Discuss about the Family Law for Human Rights of Women and Children.
1. In the present case, Karen and Leonardo who through a dating programme married each other after a whirlwind romance. They exchange marriage vows in church in the presence a pastor. Prior to the said marriage, Karen had made it clear to Leonardo that she has no interest in sexual intercourse and wishes to marry only for companionship. Leonardo agreed to the same but eventually changed his mind however Karen refused to engage in sexual intercourse with Leonardo. Thus, Leonardo met another woman and wishes to complete his family with her and seeks advice on ending marriage with Karen. Thus, the issue in the said case is whether the marriage between Karen and Leonardo valid and if so what options does Leonardo have ending the said marriage.
Marriages in Australia are governed under two categories which are civil marriages and Muslim marriages. The civil marriages in Singapore are governed by the Registry of Marriage (ROM) according to the laws of Women Charter in Singapore. The civil marriages are conducted between couples when both the parties are non-Muslim (Oswin, 2010). The process of solemnizing a civil marriage in Singapore is very easy and the couple requires registering a date at the Registry of Marriage (ROM) or its website. The chosen date should be at least 21 days before the date of registration. A license is only given after the couple is physically available to declare the following details about their marriage:-
The law in Singapore recognizes the concept of voidable marriages. A voidable marriage is one in which continues to remain valid despite the existence of a flaw in its validity until one of the party in the said marriage elects to terminate it. Section 106 of the Women Charter in Singapore lists the marriages which can be voidable at the option of one of the party to the marriage. Section 106(b) of the Women Charter states that a marriage in Singapore which has not been consummated due to one of the parties unwillingness to do the same can be a valid ground for electing the marriage to be voidable by the other party (Oswin, 2010). In order to prove that a said marriage is voidable, one party intending the same has to file a Writ of Nullity and prove that one of the reasons specified in section 106 of the Women’s Charter exists. However, the Court can refuse to pass the Judgment of nullity making the marriage voidable if the Court believes that the plaintiff was aware of the existence of one of the reasons mentioned under section 106 of the Women Charter like intention to not consummate the marriage or pregnancy of defendant and still went ahead with the said marriage. Thus, in the said case, the only choice the plaintiff has is to file for a divorce (Tan, 2014). In Singapore, divorce is not granted before three years since the date of marriage except exceptional cruelty or hardship. The spouse who initiates the said divorce has to prove the existence of such exceptional hardships. Thus, an early divorce is granted in Singapore for reasons like mental distress, physical and mental assault, unusually adultery cruel in nature, Adultery-induced pregnancy or homosexual tendencies in spouse. The rules of divorce in Singapore are given under Chapter 1 section 91 to section 95 in the Women’s Charter in Singapore (Leong, 2010).
Thus, in the said case Leonardo married Karen knowing the fact that she is not interested in consummating the said marriage and wishes to marry just for companionship. In Singapore, as seen above under section 106 of the Women Charter a marriage can be voidable at the option of one of the party to marriage if they prove the existence of one reason stated under section 106 of the Women Charter (DUARA, 2010). The Women Charter states that a marriage which is not consummate due to unwillingness of one spouse can be elected as voidable by the other spouse. However, the process has to be initiated by filing a writ for the same in the Court. However, evidence of the marriage not being consummated has to be proved. However, if the defendant in the said case proves that the plaintiff has prior knowledge of existence of the intention of the defendant to not consummate the marriage, Court may refuse to grant the order of nullity (Kum, 2011).
Thus, in the said case, Court will refuse to grant Leonardo with a certificate of nullity to make the said marriage voidable on the ground of unwillingness on part of Karen to consummate their marriage as he aware of the said prior to his marriage (Kim, 2010).
Divorce proceedings are the next option for Leonardo. However, under the law in Singapore according to section 93 of the Women Charter married couples in Singapore can’t file for divorce before 3 years from the date of their marriage. However, an early divorce is granted in case of exceptional cruelty and hardship. Thus, Leonardo in the said case has to prove that to exceptional hardship in order to obtain a divorce within 3 years of marriage. Thus, Leonardo in the said case will have to prove that he suffers from mental stress due to Karen’s unwillingness to consummate their marriage. The term mental stress has a very broad meaning and can include a number of things which includes stress from spouse’s unwillingness to involve in sexual intercourse. Thus, Leonardo can apply for early divorce by filing for a writ of divorce in the appropriate court in Singapore stating the ground on mental stress (Yeen, 2015).
