The Matrimonial Causes (Property And Maintenance) Act, 1958
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-2230.1959.tb00510.x |
| Date | 01 January 1959 |
| Author | O. K.‐F |
| Published date | 01 January 1959 |
50
THE MODERN LAW REVIEW
Vor..
22
acting under the children’s committee.22 Whether in a given case
it
is preferable to entrust this important function to the probation
officer
or
to
the children’s officer may be
a
very delicate question
indeed. The views of social workers on these matters are perhaps
not always unanimous.
Orders made under section
5
or
6
can be varied
or
discharged
by the court at any time. When a child is under supervision,
a
custody order can still be varied under section
26
of the
1950
Act,
but only
at
the instance of the court itself.
This new Act must be welcomed as a step in the right direction.
One wonders how much water will have to flow under the bridges
until
it
is laid down that the welfare of the children should also
be a decisive factor in determining whether a marriage should be
dissolved.
0.
KAHN-FREUND.
THE
MATRIMONIAL
CAUSES
(PROPERTY
AND
MAINTENANCE) ACT,
1958
THE
Act is intended
to
give effect to some of the minor Recom-
mendations of the Royal Commission on Marriage and Divorce.
They are
“
minor
”
if
compared with the great problems of family
law, such as the dissolution of marriage and the responsibility
for
the custody and education of children. But each of these small
reforms will appear as anything but unimportant to those whom
they affect in a practical situation. What is regrettable is the
inveterate habit
of
dealing with these problems piecemeal. Still
-half a loaf is better than no bread.
The four Recommendations of the Royal Commission which the
Act seeks to translate into law refer to the following matters:
(i) The time at which the High Court may order one spouse
to
make financial provision for the other after a divorce, nullity
or
separation decree.l This is dealt with in section
1
of and in
the Schedule to the Act.
(ii) Measures to be taken by the High Court to avoid disposi-
tions made by one spouse
to
defeat the other spouse’s claim to
maintenance
or
other financial relief.2 This is dealt with in section
2,
and in section
5
(1)
and
(2)
of the Act.
(iii) The power of the court
to
order provision to be made for
a former spouse out of the estate of her
or
his former husband
or
wife,
i.e.,
an extension to a former spouse of the principles of the
Inheritance (Family Provision) Act,
1938,
as amended by the In-
testates’ Estates Act,
1952.’
This is dealt with in sections
3,
4,5
(3)
and
(4),
and
6
of the Act.
(iv) The extension
or,
if one likes, the clarification of the scope
22
8.
6
(3)
in
conjunction with
6s.
39 and
41
of
the Children Act, 1948.
1
Cmd. 9678, paras. 480, 481, 504-511, and Recommendation
No.
(56).
2
Cmd. 9678, paras. 531-534, and Recommendation
No.
(64).
3
Cmd. 9678, paras. 522-525. Recommendation
No.
(61).
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