person who habitually and
intemperately drinks intoxicating liquor, or habitually takes or uses,
otherwise than in accordance with medical advice, opium or any other dangerous
drug;
“the Royal Court” means the Matrimonial Causes Division
of the Royal Court.
ARTICLE 2
POWER OF COURT TO MAKE ORDER ON APPLICATION
OF WIFE
Where the husband of a married woman –
(a) is a habitual drunkard; or
(b) has been convicted of an
aggravated assault (“assaut grave et criminel”) upon her; or
(c) has deserted her; or
(d) has been guilty of persistent
cruelty to her or her children, or of continued wilful
neglect to provide reasonable maintenance for her or her children whom he is
legally liable to maintain; or
(e) while suffering from a
venereal disease and knowing that he was so suffering, has insisted on having
sexual intercourse with her; or
(f) has compelled her to
submit herself to prostitution, or has, in the opinion of the court, been
guilty of such conduct as was likely to result, and has resulted, in her
submitting herself to prosititution; or
(g) has been guilty of adultery;
she shall be entitled to apply to the court for an order under this
Article and, upon such application, the Court may make an order or orders
containing all or any of the following provisions –
(i) a
provision that the applicant be no longer bound to cohabit with her husband;
(ii) a
provision that the legal custody of any children of the marriage between the
applicant and her husband, while under the age of sixteen years, be committed
to the applicant;
(iii) a
provision that the husband shall pay to the applicant personally, or to an
officer of the court or third person on her behalf, such weekly sum (not
exceeding such amount as the States shall by regulations prescribe) for the
maintenance of herself and of each such child until the child attains the age
of sixteen years as the court shall, having regard to the means of both the
husband and the wife, consider reasonable;
(iv) a
provision for the payment by the applicant or the husband or both of them, of
such costs, including “frais non-repetables”, as the court shall consider reasonable.
ARTICLE 3
POWER OF COURT TO MAKE ORDER ON APPLICATION
OF HUSBAND
Where the wife of a married man –
(a) is a habitual drunkard; or
(b) has been guilty of persistent
cruelty to his children; or
(c) has been guilty of adultery;
he shall be entitled to apply to the court for an order under this
Article and, upon such application, the court may make an order or orders
containing all or any of the following provisions –
(i) a
provision that the applicant be no longer bound to cohabit with his wife;
(ii) a
provision for the legal custody of any children of the marriage;
(iii) a
provision that the applicant shall pay to the wife personally, or to an officer
of the court or third person on her behalf, such weekly sum (not exceeding such
amount as the States shall by regulations prescribe) for the maintenance of
herself as the court shall, having regard to the means of both the husband and
wife, consider reasonable;
(iv) a
provision for the payment by the applicant or the wife, or both of them, of
such costs, including “frais non-repetables”, as the court shall consider reasonable.
ARTICLE 4
LIMITATIONS ON POWERS OF COURT
(1) On
any application by a wife or a husband for an order under Article 2 or Article
3 of this Law on the ground that the other party to the marriage has been
guilty of adultery, the court shall not make an order unless it is satisfied
that the applicant has not condoned or connived at, or by her or his wilful neglect or misconduct conduced to, the adultery, and
that the application is not made or prosecuted in collusion with the other
party to the marriage or any person with whom it is alleged that the adultery
has been committed.
(2) No
order under Article 2 of this Law shall be made on the application of a wife,
if it is proved that she has been guilty of adultery, unless the husband has
condoned or connived at, or by his wilful neglect or
conduct has conduced to, the adultery.
ARTICLE 5
POWER OF COURT TO REFUSE ORDER IN CASES
MORE FIT FOR THE ROYAL COURT
If, on an application for an order under Article 2 or Article 3 of
this Law, the court considers that the matters in question between the parties
would be more conveniently dealt with by the Royal Court, the court may refuse
to make an order, and, in any such case, no appeal shall lie from the decision
of the court:
Provided that the Royal Court shall have power, in any proceeding
in that Court relating to or comprising the same subject matter as the
application so refused as aforesaid, or any part thereof, to direct the court
to rehear and determine the same.
ARTICLE 6
POWER OF COURT TO ORDER INTERIM PAYMENTS
WHERE APPLICATION IS ADJOURNED
Where, on the hearing of an application for an order under Article
2 or Article 3 of this Law, the application is adjourned for any period
exceeding one week, the court may order that the husband shall pay to the wife
personally, or to any officer of the court or third person on her behalf, a
weekly sum (not exceeding such an amount as might be ordered to be paid under a
final order) for the maintenance of the wife and any children in her custody
until the final determination of the case:
Provided that the order directing such payment shall not remain in
operation for more than three months from the date on which it is made.
ARTICLE 7
ACCESS TO CHILDREN
Where provision is made by an order under Article 2 or Article 3 of
this Law for the custody of any children of the marriage, the order may make
such provision as the court thinks fit for access to those children by the wife
or the husband, as the case may be.
