ANNULMENT OF MARRIAGE.--A marriage may be annulled at the instance of one of the parties for the following causes:

1. Want of free consent by one or both parties.

2. If one of the parties at the time of the marriage was impotent and this fact was unknown to the other. This impotence must, however, be incurable and continue for three years.

3. If one of the parties was at the time of the marriage afflicted with leprosy, syphilis, epilepsy or a contagious and loathsome disease, and this fact was concealed and unknown to the other party. The disease must be incurable.

DIVORCE.--An absolute divorce upon proper grounds may be obtained by means of a judicial decree, royal authorization given to the higher civil authorities, authorization from the Minister of Justice, or a special royal decree.

The causes for an absolute divorce are:

1. The last two causes mentioned above as sufficient for an annulment.

2. Adultery.

3. Bigamy.

4. Wilful abandonment.

5. Absence for five years or more under circ.u.mstances leading a reasonable person to conclude that the absentee is dead. Exile or deportation from the country for at least seven years.

6. Imprisonment for life, if pardon or liberty is not given within seven years.

EXTRA-JUDICIAL DIVORCE.--The Mayor of Copenhagen and the superior magistrate outside of Copenhagen--called the higher civil authorities--may give a royal authorization for a divorce in cases where the parties have lived apart for three years in consequence of a separation decree, and both parties ask for divorcement.

The Minister of Justice has also authority in some instances to grant decrees of absolute divorce.

The conditions under which a divorce can be granted by special royal decree are not specifically defined, but the decree is seldom granted except for substantial reasons and according to precedent.

SEPARATION.--Decrees of separation from bed and board may be obtained upon mutual consent of the parties or if good reason exists upon the pet.i.tion of one of the parties.

EFFECTS OF DIVORCE.--Usually in the absence of an agreement between the parties each party receives one-half of the property which during the marriage relation was held in common.

The duty of mutual support and a.s.sistance ends, but sometimes the man is directed to pay alimony to the woman.

The innocent party is generally given custody and control of the children of the marriage, but the courts favour an agreement between the parties on this subject.

Unless the decree of divorce has been brought about by her guilt a divorced wife is permitted to retain the name and rank of her divorced husband.

CHAPTER XIV.

THE NORWEGIAN LAW.

In many respects the laws of marriage and divorce in Norway resemble those of Denmark. There are, of course, historical and political reasons for the resemblance.

MARRIAGE.--The law of Norway fixes 20 years as the minimum marriageable age for a man and 16 years for a woman. These provisions are often interpreted, however, by the courts, as having reference to the age of p.u.b.erty, and as this age varies with different persons the law is not always followed literally, particularly as regards the marriageable age of a woman. Neither male nor female under the age of 18 years is allowed to marry without the consent of parents or guardians.

The validity of an objection to the marriage on the part of parents or guardians can be tested in court, and although causes for such objections are not specified or limited by statute they are kept within reasonable grounds through long-established precedent.

IMPEDIMENTS TO MARRIAGE.--No man or woman may marry a relative by blood in the direct line. No man can many his full or half sister.

Persons convicted of having committed adultery with each other may not marry without first obtaining permission of the civil authorities.

A person bound by a marriage not dissolved through natural or legal causes is not allowed to enter into any other matrimonial alliance.

After the death of her husband a widow must wait nine months before she can contract a new marriage, but this waiting period can be shortened by dispensation, especially if she proves that she is not pregnant.

PRELIMINARIES.--In case of religious marriage one publication of banns is sufficient, and even this can be dispensed with in some instances. For a civil marriage no publication of banns is required.

CELEBRATION.--Marriages must be solemnized before a minister of the Lutheran Church or by some person authorized by the State to officiate, and in the presence of two competent witnesses. The wedding celebration may take place either in church or in a private house.

All notaries have legal authority to perform civil marriages, but only between persons at least one of whom does not belong to the State church.

ANNULMENT OF MARRIAGE.--Nullity is of two kinds--absolute and relative. In the case of the latter the marriage is considered as valid until declared otherwise, generally on the application of one of the parties. A marriage is absolutely null if at its celebration there was no declaration of the clergyman or of the civil official that the couple were man and wife, or if proof exists of bigamy or of relationship within the prohibited degrees.

DIVORCE AND SEPARATION.--An absolute divorce may be obtained for sufficient cause either by royal decree or by judicial determination. The most usual form is by royal decree, which is granted in the following cases:

1. When one at least of the causes prescribed by law is proven.

2. After a separation from bed and board has lasted three years. In such a case the royal decree is granted either on the pet.i.tion of both parties, or, if circ.u.mstances justify, on the pet.i.tion of one of the parties.

3. It may be granted by royal decree without any preceding separation.

This form of divorce is granted either when legal cause for divorce exists or when the ground is otherwise considered sufficient.

A judicial decree of absolute divorce is obtainable for the following causes:

1. Adultery.

2. Bigamy.

3. Wilful desertion for at least three years.

4. a.s.sault and cruel treatment endangering the life of the complainant.

5. Absence for seven years, especially if no information has been received of the absentee during that period.

If the facts as shown leave little or no doubt as to the death of the absent party, a divorce can be granted after three years' absence.

6. Imprisonment for life, after the innocent party has waited seven years.

In addition to these grounds a divorce by royal decree can be obtained when one of the parties has become incurably insane or has been sentenced to prison for at least three years; or when the parties, by mutual agreement, have lived entirely apart for fully six years, and the facts show that domestic peace and the well-being of the parties are not promoted by their continuing as husband and wife.

LIMITATIONS.--If the act complained of was committed by the consent or procurement of the complainant, or if the latter has voluntarily cohabited with the offender after discovery of his or her guilt, or if the complainant has been guilty of a similar offence, divorce will be refused.