QUESTION: More than a year ago, my sister got married, but after the wedding, it became apparent that the husband is homosexual. By his actions, he forced her to move out and file a divorce request. The judge noted the rarity of the case and denied the request. My sister filed an appeal because she is convinced that the relationship with her husband cannot improve. Was the denial of the divorce request right? Nickname: “Rare Case”
ANSWER: Socialist society sees marriage as a permanent and harmonious association of a man and a woman. Therefore, divorce must be an extraordinary measure to be used only in cases when there is no other solution. In these cases, the court has the right to divorce the marriage; of course, given that the presented evidence has convinced it that the relationship between the spouses is seriously disrupted for a prolonged period of time (short-term conflicts between spouses do not constitute a reason for divorce). The court is obliged to examine the reasons that caused the disruption of the marriage, and is entitled to condemn immoral activities of one or both spouses as well. In the case you have mentioned, the district court must certainly have studied whether a permanent disruption of the marriage occurred and whether the homosexuality of one of the spouses has been the cause of this state. If the court has rejected the divorce request, its stance must have been supplied in the explanation of its verdict.
Given that your sister had objections against the stance of the court, it is understandable that she has appealed to the regional court which will decide in this matter definitively. We do not assume that the court would reject the case because it “has never encountered such case before”, although it is possible that such opinion has been voiced during the proceedings. The decisive factor, however, is the final statement in the verdict, which also provides the reasons which have led it to a certain opinion. We do not know the verdict, but it might be possible that your sister could not prove her objections or that there were other causes as well. If you have found out or are able to prove that your sister’s husband has sexual relations with a person of the same sex, it might be classified as a criminal offence under Article 244 of the Penal Code. In that case, it would be right to notify the district prosecutor about this.
