'What God has joined together...' and its practical implications in criminal law

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Periodical article

Title:	'What God has joined together...' and its practical implications in criminal law
Author:	Frimpong, Kwame
Year:	1991
Periodical:	Lesotho Law Journal: A Journal of Law and Development
Volume:	7
Issue:	1
Pages:	49-71
Language:	English
Geographic term:	Botswana
Subjects:	criminal law marriage
Abstract:	This paper examines how criminal law treats the marital relationship, whether maintaining 'what God has joined together or putting it asunder'. Much of the discussion is focused on Botswana, although the practices in some other jurisdictions are also examined. The first part examines the extent to which criminal law intervenes in matrimonial life when one spouse's conduct infringes on the rights of the other. This is the case in the following situations: the neglect of a wife by her husband, adultery by one of the spouses, provocation to killing in cases of adultery, the rape of a woman by her husband, and theft in marriage. The second part examines the role that marriage per se plays when it comes to the situation where a couple or either of them infringes a criminal law rule. This occurs when the activities of the couple, or of one of them, disturbs or directly interferes with the community's interests. In this context the following questions are dealt with: the privilege against disclosure of marital communication granted spouses, the committal of a crime by a woman in the presence of her husband, bigamy, and the offence of conspiracy by a marital couple. Notes, ref.