The Concise Analyses Of Modernization Of English Law Of Marriage And Succession

The Concise Analyses of Modernization of English law of Marriage and SuccessionMarriage relationship, family relationship and succession relationship is essential legal relationship in the society. They tie up with each other. The so-called modernization of law of marriage and succession is a process that legal system regulating aforesaid relationship changes from tradition to modern. This process is a part of modernization of legal system of a country even the whole society.For a long time, England adopted feudal law of marriage and succession. Its characters were that rules of law were blurry, management of law disaccorded and the law was executed confusedly. Because the affairs of English marriage and succession were ruled by church law, temporal law and unwritten law.On the law of marriage, boys and girls had no matrimonial freedom, because the aim of matrimony was for the benefits of economy, politics and family. In addition, matrimony was holy promise in Christian tenets, so there was no freedom of divorce. Because feudal law protected the authority of husband and father, the wife was dominated by the husband in family.On the law of succession, the affairs of succession in middle ages were complicated. The inheritance of realty and chatters had different rules. The former was administrated by temporal law and prevailed primogeniture. The heirdom on realty was not equal. The latter was administrated by church law. Chattels were divided equally three shares for wife, children and church. One third for church was called "god's share". So the succession of chatters was more progressive than that of realty, but the latter was in main position. At that time, though there were wills, the law on wills was incomplete. It adopted absolute testamentary freedom and it was different from modern wills.From 16th century, England began to transit from feudalism to capitalism.Market economy began to prevail. In the 17th century, England finished bourgeois revolution. It cancelled feudality, built constitutional monarchy and established jurisdictional independence. Later, England finished Industrial Revolution. Between 1930S and 1940S, England first strode forward contemporary technical society.Technical society deeply influenced family structure, marriage and succession. Owing to advanced productivity, fortunes increased. The succession of chattels got more important. The third industry and all kinds of electrical appliances made women liberate from housework. They obtained employment and drew salary, so they began to depend on themselves. Family became a place of feelings bailment. Marriage and succession wasn't based on economy. Welfare ensured people's essential life. People's attitude to marriage and succession changed.These changes made the law of marriage and succession lagging, so it should be reformed.On the law of marriage, matrimonial freedom was realized. Conjugal freedom was realized by unchaining matrimonial vows and making conjugal form normative. Some rules protecting women made wife and husband equal between 18th century and 19th century. The law of divorce passed three phases: judicial separation, divorce by parliament's legislation and divorce by proceeding. What's more, the cause of divorce changed from the principle of "fault doctrine" to that of "rupture doctrine".On the law of succession, testamentary inheritance gained the ascendancy slowly and the relative testamentary freedom replaced the absolute one. In 1925, England abolished primogeniture. The eldest son and other children were equal on succession. At the same time, England abolished the principle of men having precedence over women. What's more, England adopted the same successive rules for chattels and realty. Otherwise the successive status of spouse and misbegotten children was advanced.At last, English law of marriage and succession finished the change from traditional law to contemporary law. It had three characters: Firstly, the modernization of law of marriage is consistent with that of succession. Secondly, church la...