MikeLigalig.com

By the Philippine Daily Inquirer

Unfaithful spouses in France beware: Passionate text messages sent to mistresses and lovers can now be used as evidence against you in a divorce.

Experts say the recent ruling by France’s Supreme Court to accept phone exchanges as legitimate proof of adultery will make it easier for the French to get divorced.

Previously, French husbands and wives often had to wait for years to escape a marriage if they could not prove that their spouse was misbehaving or mistreating them.

The June ruling by the country’s highest court went largely unnoticed until it was reported by the French media last week.

Text messages have long been accepted as official proof in murder and other criminal trials in France, and the new decision extends such practice into family law. E-mails are also accepted as evidence in trials.

Getting a divorce can be a lengthy and painful procedure in France. If the spouses fail to agree to separate by mutual consent, those filing for divorce must prove that the spouse was cheating or abusing or mistreating them.

If the judge is not convinced, a divorce will be pronounced only after two years of living separately. Up until 2004, French law required couples to wait as long as six years.

Over 273,000 marriages and nearly 135,00 divorces were registered in France in 2007, according to government data—meaning that half of all marriages was likely to end in divorce.

Linkback: https://tubagbohol.mikeligalig.com/index.php?topic=21889.0