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).

• AbbreviationsList of IllustrationsTabula debitorumIntroduction1 Marriage Through the Ages1.1 Marriage and Divorce in Judaism and Christianity1.1.1 Marriage and Divorce in Judaism1.1.2 Marriage and Divorce in Christianity1.2 Laicization of Marriage Law in Austria, Prussia and France1.2.1 Austria1.2.2 Prussia1.2.3 France1.3 Changing Fortunes of Law in the Polish Territories in Late 18th and Early 19th Century1.4 Abrogation of the Napoleonic Family Law in the Polish Territories2 Courts and Officials Involved in Divorce Proceedings2.1 Divorce Court2.2 Prosecutor2.3 Huissier2.4 Clerk and Underclerk (pisarz and podpisarz)2.5 Legal Position of the Parties2.6 Legal Representatives2.7 Civil Status Officials2.7.1 Roman Catholic Parish Priests2.7.2 Parish Leaders of Other Congregations2.7.3 Lay Persons Responsible for the Comprehensive Maintenance of Civil Status Records2.7.4 Lay Persons Recording Events Contrary to Canon Law3 Course of Divorce Proceedings3.1 Proceedings in Divorce Cases for a Determined Cause3.1.1 Pre-Divorce Formalities (Attempt at Reconciliation)3.1.2 Preparation of the Decision to Allow or Deny Hearing the Case3.1.3 Default Divorce Proceedings3.1.4 Provisional Measures3.1.5 Proceedings after Allowing the Case to Be Heard3.1.5.1 General Remarks on Evidentiary Proceedings3.1.5.2 Documents3.1.5.3 Witness Statements3.1.5.4 Presumptions3.1.5.5 Judicial Acknowledgement3.1.5.6 Oaths3.1.5.7 Other Evidence3.1.6 Proceedings in Divorce Cases Initiated due to a Spouse’s Condemnation for a Felony3.2 Proceedings in Divorce Cases by Mutual Consent3.3 Steps Immediately Preceding the Delivery of Judgement3.4 Judgements3.5 Types of Definitive Judgements3.5.1 Judgements Pronouncing Divorce3.5.2 Dismissal of Petition3.5.3 Judgements Prescribing a Probationary Period3.6 Cases Ended with No Judgement3.6.1 Expiry Caused by the Petitioner’s Failure to Pursue the Case (Cases with Unknown Outcome)3.6.2 Discontinuance of Action3.7 Appeal and Cassation Proceedings3.7.1 Appeal Proceedings3.7.2 Extraordinary Means of Challenging Judgements of Appellate Courts3.8 Pronouncement of the Divorce Judgement by a Civil Status Registrar4 Grounds for Divorce Judgements4.1 Divorces due to Outrageous Conduct, Ill-Usage and Grievous Injuries4.2 Divorces Pronounced due to Outrageous Conduct, Ill-Usage and Grievous Injuries following a Probationary Period4.3 Pronouncement of Divorce on Grounds of Adultery4.4 Divorce due to a Spouse’s Condemnation to an Infamous Punishment4.5 Divorce due to Previous Separation4.6 Comparison with France5 Rulings on Subsidiary Matters5.1 Ruling on Fault5.2 Custody over Children5.3 Property Issues5.4 Alimony and Child Support5.5 Punishment for Adultery5.6 Costs of Proceedings6 Divorce Statistics7 Characteristics of the Divorcees7.1 Initiators of Divorces7.2 Age of the Divorcees7.3 Duration of Marriages7.4 Ability to Sign7.5 Predicates7.6 Profession7.7 Religious Confessions7.8 Place of Residence7.9 SummaryConclusionBibliographyIndex