The celebration itself must be witnessed by two adults, who may be relatives of the parties. Article 87 of the code, permitting one or both of the parties to a marriage to appear at the celebration, either personally or by proxies to whom a special power is given, is still in effect.

The munic.i.p.al judge, priest, minister or clergyman who solemnizes a marriage must immediately furnish to the parties a certificate of marriage and cause a full and particular record of said marriage to be filed in the Civil Registry of the District (_Registro Civil del Distrito_), in default of which such judge, priest, minister or clergyman will be subject to a fine of one hundred _pesos_, or imprisoned for not less than 30 days, or not more than 90 days, by the Correctional Judge (_Juez Correccional_) of his domicile.

ANNULMENT OF MARRIAGES.--The civil courts have exclusive jurisdiction to decree an annulment of marriage.

The following marriages are void:

1. Those celebrated between persons related within the prohibited degrees, except in cases of dispensation.

2. Those contracted by error as to the person or by compulsion or intimidation.

3. Those contracted by the abductor with the abducted while she is in his power.

4. Those which are not solemnized by an authorized official.

A marriage contracted in good faith produces civil effects, although it may be declared void.

If good faith existed on the part of only one of the spouses it shall produce civil effects only with regard to said spouse and to the children.

Good faith is presumed if the contrary does not appear.

When bad faith existed on the part of both spouses the marriage shall only produce civil effects with relation to the children.

After the annulment of a marriage the sons over three years of age shall remain in the care of the father and the daughters in the care of the mother, provided there was good faith on the part of both spouses.

If either or both were guilty of bad faith the tribunal has power to make such disposition of the children as justice may require.

RIGHTS AND OBLIGATIONS.--The spouses are obliged to live together, to be faithful to, and mutually a.s.sist, each other.

The husband must protect his wife, and the latter must obey her husband.

The wife is obliged to follow her husband wherever he may establish his residence. The tribunals may, for just cause, exempt her from this obligation when the husband removes his residence beyond the seas or to a foreign country.

The husband is the administrator of the property of the conjugal partnership, except when the contrary is stipulated.

The wife, however, retains ownership of the paraphernal property, which consists of such property as the wife brings to the marriage, not included in the dowry.

The husband is the representative of his wife. The latter cannot, without his permission, appear in a suit in person nor through an attorney.

Nevertheless, she does not require such permission to defend herself in a criminal suit or to proceed against or to defend herself in suits with her husband.

Neither may the wife, without the permission of her husband, acquire property for a good or valuable consideration, alienate her property, or bind herself, except in certain exceptional cases, and within the limitations established by law.

A wife may without her husband's permission:

1. Execute a will.

2. Exercise the rights and perform the duties which appertain to her with regard to the legitimate and acknowledged natural children she may have had by another, and with relation to the property of the same.

Only the husband and his heirs can enforce the nullity of the acts executed by his wife without proper authorization.

DIVORCE.--Divorce only produces the suspension of the life in common of the spouses; it does not dissolve the marriage.

The legal causes for divorce are:

1. Adultery on the part of the wife in every case, and on the part of the husband when public scandal or disgrace of the wife results therefrom.

2. Personal violence actually inflicted or grave insults.

3. Violence exercised by the husband toward the wife in order to force her to change her religion.

4. The proposal of the husband to prost.i.tute his wife.

5. The attempts of the husband or wife to corrupt their sons, or to prost.i.tute their daughters, and connivance in their corruption or prost.i.tution.

6. The condemnation of a spouse to penal servitude.

EFFECTS OF DIVORCE:

1. The separation of the spouses in every case.

2. The protection of the wife.

3. The placing of the children under the care of one or both of the spouses, as may be proper.

4. The provision for the support of the wife and of the children who do not remain under the authority of the father.

5. The adoption of the necessary measures to prevent the husband, who may have given cause for the divorce, from injuring the wife in the administration of her property.

FOREIGN MARRIAGES.--A marriage contracted in a foreign country, according to the laws of such country, is generally treated as valid in Cuba. Such a marriage, however, must be monogamous and otherwise in conformity with the general laws and usages of Christendom.

If the parties are Cubans, and are married abroad while retaining their domiciles in Cuba, the foreign marriage must also conform to the requirements of Cuban law with regards to the capacity of the parties and the necessary parental consent or advice.

PROOF OF MARRIAGE.--The ordinary manner to prove a marriage concluded in Cuba is to produce a certificate of the record of the civil registry, and this is the proof required unless the books of the civil registry never existed, or have disappeared, or a question is pending before the tribunals, in which case all kinds of direct evidence are admissible.

The uninterrupted status of the parents, together with the certificates of the birth of their children as legitimate, is one competent method of proving the marriage of said parents, unless it is shown that one of the two was bound by a prior marriage.

A marriage contracted in a foreign country may be established by showing an authenticated copy of its registration. If such foreign country does not require a regular or authenticated registration the marriage must be proved by competent evidence of the regulations of marriage in the foreign country in question, together with proof that all such regulations were complied with.

Should a marriage be contracted in a foreign country between a Cuban and a foreign woman, or between a foreigner and a Cuban woman, and the contracting parties do not make special stipulations with regard to their property, it is understood, when the husband is a Cuban, that he marries under the system of the legal conjugal partnership; and when the wife is a Cuban that she marries under the system of laws in force in the husband's country.

ENGAGEMENTS TO MARRY.--Future espousals do not give rise to an obligation to contract marriage. No court will admit a complaint in which their performance is demanded.

However, if the promise has been made in a public or private instrument by a person of age, or by a minor in the presence of the person whose consent is necessary for the celebration of the marriage, or when banns have been published, the person who refuses to marry, without just cause, can be obliged to indemnify the other party for the expenses which he or she may have incurred by reason of the promised marriage.

An action to recover indemnity for such expenses must be inst.i.tuted within a year, counted from the day of the refusal to celebrate the marriage.

SPANISH PRECEDENTS.--It should be remembered that in throwing off the yoke of Spanish rule the people of Cuba did not change their blood, language or traditions. Just as the law of the United States of America is founded upon the law of England as it existed at the time of the adoption of the American Const.i.tution, so the jurisprudence of the Republic of Cuba has as its foundation the law of Spain as it existed at the time the Republic was established.