Act reforming the Civil Code, 17 August 1989. [Selected provisions].

PIP: Ecuador's Act reforming the Civil Code, August 17, 1989, covers filiation, marriage, termination of marriage, the status of married women, marital property, marriage contracts, and parent-child relations. Filiation can now be established by being born to a couple living in a non-marital, stable, monogamous, and legally recognized relationship. Marriage is no longer defined as indissoluble and life-long. A marriage cannot be nullified after two years of its celebration or the time when the grounds for nullification were discovered except when the ground is incest or bigamy. There is a 300-day waiting period for remarriage after divorce when the woman does not prove she is not pregnant or her future husband does not certify that he will recognize as his any child to whom she gives birth. Grave injuries or a hostile attitude may individually provide grounds for divorce. Voluntary and unjustified abandonment for more than one year continuously is now grounds for divorce; abandonment lasting more than three years gives either party grounds for divorce. Language providing that a husband must protect his wife and the wife be obedient to her husband is replaced with language providing that marriage is based on the equality of rights and duties of both spouses. Language providing that the husband has a right to have the wife live with and follow him is replaced with language providing that the spouses shall establish their residence by common agreement. Either spouse, rather than just the husband, may now manage the community property; the marriage certificate is to specify which spouse will ordinarily manage the community property. Language providing that children owe more duty and respect to their father than their mother is now sex-neutral. Both parents, rather than just the father, now have the right and the duty to direct the children's education. Provisions of the Code relating to parental authority are amended to make them refer to both parents, rather than just the father.^ieng

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

Criminal Code (Act No. 23 of 1988), 6 October 1988.

PIP: This document contains provisions of the Criminal Code of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines which define and set penalties for 1) rape and other sexual offenses including child abuse, prostitution, and incest; 2) abortion, unless the abortion is necessary to protect the life or physical or mental health of the mother or any existing children of the family, unless there is a substantial risk that the child would be born with severely handicapped, or unless the pregnancy resulted from rape or incest; 3) bigamy and other marriage offenses such as impersonation; 4) infanticide; 5) abandonment of a child under the age of two years; and 6) kidnapping.^ieng

Convention on Consent to Marriage, Minimum Age for Marriage and Registration of Marriages, 25 October 1988.

The Government of Antigua and Barbuda succeeded to this Convention on Consent to Marriage, Minimum Age for Marriage and Registration of Marriages on 25 October 1988.

Decree No. 2668 of 1988 authorizing the celebration of civil marriage before a public notary, 26 December 1988.

This Decree authorizes a civil marriage in Colombia to be celebrated before a public notary. Further provisions set forth the procedures for such a celebration.

Marriage (Amendment) Act 1985 (No. 13 of 1985), 30 October 1985.

This Act amends the Marriage Act to provide for the celebration of Hindu and Islamic marriages in Guyana.

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.

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.

Ato del Avellanal v. Peru, 28 October 1988.

The plaintiff challenged Article 168 of the Peruvian Civil Code, which provides that, when a woman is married, only the husband is entitled to represent matrimonial property before a court. On the basis of this Article, the plaintiff had lost a suit over back rent due from tenants of buildings that she owned. The Human Rights Committee concluded that Article 168 violated Article 3 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) (equal right of men and women to enjoyment of rights guaranteed by the ICCPR; Article 14(1) (equality before courts); and Article 26 (equality before the law and equal protection of the law). It called on the Peruvian Government to remedy these violations.

Decree-Law No. 124-85, 29 November 1985.

This Decree-Law adds to Article 131 of the Civil Code of Guatemala the following language relating to the management of marital property: "Each spouse or cohabitant may dispose freely of property registered in his or her name in public registers, without prejudice to being answerable to the other (spouse or cohabitant) for the disposition of common property."

Decree No. 0999 of 1988 indicating the legal authority for corrections to the registry of civil status and authorizing the change of name before a public notary, 23 May 1988.

Among other things, this Decree authorizes a married woman in Colombia to add or remove from her name the surname of her husband preceded by "de."

Act No. 1183, Civil Code, 23 December 1985.

PIP: This document contains major provisions of Paraguay's 1985 Civil Code. The Code sets the marriage age at 16 for males and 14 for females and forbids marriage between natural and adopted relatives as well as between persons of the same sex. Bigamy is forbidden, as is marriage between a person and someone convicted of attempting or committing homicide against that person's spouse. Legal incompetents may not marry. Underage minors may marry with the permission of their parents or a court. Noted among the rights and duties of a married couple is the stipulation that husbands (or a judge) must give their approval before wives can legally run a business or work outside of the house or perform other specified activities. Valid marriages are dissolved only upon the death of one spouse. Remarriage in Paraguay after divorce abroad is forbidden. Spouses may legally separate after 2 years of married life (married minors must remain together until 2 years past the age of majority). Marital separation may be requested for adultery, attempted homicide by one spouse upon the other, dishonest or immoral conduct, extreme cruelty or abuse, voluntary or malicious abandonment, or the state of habitual intoxication or repeated use of drugs. Marriages can be annulled in specified cases. Marital property is subject to the community property regime, but each spouse may retain control of specified types of personal property. The Code appoints the husband as manager of community property within limits and reserves certain property to the wife. The Code permits premarital agreements about property management, and covers the dissolution and liquidation of the community property regime. The Code also sets provisions governing "de facto" unions; filiation for children born in and outside of wedlock; claims for parental recognition; kinship; and the duty to provide maintenance to spouses, children, and other relatives.^ieng

[Conjugal unions and reproductive strategies in Brazil]. / Uniao dos sexos e estrategias reprodutivas no brasil

PIP: Data from the 1960 and 1970 censuses and from surveys conducted by the Brazilian Center for Analysis and Planning between 1975 and 1977 were used to analyze changing patterns of conjugal unions in Brazil. Consensual unions have increased significantly throughout the country, at the expense of religious unions and often even of legal unions. More recent unions tend to be consensual while older unions are religious. Most of the unions surveyed (88%) were 1st unions; of these 71% were legal unions. The proportion of religious unions has declined over time, dropping from 18.4% among those cohorts united before 1960 to 7.3% among those united after 1970. The decline has been particularly marked in urban areas, where the proportion fell from 14.0% to 2.6%. Questions concerning the relative advantages of the different types of unions reveal that informants of both sexes consider civil marriages to be better because they provide economic and psychological security to families, spouses and children in addition to social legitimacy and legal protection. Financial aspects are considered particularly important for women, while the legality of the union is seen as especially advantageous for men. The absence of legal ties and material insecurity are considered to be the chief advantages of purely religious unions. At the same time, the lack of legal restraints against "switching wives" is seen as the major advantage of consensual union for men. Yet the instability of relations is seen as the main disadvantage of consensual unions. 1/2 of all informants feel that couples should separate if the marriage is not going well. Curiously, those from the more traditional sectors of the country tend to be more pro-separation. Although consensual unions are found at all socioeconomic levels, they predominate among the less affluent. In most regions, women in religious unions tend to have more children on the average, than the rest; those in consensual unions have the fewest. Between 1970 and 1976, the average age at which unions are entered tended to rise. Informants indicated that the best age for women to marry was between 20 and 24 years; for men, 25-29 years. The ages for both sexes are lower in the rural areas. Marriage is seen as a rite of passage into responsible maturity, and women are considered to mature earlier than men. As the age at marriage increases and unions are postponed, fertility can be expected to decrease.^ieng