CHAPTER XIII.

DENMARK.

Justice is administered in Denmark in the first instance by the judges of the hundreds in the rural communities and by the city magistrates in the urban districts. Appeals from such courts lie to the superior courts of Copenhagen and Viborg, and in the last resort to the Supreme Court, which consists of a bench of twenty-four judges, at Copenhagen.

Denmark was one of the first countries in Europe in which the government established any regulation or control over matrimonial affairs.

The body of the law on marriage and divorce is found to-day in the Code of Christian the Fifth (1683), as modified and modernized, and such customs and precedents of the Danish people as the courts accept as binding.

BETROTHAL.--A betrothal or engagement to marry carries with it no legal obligation. The courts of Denmark do not recognize the breach of a promise to marry as constituting a legal cause of action.

If, however, a woman, on promise of marriage, permits sexual intercourse, she can sue to have the marriage specifically performed, provided the man is at least 25 years of age and the woman herself is of good reputation and neither a widow nor a domestic servant who has become pregnant by her employer or one of his relatives. In addition, the betrothal must either have been public or capable of easy proof.

QUALIFICATIONS FOR MARRIAGE.--A male cannot legally conclude marriage before the completion of his twentieth year. A female must have completed her sixteenth year. The King may grant a dispensation permitting parties of less age to marry.

Males and females are minors until the completion of their twenty-fifth year, and during minority cannot conclude marriage without the consent of their parents or guardians. If the necessary consent is withheld without just cause the authorities can furnish the desired permission.

IMPEDIMENTS.--Marriage is prohibited between relatives in the direct line, whether by blood or marriage, and between brothers and sisters of the whole or half blood.

The royal dispensation is required for marriage between a man and his brother's widow, his aunt, great-aunt or any feminine relative nearer of kin to the common ancestor than the man himself.

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

Persons divorced by extra-judicial decree are not allowed to contract a new marriage, without permission to this effect is given in the decree.

The law prescribes a mourning period of one year for a widow and three months for a widower, during which time they are not allowed to contract a new marriage; but under special conditions the mourning period may be shortened.

PRELIMINARY FORMALITIES.--If the marriage is solemnized before a clergyman banns must be published from the pulpit for three consecutive Sundays, and the marriage must follow within three months. In case of a civil marriage one publication must be made by the authorities at least three weeks and not more than three months before the celebration.

CELEBRATION.--The national church of Denmark is the Lutheran, and in the case of Protestant Christians a religious marriage must be solemnized before a clergyman of the Lutheran Church.

Civil marriages performed at the courthouse by a magistrate are permitted when the bride and groom are of different religious faith or when neither of them belong to any recognized religious sect.

ILLEGITIMATE CHILDREN.--Subsequent marriage of the parents legitimatizes a child born out of wedlock.

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 circumstances 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 petition 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 assistance 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.