Napoleonic Divorce Law in Poland (1808-1852)

Piotr Z. Pomianowski, Ph.D. (2012), habilitation (2018), University of Warsaw, is Assistant Professor at that university. In his research, he focuses on the reception of French law in Poland and on the Polish judiciary, codification, and political thought in the first half of 19th century. Among others, he published "Divorce proceedings pursuant to the Code Civil and the Code de procédure civile of 1806 in the practice of Polish Courts" (Vergentis, 2018) and "Legal Status of Women in Codes Binding in Central Polish Lands in the Early Nineteenth Century" (Journal on European History of Law, 2020).

Abbreviations


List of Illustrations


Tabula debitorum


Introduction


1 Marriage Through the Ages

 1.1 Marriage and Divorce in Judaism and Christianity

 1.1.1 Marriage and Divorce in Judaism


 1.1.2 Marriage and Divorce in Christianity




 1.2 Laicization of Marriage Law in Austria, Prussia and France

 1.2.1 Austria


 1.2.2 Prussia


 1.2.3 France




 1.3 Changing Fortunes of Law in the Polish Territories in Late 18th and Early 19th Century


 1.4 Abrogation of the Napoleonic Family Law in the Polish Territories




2 Courts and Officials Involved in Divorce Proceedings

 2.1 Divorce Court


 2.2 Prosecutor


 2.3 Huissier


 2.4 Clerk and Underclerk (pisarz and podpisarz)


 2.5 Legal Position of the Parties


 2.6 Legal Representatives


 2.7 Civil Status Officials

 2.7.1 Roman Catholic Parish Priests


 2.7.2 Parish Leaders of Other Congregations


 2.7.3 Lay Persons Responsible for the Comprehensive Maintenance of Civil Status Records


 2.7.4 Lay Persons Recording Events Contrary to Canon Law




3 Course of Divorce Proceedings

 3.1 Proceedings in Divorce Cases for a Determined Cause

 3.1.1 Pre-Divorce Formalities (Attempt at Reconciliation)


 3.1.2 Preparation of the Decision to Allow or Deny Hearing the Case


 3.1.3 Default Divorce Proceedings


 3.1.4 Provisional Measures


 3.1.5 Proceedings after Allowing the Case to Be Heard

 3.1.5.1 General Remarks on Evidentiary Proceedings


 3.1.5.2 Documents


 3.1.5.3 Witness Statements


 3.1.5.4 Presumptions


 3.1.5.5 Judicial Acknowledgement


 3.1.5.6 Oaths


 3.1.5.7 Other Evidence




 3.1.6 Proceedings in Divorce Cases Initiated due to a Spouse’s Condemnation for a Felony




 3.2 Proceedings in Divorce Cases by Mutual Consent


 3.3 Steps Immediately Preceding the Delivery of Judgement


 3.4 Judgements


 3.5 Types of Definitive Judgements

 3.5.1 Judgements Pronouncing Divorce


 3.5.2 Dismissal of Petition


 3.5.3 Judgements Prescribing a Probationary Period




 3.6 Cases Ended with No Judgement

 3.6.1 Expiry Caused by the Petitioner’s Failure to Pursue the Case (Cases with Unknown Outcome)


 3.6.2 Discontinuance of Action




 3.7 Appeal and Cassation Proceedings

 3.7.1 Appeal Proceedings


 3.7.2 Extraordinary Means of Challenging Judgements of Appellate Courts




 3.8 Pronouncement of the Divorce Judgement by a Civil Status Registrar




4 Grounds for Divorce Judgements

 4.1 Divorces due to Outrageous Conduct, Ill-Usage and Grievous Injuries


 4.2 Divorces Pronounced due to Outrageous Conduct, Ill-Usage and Grievous Injuries following a Probationary Period


 4.3 Pronouncement of Divorce on Grounds of Adultery


 4.4 Divorce due to a Spouse’s Condemnation to an Infamous Punishment


 4.5 Divorce due to Previous Separation


 4.6 Comparison with France




5 Rulings on Subsidiary Matters

 5.1 Ruling on Fault


 5.2 Custody over Children


 5.3 Property Issues


 5.4 Alimony and Child Support


 5.5 Punishment for Adultery


 5.6 Costs of Proceedings




6 Divorce Statistics


7 Characteristics of the Divorcees

 7.1 Initiators of Divorces


 7.2 Age of the Divorcees


 7.3 Duration of Marriages


 7.4 Ability to Sign


 7.5 Predicates


 7.6 Profession


 7.7 Religious Confessions


 7.8 Place of Residence


 7.9 Summary




Conclusion


Bibliography


Index