However, if Leonardo discovers that Karen is pregnant with a child of another man who she is secretly seeing, the ground of divorce would change. In the said case, the ground for divorce would be adultery induced pregnancy. Under the divorce law in Singapore, early divorce is granted within 3 years of marriage on the grounds of adultery or cruel adultery. Deciding whether an event falls under the preview of mental stress is on the Courts discretion, however adultery is a sure ground under which divorce is granted (Leong, 2011). Additionally, even divorce proceedings after 3 years have a valid ground of divorce which is adultery.
In the said case, Karen refuses to engage in sexual intercourse with her husband Leonardo but started secretly seeing another man. Moreover Karen got pregnant with the child of another man who makes Leonardo eligible to be granted divorce from Karen on the grounds of adultery and adultery induced pregnancy (Lee, 2011).
Thus, in the said case Leonardo can file for a divorce on the grounds of mental stress he suffered due to Karen’s unwillingness to consummate their marriage, however, on discovering about her pregnancy, he can file for a divorce on the grounds of cruel adultery or adultery induced pregnancy.
2. In the present case, Fredrick and Winnie were married for 12 long years. In the recent times, Fredrick and Winnie were quarrelling a lot leading to Fredrick staying out late and returning home drunk. Eventually, Winnie was tired of Fredrick and started dating her neighbor named Barry. When Fredrick found out about his wife’s Winnie’s affair, he kept quite hoping it to be a passing affair and the Winnie would eventually resume loving him. However, nothing as Fredrick hoped happened and Winnie continued to find faults in Fredrick to the extent of comparing his sexual abilities with Barry, As Fredrick could not take it any longer, he asks for advice on filing for a divorce (Yeoh, Leng & Dung, 2013).
The family law in Singapore recognizes two types of marriages which is civil marriage and Muslim marriage. Divorce proceedings for civil marriages are conducted in the Family Courts in Singapore. Divorce can be obtained by a couple in Singapore Family Courts if both the individuals in the said marriage are Singapore citizens, are domiciled or have lived in Singapore for at least 3 years (Jones, 2014).
The rules and regulations under the Women Charter regulate and govern divorce proceedings in Singapore. The Women Charter is an Act passed by the Singapore Parliament in the year 1961. The said Act was passed to protect and safeguard the rights of women in Singapore and ensure equality to women in relationships like marriage and divorces (Soon, 2013). Additionally, the Act provides for rights and obligations of husband and wives in relation to marriage, divorce and maintenance.
In case a marriage is not working well, couples opt for divorce which is very common in the recent times. Under the Women Charter in Singapore, couples staying in Singapore at the time of initiation of divorce proceedings can apply for divorce in Singapore or if the said couple has resided in Singapore immediately three years before the initiation of the divorce proceedings. The Women Charter under section 93 also states certain other conditions on couples divorcing in Singapore (Sun, Chong & Lim, 2014). This condition states that a couple who is married in Singapore under the civil marriage laws cannot initiate divorce proceedings three years prior to their date of marriage. Moreover, divorce is granted only when a marriage between two parties is broken down irretrievably which infers that it is impossible to save the said marriage. However, if one of the spouses establishes exceptional cruelty divorce is granted before or within 3 years of marriage. This is called early divorce. The spouse who initiates a divorce proceeding is called plaintiff and the other spouse who has to defend the said proceeding is called the defendant. Thus, the plaintiff has to establish one of the following grounds which are listed in section 93 of the Women Charter to validly justify initiating divorce proceedings in Singapore:
For initiating or commencing divorce proceedings in Singapore, one can file a writ of divorce in the family court in Singapore in person or by hiring a professional lawyer to do the same.
To prove adultery under section 95(3)(a) of the Women’s Charter, the plaintiff has to prove two elements. These two elements are the fact that adultery has taken place and it is intolerable and impossible to love with the defendant any more. The standard of proof in adultery cases is very high and evidence in the form of confession, evidence by private investigator or detective and pregnancy or birth of child due to adulterous relationship can be used to establish adultery. In case, the plaintiff fails to gather evidence which establish adulterous relationship of their partner, divorce can be initiated on the grounds of unreasonable behavior (Yeen, 2015).
