Men entitled to maintenance from former wives

Chief Justice Roxane George SC

In a landmark ruling yesterday, acting Chief Justice Roxane George SC said that men can now apply for matrimonial benefits on the dissolution of a marriage as she found their constitutional rights were breached by the Matri-monial Causes Act which only made provision for women to be maintained by their former spouses.

The case involved a man who wanted to apply for matrimonial benefits in his pending divorce matter but his lawyer Tamara M. Evelyn Khan found that Section 14 of the Matrimonial Causes Act, Chapter 45:02 disallowed him from proceeding.

So, through his lawyer he challenged the section on the basis that it breached his constitutional rights.