The Offence Of Wilful Neglect To Maintain A Wife
| Date | 01 January 1960 |
| Published date | 01 January 1960 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-2230.1960.tb00570.x |
| Author | L. Neville Brown |
THE
MODERN
LAW
REVIEW
Volume
23
January
1960
No.
1
THE OFFENCE OF WILFUL NEGLECT
TO
MAINTAIN A WIFE
Two
recent cases have underlined the uncertainty surrounding
the matrimonial offence of wilful neglect
to
maintain.
In
this
article
it
is proposed to recall briefly the statutory history of this
offence, then to discuss these cases in the light of such meagre
authorities as previously existed, and finally
to
venture some
criticisms of the present state of the law.
THE
STATUTORY HISTORY
OF
THE
OFFENCE
By section
4
of
the Summary Jurisdiction (Married Women) Act,
1895,
the husband’s wilful neglect to provide reasonable maintenance
for
the
wife
or
her infant children whom he was legally liable to main-
tain was included as one
of
five specific grounds
upon
which the
wife might seek a justices’ order for the maintenance
of
herself
and her children.2
So
far as concerned wilful neglect, this was a
1
Jones
v.
Jones
[1958] 3
All
E.R.
410;
LiZZey
v.
LiZZey
[1958]
3
All
E.R.
528
(Div.Ct.);
r19591 3
W.L.R.
306
(C.A.).
2
The other grounas were
a
summary conviction for an aggravated assault upon
the wife, a conviction upon indictment for an assault upon her where the
sen-
tence exceeded
a
25
fine or two months’ imprisonment, persistent cruelty
towards her, and desertion. Further grounds were added by the Licensing
Act,
1902
(habitual drunkenness-drug-addiction being added in
1925),
the
Summary Jurisdiction Act,
1925
(insistence on sexual intercourse when suffering
from venereal disease, compelling submission
to
prostitution, and. persistent
cruelty to wife’s children), and the Matrimonial Causes Act,
1937
(adultery).
The
Matrimonial Proceedings (Magistrates Courts) Bill, now before Parlia-
ment, which consolidates and amends the Summary Jurisdiction (Separation
and Maintenance) Acts,
1895
to
1949,
adds a new ground, that of
a
conviction
for
a
sexual offence against a child
of
either spouse, and makes all
the
grounds
(except, of course, compelling submission to prostitution) equally available to
the wife, although wilful neglect by the wife may only be a cause for complaint
where the husband’s earning capacity
is
impaired and the wife might reason-
ably be expected
to
provide,
or
contribute towards, reasonable maintenance for
him and the children having regard to the available re8ources of either spouse
and all the circumstances. The Bill embodies most, but not all,
of
the
recommendations of
the
Royal Commission on Marriage and Divorce
(see
Cmnd.
9678,
paras.
1018-1065).
1
VOL
23
1
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