Revision (Death and the Law) Marriage in the past Definition Requirements for a valid marriage Bars to marriage Void marriage Voidable marriage Divorce in the past and today Financial and childcare arrangements

How was suicide treated before 1961? What is the meaning of the term

ignominious burial?

Pro life or pro choice? Choose an argument that best describes

your attitude towards abortion and write a short argument defending your view

Since life begins at conception, abortion is akin to murder as it is the act of taking human life. Abortion is in direct defiance of the commonly accepted idea of the sanctity of human life

No civilized society permits one human to intentionally harm or take the life of another human without punishment, and abortion is no different.

Adoption is a viable alternative to abortion and accomplishes the same result.

Nearly all abortions take place in the first trimester, when a fetus cannot exist independent of the mother. As it is attached by the placenta and umbilical cord, its health is dependent on her health, and cannot be regarded as a separate entity as it cannot exist outside her womb.

Translate the following: Both euthanasia and assisted suicide are

illegal under English law. Depending on the circumstances, euthanasia is regarded as either manslaughter or murder and is punishable by law with a maximum penalty of up to life imprisonment. 

Assisted suicide is illegal under the terms of the Suicide Act (1961) and is punishable by up to 14 years' imprisonment. Attempting to commit suicide is not a criminal act in itself. 

___________________ – where a person is killed against their expressed wishes

____________________ is the act of deliberately assisting or encouraging another person who commits, or attempts to commit, suicide.

___________________ – where a person deliberately intervenes to end someone’s life, for example, by injecting them with sedatives  

___________________ – where a person causes death by withholding or withdrawing treatment that is necessary to maintain life

____________________ - where a person makes a conscious decision to die and asks for help to do this

_____________________ – where a person is unable to give their consent

What is the significance of Ruth Ellis case? How did Lord Kennet organise his

arguments against the death penalty? What are main arguments of retentionists?

Although the global trend towards abolition remained strong, 2012 saw a disappointing resumption of executions in some countries. The total number of confirmed executions was 682, two more than in 2011. Executions were recorded in 21 countries, the same number as 2011. The number of countries where death sentences were imposed fell from 63 to 58.

Historically the English Common Law required nothing for the celebration of a marriage beyond the declared agreement of the parties

A marriage that takes legal effect without licence or ceremony; “marriage by habit and repute”

traces its roots to the English ecclesiastical courts, which until 1753 recognized a kind of informal marriage known as sponsalia per verba de praesenti, which was entered into without ceremony

Authorized in 11 states in the US as the full equivalent of a ceremonial marriage

Also: consensual marriage, informal marriage

A marriage must be celebrated in the presence of a clergyman of the Church of England, or (since 1836) of a Registrar of Marriages, or (since 1898) of an ‘authorized person’

Two persons must be present as witnesses

a voluntary union for life of one man and one woman to the exclusion of all others

a contract based upon a voluntary private agreement by a man and a woman to become husband and wife

act or state of being joined as husband and wife

Monogamous (not necessarily one man and one woman – same-sex marriage made legal in 2002 in the Netherlands)

For life (the intention of both parties must be a union for life, regardless of the availability of divorce)

Voluntary (as any other contract, it must be entered into voluntarily, without coercion)

1) parties legally capable of contracting to marry

2) mutual consent or agreement 3) an actual contract in the form

prescribed by law

Youth (the age of consent; now 18, before 1969 it was 21)

Consanguinity (close blood relation)

If either party is under sixteen If parties are related by blood: 1. Ascendants and descendants, e.g.

parent and child, grandparent and grandchild

2.Brother and sister, uncle and niece, nephew and aunt

3. Persons who, by reason of the previous marriage of one of them, are related – changed by the Marriage Act of 1986

A man may marry his stepmother, or a woman her stepfather, provided that the younger person is aged at least 21 and has not at any time before reaching the age of 18 lived as a child of the family of the older person

Marriage between in-laws also permitted

A marriage celebrated between two persons, one of whom is at the time validly married, is void

The person who knowingly enters into such a marriage is guilty of bigamy

Marriages between parties who are not male and female

A polygamous marriage entered into outside England and Wales, if either party was at the time domiciled in England and Wales

Valid initially, but may be set aside because of:

Lack of due consent Duress (coercion) Mistake as to identity Mental incapacity (unsound mind)

Like any other contract, marriage can be avoided, varied or terminated in certain circumstances. But marriage is not like other contracts known to the law: the rules governing marriage are not determined by the contracting parties, but by the law of the land.

