Matrimonial Causes Act 1989 (No. 2 of 1989), 6 January 1989.

PIP: This document contains a summary of major portions of Jamaica's Matrimonial Causes Act of 1989 which replaced the Divorce Act of 1879. The 1989 Act allows divorce after two years of marriage on the sole ground of irretrievable breakdown of marriage, evidenced by the continuous separation of the parties for the year previous to the petition. This separation does not guaranteed that a divorce will be granted; a judge may believe that the marriage can be saved and may refer the parties to a marriage counselor. Separation can be effected by only one party, and the separated couple may continue to reside in the same household. In addition to clarifying the law regarding annulments, the new Act introduced new remedies for cases of domestic violence, including court-ordered injunctions. Dissolution of marriage can take place upon presumption of death after the partner has been presumed dead for seven years. The Act contains sections which lay out the grounds for the jurisdiction of the court and the recognition of foreign decrees as well as sections which change the law relating to domicile. The Act also contains child and spousal support provisions which are effective during a marriage and upon the dissolution or nullity of a marriage.^ieng

Matrimonial Causes Act, 1989 (No. 58 of 1989), 28 December 1989.

PIP: This document contains major provisions of the 1989 Matrimonial Causes Act of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. These provisions cover 1) divorce, nullity, separation petitions, and presumed death of a spouse; 2) spousal and child support arrangements; 3) child custody; and 4) permitted court actions in cases of polygamy.^ieng

Act No. 18.802, of 23 May 1989, [amending the Civil Code and the Commercial Code and Act 16.618].

PIP: In 1989, Chile passed an Act which amended its Civil Code to change the legal status of married women. The amendments repealed the following provisions: 1) that a nondivorced married woman must keep her husband's domicile, 2) that a woman with parental authority cannot remarry unless a court appoints a guardian for the child, 3) that marital authority gives a husband legal rights over a wife's person and property, 4) that a wife need her husband's permission to enter into financial transactions or act as a guardian, 5) that a wife needs a court order or her husband's authorization to administer gifts or inheritances she received under condition that her husband not have administrative power over them, 6) that a wife's adultery results in loss of all control and profit from communal property, 7) that a wife needs her husband's permission to administer an estate or the approval of a judge to continue to administer her late husband's estate if she remarried, 8) that a married woman has diminished legal capacity, and 9) that a husband is responsible for the conduct of his wife. In addition, the Act replaced language stating that a wife owes her husband obedience and a husband owes a wife protection with language stating that each spouse owes each other respect and protection. Wives are given the unrestricted right to work, the right (shared with husbands) to discipline and educate children, the right (shared with husbands) to support after divorce regardless of fault, the right to parental authority, and the right to manage their children's property. Wives no longer have to live wherever their husbands choose. In cases of divorce, a judge will order irrevocable separation of community property and give physical custody of all minor children (boys and girls) to the wife. The position of surviving spouses in regard to inheritance is improved. Real estate brought to a marriage by a wife or received by either spouse as a gift or inheritance is no longer considered community property. Husbands retain the status of head of the marital community and, in most cases, administer community property and the property of their wives and exercise parental authority over children.^ieng

Decree No. 76-84, The Family Code, 31 May 1984.

PIP: This document contains major sections of the 1984 Family Code of Honduras. Title 1 includes general provisions. Title 2 covers the functioning of the family, with Chapter 1 regulating civil marriage, Chapter 2 the capacity to contract marriage (with marriage ages of 18 for men and 16 for women with authorization), Chapter 4 marital rights and obligations, Chapter 5 de facto union, Chapter 6 the economic regime of marriage, and Chapter 7 family patrimony. Title 3 deals with paternity and filiation, with Chapter 1 devoted to paternity, Chapter 3 the investigation and presumption of paternity, and Chapter 5 contesting paternity. The general provisions which apply to adoption are the topic of Chapter 1 of Title 4. The other chapters reprinted from this Title are Chapter 2 on simple adoption, Chapter 3 on full adoption, and Chapter 5 on the conversion of a simple adoption into a full adoption. Title 5 legislates parental authority; Chapter 1 deals with general provisions and Chapter 2 with extinction, suspension, and loss of parental authority. Title 6 defines and protects support of a beneficiary. Title 7 covers the dissolution of marriage (Chapter 1); the nullity of marriage (Chapter 2); separation and divorce (Chapter 3); the effects of annulment, separation, and divorce (Chapter 4); and second and later marriages (Chapter 5).^ieng

Civil Code (Amendment) Act, 1988 (No. 4 of 1988), 21 May 1988.

This Act amends the Civil Code of Saint Lucia to do the following, among other things: 1) allow marriage to be celebrated by giving notice; 2) legalize divorce; 3) allow all children to be legitimated by the subsequent marriage of their parents; 4) remove differences in the treatment of children born within marriage and those born outside of marriage; 5) lower to 18 the age of majority and the age under which consent must be obtained in order to marry. A number of these changes are consolidations of earlier amendments made to the Civil Code.

Decree of 30 August 1988.

This Haitian Decree abolishes the status known as "civil death" whereby a person was convicted of serious crimes and deprived of all legal personality while physically still alive. The Decree also abolishes, as a ground of divorce, the existence of "civil death" on the part of one of the spouses.

Act No. 38 on the dissolution of marriage at the wish of one of the parties, 28 April 1988.

PIP: This document contains major provisions of the 1988 Act of Nicaragua which authorizes the dissolution of marriage at the wish of one of the parties. This process begins when one party files a petition which declares the intention to divorce without giving a reason and sets out plans for custody of dependents, payment of support, and division of community property. The other spouse then has an opportunity to respond to the plans contained in the petition (but not the intention to divorce). Then the court will present a judgement about these matters which will include the reasons on which the judgement was based.^ieng

Matrimonial Proceedings and Property (Amendment) Act, 1988 (No. 13 of 1988), 16 May 1988.

This Act amends the Trinidad and Tobago Matrimonial Proceedings and Property Act, Chapter 45:51, to reduce to one year the minimum time after marriage that a petition for divorce can be presented to the Court.

Decree of 12 December 1983.

This Decree, which came into force on 26 March 1984, makes the following changes in the Civil Code of the Federal District of Mexico: 1) nonmarital life partners have a right to inherit from one another if they have lived together for five years or have common children; 2) such life partners are responsible for the support of each other; 3) marriage may be dissolved on a no fault basis after two years' marriage; 4) the custody of children upon divorce is to be determined on the basis of what is best for the child, without consideration of which spouse is at fault; 5) upon divorce, the wife has the right to support for a period equal to the length of the marriage if her own income is insufficient to support herself and she has not entered into any marital or similar relationship; and 6) upon divorce, the husband has the same right if he is unable to work and his own income is not sufficient to support himself.

Matrimonial Causes Rules, 1986, 30 January 1987.

These Rules are made under Section 4 of the Matrimonial Causes Law, 1976 and contain provisions on applications for leave to present a petition for divorce, documents to accompany the petition, information to be contained in the petition, service of the petition, pleadings subsequent to the petition, directions for trial, security for costs, decrees, and enforcement of orders, among other things. The Rules also stipulate that when "it appears that there is a child of the marriage under the age of sixteen, the record shall show specifically that the question of provision for such child has been considered and dealt with by the Court."