Case Number
Special Tribunal 1/50
Date Decided
7-28-1954
Decision Type
Appellate
Document Type
Full Opinion
Abstract
In a suit between husband and wife before a Rabbinical Court, it was held that the husband by virtue of a usufruct accorded to the husband by Jewish law, was entitled to receive the rent of a certain property registered in the Lands Registry in the wife's name. The Rabbinical Court had purported to exercise jurisdiction under Article 51 and 53 of the Palestine Order in Council, 1922, in terms of which "suits regarding marriage" or "matters of marriage" are within the exclusive jurisdiction of the religious courts. The wife petitioned the High Court of Justice to restrain the levy of execution on the property referred to, and as the matter related to the jurisdiction of the religious courts, it was referred by the High Court of Justice to the Special Tribunal constituted under s. 55 of the Order in Council.
It was held by the Special Tribunal that the expressions "suits regarding marriage" and "matters of marriage" referred to above are not restricted to suits or matters concerning the existence of the marriage tie, but also cover claims for the enforcement of rights, including rights to property, which are derived from the status of marriage, and that the Rabbinical Court, therefore, had correctly assumed jurisdiction in the present case.
Keywords
Family Law -- Marital property, Jewish Law -- Rabbinical Courts, Property