Additionally, the Women Charter states that after the plaintiff has had the knowledge of their spouse involvement in adulterous relationship and continues to live with him/her for a period of six months, the plaintiff losses its chance to be granted divorce based on the ground of adultery.
Therefore, in the said case, Fredrick and Winnie were married for more than three years which makes them eligible to apply for initiating divorce proceedings in Singapore. In the said case, Fredrick and Winnie were fighting regularly after 12 years of marriage stay out late in the night and returning drunk (Jones, 2014). Winnie being tired of the said situation started having an affair with their neighbor Barry. When Fredrick discovered about his wife’s affair, he kept quiet for a while hoping the same to be a passing affair and that Winnie would love him back. However, Winnie started can in the said case apply for a writ of divorce in the Singapore Family Court on the grounds of adultery and impossible to live with partner. Fredrick clearly justifies the two elements which are required to be proved in adultery that is presence of adulterous relationship and impossible to live with partner. However, he has to establish the adulterous relationship of his wife Winnie and Barry and state that he tried to live with her but she made it impossible by her comments.
Additionally, Fredrik will lose his chance to be eligible to receive divorce on ground of adultery if he stays with Winnie for 6 months after discovering about her affair with Barry (Lee, 2011).
Thus, in the said case, assuming Fredrick has not lived with Winnie for 6 months after discovering about her affair can file for a divorce in Singapore on the ground of adultery as states in section 95(3)(a) of the Women’s Charter.
Reference List
DUARA, J. G. (2010). Seeking Gender Equality in the Family Sphere: A Comparative Legal History of Women’s Inheritance Rights in India, Hong Kong and Singapore (Doctoral dissertation).
Jones, C. P. (2014). human rights of women and children under international law: Will the Child Abduction Treaty Become More” Asian”? A First Look at the Efforts of Singapore and Japan to Implement the Hague Convention. Denv. J. Int’l L. & Pol’y, 42, 287-479.
Kim, L. W. (2010). Law in Singapore on Rights and Responsibilities in Marital Agreements, The. Sydney L. Rev., 32, 257.
Kum, L. W. (2011). Singapore Women’s Charter: 50 Questions. Institute of Southeast Asian Studies.
Lee, E. (2011). How Divorcees View the Women’s Charter. Singapore Women’s Charter: Roles, Responsibilities, and Rights in Marriage, 113.
Leong, W. K. (2010). Law in Singapore on Rights and Responsibilities in Marital Agreements, The. Sing. J. Legal Stud., 107.
Leong, W. K. (2011). The Next Fifty Years of the Women’s Charter-Ripples of Change. Singapore Journal of Legal Studies, 152-177.
Oswin, N. (2010). Sexual tensions in modernizing Singapore: the postcolonial and the intimate. Environment and Planning D: Society and Space, 28(1), 128-141.
Oswin, N. (2010). The modern model family at home in Singapore: A queer geography. Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers, 35(2), 256-268.
Soon, C. (2013, May). The changing face of the women’s movement in Singapore: From contention, conciliation to contestation?. In Conference for E-Democracy and Open Governement (p. 423).
Sun, S. H. L., Ee Chong, W., & Lim, S. H. (2014). Gender and divorce in contemporary Singapore. Journal of Comparative Family Studies, 127-143.
Tan, N. (2014). Ethnic quotas and unintended effects on women’s political representation in Singapore. International Political Science Review, 35(1), 27-40.
Teo, Y. (2010). Shaping the Singapore family, producing the state and society. Economy and Society, 39(3), 337-359.
Weiss, M. L. (2010). Diversity, Rights, and Rigidity in Singapore. NCJ Int’l L. & Com. Reg., 36, 625.
Yeen, J. M. C. (2015). Proposed Improvements to the Division of Parties’ Beneficial Interests beyond the Women’s Charter. SAcLJ, 27, 230.
Yeoh, B. S., Leng, C. H., & Dung, V. T. K. (2013). Commercially arranged marriage and the negotiation of citizenship rights among Vietnamese marriage migrants in multiracial Singapore. Asian Ethnicity, 14(2), 139-156.
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