Marriage is a contract, but it is not like Marriage is a contract, but it is not like other contracts because:other contracts because:

The parties cannot agree on the rules The parties cannot agree on the rules governing marriagegoverning marriage

The parties cannot agree what is to be The parties cannot agree what is to be regarded as a breach of contract (because regarded as a breach of contract (because it must be for life), nor what compensation it must be for life), nor what compensation should be paid in case of such a breach (a should be paid in case of such a breach (a different type of contract regulates this: different type of contract regulates this: prenuptial agreement)prenuptial agreement)

Ecclesiastical courts – crkveni sudoviEcclesiastical courts – crkveni sudovi Registrar – matičarRegistrar – matičar Coercion (duress) – prisila, prinudaCoercion (duress) – prisila, prinuda Consent – pristanak, privolaConsent – pristanak, privola Bars to marriage – zapreke brakuBars to marriage – zapreke braku Consanguinity – krvno srodstvoConsanguinity – krvno srodstvo Dissolution of marriage – razvrgnuće Dissolution of marriage – razvrgnuće

brakabraka

Valid marriage – važeći brakValid marriage – važeći brak Void marriage – ništavan brakVoid marriage – ništavan brak Voidable marriage – poništiv (pobojan) Voidable marriage – poništiv (pobojan)

brakbrak Breach of contract – raskid ugovoraBreach of contract – raskid ugovora Prenuptial agreement – predbračni Prenuptial agreement – predbračni

ugovorugovor

Complete the following sentences:Complete the following sentences: A mariage entered into under duress is A mariage entered into under duress is

________________.________________. Bars to marriage are youth and Bars to marriage are youth and

________________.________________. A valid English marriage must be A valid English marriage must be

monogamous, for life and _____________.monogamous, for life and _____________.

The legal termination of marriage Dissolution of marriage Under English law, the only basis for divorce

is the irretrievable breakdown of marriage The official request to a court to end a

marriage is called divorce petition

Until 1969, most states required grounds for divorce – the guilty party and the innocent party

In England, divorce would be granted only to the innocent party (petitioner) who could prove that the other party (respondent) committed a matrimonial offence

Largely based on the church (ecclesiastical) law

Adultery Intolerable Cruelty Desertion

Both sides deliberately agreed that the wrongful conduct would be claimed – even untruthfully

Perjury – lying under oath

Available since 1969 Pioneered in the US by the State of

California with the passage of the Family Law Act of 1969

The Act signed by Governor R. Reagan on September 4, 1969 and became valid on January 1, 1970

Abolished the old common law for divorce

Less specific reasons, such as incompatibility or irreconcilable differences

The court decides how to divide communal property and who gets custody of the children

If one of the spouses is financially dependent on the other, the court will usually order the other one to pay alimony (AmE) or maintenance (BrE)

1. Dissolving the marriage – the formal legal process by which the marriage is ended

2. Financial arrangements – the process of dividing up the marital assets and agreeing on maintenance

3. Childcare arrangements – the process of deciding who the children of the marriage will live with (residency) and how much contact the non-resident parent will have

Petition for divorce Acknowledgement of service Obtain Decree Nisi Obtain Decree Absolute (after six weeks)

Apply for Ancillary Relief Financial disclosure Negotiation Obtain financial court order

Agreement Application for residence and/or contact Investigation Residency court order

In the UK, 40 % of marriages end in divorce In the USA almost 50 % Croatia – current statistics show that every

fifth marriages ends in divorce

Dissolution of marriage – razvrgnuće braka To file a divorce petition – podnijeti zahtjev

za razvod braka Petitioner – tužitelj u brakorazvodnoj parnici Decree of divorce – rješenje o rastavi braka No fault divorce, uncontested divorce –

sporazumni razvod braka

Decree Nisi – privremeno rješenje o razvodu braka

Decree Absolute – pravomoćna presuda o razvodu braka

Ancillary relief – financijska pomoć kod razvoda

Financial disclosure – iznošenje podataka o financijama

Fill in the blanks with the most appropriate word(s) from the list below:

grounds, separation, irretrievably, cohabitation, circumstances, respondent, family, relief

An action for _________________ or divorce begins by filing a signed and sworn statement with the court indicating that sufficient grounds for ___________ from marriage exist. After the complaint is filed, it is served on the _______________, who has time to file an answer to the complaint. The _____________ court can issue a decree for divorce under a number of _________________. The court will grant a divorce when the marriage is _____________ broken. The parties can also get a divorce when there is no reasonable likelihood that _________________ will resume and the court is satisfied it would not be harsh or contrary to the public interest to grant the divorce on the ____________ requested.

An action for SEPARATION or divorce begins by filing a signed and sworn statement with the court indicating that sufficient grounds for RELIEF from marriage exist. After the complaint is filed, it is served on the RESPONDENT, who has time to file an answer to the complaint. The FAMILY court can issue a decree for divorce under a number of CIRCUMSTANCES. The court will grant a divorce when the marriage is IRRETRIEVABLY broken. The parties can also get a divorce when there is no reasonable likelihood that COHABITATION will resume and the court is satisfied it would not be harsh or contrary to the public interest to grant the divorce on the GROUNDS requested.