Husbands and wives now have equal protection under the law post-divorce

Aug 01, 2024 News

---

…as National Assembly passes amendments to Matrimonial Law

Kaieteur News – With resounding support from both the Government and Opposition, the Matrimonial Causes Amendment Bill 2024 was passed on Wednesday in the National Assembly. The amendments will give both husbands and wives equal rights and protection in the event of a divorce.

Piloting the Bill, Attorney General (AG) and Minister of Legal Affairs, Anil Nandlall, SC noted that the amendments are part of efforts to further modernize and update the legislative framework in Guyana.

The AG noted that the law on marriage and divorce has evolved internationally and so should the legal provision which govern marriages in Guyana.

“In times past, the dissolution of a marriage was only legal under the grounds of infidelity; it was sin-based. One had to prove that the either party was being unfaithful for the divorce to be legal.”

“This was over 100 years ago…What societal values were 90 years ago, what family values were 90 years ago, what social…and legal realities were 90 years ago, are radically different from what they are today. By the sheer passage of time, this law requires reform… The amendments will [now] make provision for divorce on the grounds of irreconcilable differences which has caused the irremediable breakdown of the marriage,” Nandall said.

The AG said too that the understanding of gender equality has evolved since the old legislation was drafted nearly 100 years ago.

“These amendments remove existing discriminatory provisions and guarantees equal rights, which are a fundamental human right. Because there are a series of provisions in the principal Act, that confers protection upon a wife but does reciprocally, confers such protection on the husband. So, in those provisions we have brought those equality and equilibrium,” Nandlall said.

The Attorney General said in an environment where equal treatment is now a guaranteed fundamental right, the law must make provision for equal treatment.

Speaking in support of the amendments, Minister of Education, Priya Manickchand, said she is pleased to see the amendment finally come before the National Assembly while detailing the legal antecedence of the laws regulating marriages and divorces.

“I am very proud. We started this process in 2008 when as Minister of Human Services, I consulted nationally to reform divorce laws. I am extremely pleased that we are completing it now. Toward healthier families even after the unit may have broken down,” she said.

Manickchand continue: “I am very pleased to say that this law is going to help us to look after women. This law is going to help us to look after men. This law is going to help us to stay true to our constitutional provisions…This law is going to help us preserve family relationships even when the family structure can no longer stay in the structure that it originally began.”

Also supporting the legislation’s passage, Minister within the Ministry of Housing and Water, Susan Rodrigues, said the Bill will improve Guyana’s global standing on human rights and gender equality.

“Amending our laws to reflect the gender-neutral award of alimony in a divorce auger well for Guyana’s credentials in making another step towards achieving full gender equality,” she posited.

Additionally, opposition Members of Parliament, Geeta Chandan-Edmond, Volda Lawrence, and Haimraj Rajkumar all spoke in support of the amendments. The Matrimonial Causes Amendment Bill 2024 proposes to amend other provisions of the Principal Act, and specific sections in the Summary Jurisdiction (Magistrates) Act, which only provide for maintenance and protection of the property of a wife.

Chandan-Edmonds said, “I offer my support for these amendments …For centuries women have relied on the mercy of judges for spouses who felt it is necessary to punish harshly in a separation…Men can now seek similar protections…Financial support is necessary for both parties in the divorce proceedings, both parties can now equally benefit.”

The move to amend the law is based on a landmark ruling by Chief Justice (AG) Roxane George-Wiltshire, last February that the Section 14 of the Matrimonial Causes Act, Chapter 45:02 is discriminatory based on sex and gender, because it only permitted wives to obtain maintenance after divorce.

The ruling stemmed from a constitutional motion filed to challenge the alimony laws that have existed in Guyana since the early 1900s.

In the matter, a husband through his attorney, Tamara Evelyn-Khan, sought to apply for his ex-wife to pay him maintenance following their divorce but was told that he could not apply because the law does not allow for men to benefit from spousal support.

As a result, the man moved to the High Court to challenge the law, specifically Section 14 of the Matrimonial Causes Act on the grounds that it violated his constitutional rights to equal protection and benefits from the law and is discriminatory on the basis of sex and gender.

In her decision, Justice George-Wiltshire declared that Section 14 of the Matrimonial Causes Act, Chapter 45:02 is discriminatory on the basis of sex and gender and is therefore unconstitutional as being in violation of Article 149 and Article 149 D of the Constitution of Guyana, to the extent that on a decree for dissolution or nullity of marriage, it provides for men only to pay a gross or annual sum of money to or maintain their former wives, and not for women to pay a gross or annual sum of money to or maintain their former husbands.

As such, Clause Five of the Amendments will now see both husband and wife being granted orders under judicial separation while Clause Six of the Amendments provides for payment of alimony to both the husband and wife. The Principal Act had only allowed for alimony to be paid to the wife or her trustee.

---

• equal rights and protection, husband, Marriage law, National Assembly, wife

---