Secularization of divorce legislation in the first half of the 20th century in Central Europe

Abstract

The legal institute of divorce is one of the most important family law legal institute, which has undergone several important modifications during the 20th century. This change can best be seen in the changes to the legal provisions relating to the manner of marriage, jurisdiction in matrimonial disputes and, in particular, the regulation of the possibility of dissolution of marriage. The aim of this paper is a comparative analysis of the process of secularization of the legal regulation of marriage separation/divorce in the first half of the 20th century in the jurisdictions of selected Central European countries. For the purpose of the present comparative study, the jurisdictions in question were chosen because of their historical and legal influence on the development of family law and its particular part, which is the separation/divorce of marriage in Central Europe. The subject of comparison will be the legal systems of Czechoslovakia, Poland, Hungary and Austria.