Matrimonial Law in Works of the Civil Reform Committee (1814–1815). Historical Source Edition

We present three source texts. The first are the writings of father Dhiel, General Superintendent of the Reformed Evangelical Congregations, which dealt with matrimonial laws and divorces. Next is the draft act by A. Bieńkowski concerning property contracts between spouses, and the last are fragments of Civil Reform Committee session minutes regarding these writings. The author of the first text covered three issues of fundamental significance to the Protestants, those being: obstacles to contracting marriage, premises for divorce, and the problems of jurisdiction in divorce cases. The author of the published draft act, in turn, postulated the reinstatement of the separation of assets, which had functioned previously under ius terrestre as the statutory property regime in marriage. This solution was in direct opposition to the one introduced in the Napoleonic Code. The draft act was much shorter than the chapter of the Napoleonic Code that it was to replace: 34 articles as compared to 195. In many aspects it could be deemed fragmentary, written from the perspective of the landed gentry, and omitting many problems that concerned other social strata.

*Niniejsza publikacja została przygotowana w ramach projektu „Kodyfikacja narodowa – fantazmat czy realna alternatywa? W kręgu debat nad rodzimym systemem prawa sądowego w konstytucyjnym Królestwie Polskim” finansowanego ze środków Narodowego Centrum Nauki na podstawie umowy nr UMO-2015/18/E/HS5/00762.

We present three source texts. The first are the writings of father Dhiel, General Superintendent of the Reformed Evangelical Congregations, which dealt with matrimonial laws and divorces. Next is the draft act by A. Bieńkowski concerning property contracts between spouses, and the last are fragments of Civil Reform Committee session minutes regarding these writings. The author of the first text covered three issues of fundamental significance to the Protestants, those being: obstacles to contracting marriage, premises for divorce, and the problems of jurisdiction in divorce cases. The author of the published draft act, in turn, postulated the reinstatement of the separation of assets, which had functioned previously under ius terrestre as the statutory property regime in marriage. This solution was in direct opposition to the one introduced in the Napoleonic Code. The draft act was much shorter than the chapter of the Napoleonic Code that it was to replace: 34 articles as compared to 195. In many aspects it could be deemed fragmentary, written from the perspective of the landed gentry, and omitting many problems that concerned other social strata.