ARTICLE 8
POWER OF COURT TO ALTER, VARY OR DISCHARGE
ORDER, OR TO REMIT PAYMENTS
(1) Where
an order under Article 2 or 3 of this Law has been made, then, on the
application either of the husband or of the wife, the court may, on cause being
shown upon fresh evidence to the satisfaction of the court at any time, alter,
vary or discharge any such order, and may, on any such application, from time
to time increase or diminish the amount of any weekly sum ordered to be paid,
so, however, that the same does not in any case exceed the maximum amount which
the court might have ordered to be paid on the making of the original order:
Provided that fresh evidence shall not be required as a condition
of the exercise of the power of the court to increase or diminish the amount of
any weekly sum ordered to be paid.
(2) If
a wife on whose application an order under Article 2 of this Law has been made
commits an act of adultery, such order shall upon proof thereof be discharged:
Provided that the court may, if it thinks fit –
(a) refuse to discharge the order
if, in the opinion of the court, such act of adultery as aforesaid was conduced
to by the failure of the husband to make such payments as in the opinion of the
court he was liable to make under the order; and
(b) in the event of the order
being discharged, make a new order that the legal custody of the children of
the marriage shall continue to be committed to the wife and that the husband
shall pay to the wife personally, or to any officer of the court or third
person on her behalf, a weekly sum not exceeding thirty shillings for the
maintenance of each such child until the child attains the age of sixteen years
and, in making such an order, the court shall have regard primarily to the
interests of the children.
(3) On
any application for the alteration, variation or discharge of an order made
under Article 2 or Article 3 of this Law, or on any proceedings for the
recovery of a sum due under such an order, the court may remit the payment of
any such sum or of any part thereof.
ARTICLE 9
CONTINUANCE OF PAYMENTS FOR MAINTENANCE OF
CHILDREN IN CERTAIN CASES
(1) The
power of the court to vary an order made under Article 2 of this Law shall,
notwithstanding anything in that Article, include power to vary the order in
accordance with the following provisions of this Article.
(2) If,
upon the application of the wife, it appears to the court that a child for
whose maintenance provision is made by the order is or will be engaged in a
course of education or training after attaining the age of sixteen years and
that it is expedient for that purpose that the payments required by the order
should continue, the court may by order direct that those payments shall
continue for such period after the child attains that age, not exceeding two
years from the date of the order, as may be specified in the order.
(3) The
period specified in the order made under the foregoing provisions of this
Article may from time to time be extended by a subsequent order made
thereunder, but shall not be extended beyond the date on which the child
attains the age of twenty-one years.
ARTICLE 10
APPEALS
(1) Save
as is provided by Article 5 of this Law, an appeal from any order made under
this Law or the refusal to make any such order shall lie to the Royal Court.
(2) The
power to make rules of court under the Royal Court (Jersey) Law, 1948, shall include a power to make rules regulating
practice and procedure in appeals under this Article.
ARTICLE 11
PROCEEDINGS FOR THE RECOVERY OF SUMS DUE
Notwithstanding any enactment or rule of law to the contrary,
proceedings for the recovery of any sum payable by virtue of an order made
under this Law shall be within the competence of the court.
ARTICLE 12
ORDER REVOKED IPSO FACTO BY CONTINUED
RESIDENCE OR RESUMPTION OF COHABITATION AND SUSPENDED DURING PERIODS OF
RESIDENCE
(1) No
order made under this Law shall be enforceable and no liability shall accrue
thereunder whilst the wife with respect to whom the order was made resides with
her husband, and any such order shall cease to have effect if for a period of
three months after it is made the wife continues to reside with her husband.
(2) Where
a wife with respect to whom an order under this Law has been made resumes
cohabitation with her husband after living apart from him the order shall cease
to have effect on the resumption of such cohabitation.
ARTICLE 13
LIABILITY OF HUSBAND IN RESPECT OF
WIFE’S ACTS
So long as a separation under an order made under this Law
subsists, the husband shall not be liable in respect of any engagement or
agreement into which the wife may enter after the separation begins or for any
wrongful act or omission by her or for any costs which she may incur as
plaintiff or defendant:
Provided that where the court has ordered the husband to pay any
sum for the maintenance of the wife or of any children of the marriage, and the
husband has not duly paid such sum, he shall be liable for necessaries supplied
for the use of the wife or of any such children.
ARTICLE 14
CONSEQUENTIAL AMENDMENTS
Article 13 of the Matrimonial Causes (Jersey) Law, 1949, shall be amended as follows –
(a) in paragraph (1) thereof,
immediately after the words “judicial separation” there shall be
inserted the words “or an order under the Separation and Maintenance
Orders (Jersey) Law, 1953,”;
(b) in paragraph (2) thereof,
immediately after the words “judicial separation” there shall be
inserted the words “or the said order”; and
(c) in paragraph (3) thereof,
immediately after the words “judicial separation” there shall be
inserted the words “or an order under the said Law having the effect of
such a decree”, and immediately after the word “decree”,
where that word lastly occurs, there shall be inserted the words “or
order”.
ARTICLE 15
SHORT TITLE AND COMMENCEMENT
(1) This
Law may be cited as the Separation and Maintenance Orders (Jersey) Law, 1953.
(2) This
Law shall come into force on such day as the States may by Act appoint.
To be printed, published and posted.
F. DE L. BOIS,
Greffier of the States.