Subtopic 3 — Divorce
Article 135:
(1) Divorce is dissolution of valid marriage relationship between husband and wife at present or in
the future, by words that explicitly denote occurrence of divorce.
(2) Divorce shall be declared, according to provisions of this Law, by husband or by competent court
upon wife’s demand.
Article 136:
Divorce shall only be applied to wife validly married or in the waiting period of a reversible divorce.
Article 137:
Divorce may be conducted by a sane and pubescent husband, even if he is prodigal or has an illness that
does not disrupt his sanity.
Article 138:
Divorce may not be conducted in the state of drunkenness.
Article 139:
(1) Husband may divorce his wife orally or in writing. If he lacks these two means, divorce may take
place through common signals that explicitly denote meaning of divorce.
(2) Divorce shall take place by explicit words that conventionally denote meaning of divorce, even if
person does not intend it.
Article 140:
Minor wife may not be divorced by husband or father of husband.
Article 141:
Divorce of the following persons is not valid:
1 – Insane, unless he has suspended divorce to a condition prior to insanity and the condition has
materialized at the time insanity.
2 – Un-discerning.
3 – Under duress.
4 – Asleep
5 – Person whose sanity has been deranged as a result of old age or disease.
6 – Senseless person who has lost his discerning ability due to anger or other factors and cannot
understand his own words.
Article 142:
Husband may divorce wife by legal agent or delegate the divorce power to wife herself.
Article 143:
Husband may not revoke the delegation of divorce power, unless wife has not accepted the delegated
power.
Article 144:
Husband has a power to divorce wife for three times.
Article 145:
Divorce included with number, whether by words or signals, shall be considered as one divorce.
Article 146:
Divorce is in general reversible, and in the following cases is irreversible:
1 – The third divorce.
2 – Divorce before consummation of marriage.
3 – Divorce in exchange for consideration.
4 – Divorce recognized as irreversible in this Law.
Article 147:
Husband may not remarry his three time divorcee, unless the three time divorcee marries another
person and after consummation of this marriage gets divorced and completes the divorce waiting
period (Edat).
Article 148:
Any type of divorce before consummation of marriage, as well as, one or two reversible divorces in
which reversion has not happened shall be called minor irreversible divorce.
Article 149:
Effects of marriage and power of husband shall not be eliminated with one or two reversible divorces
until completion of the waiting period, they remain in force.
Article 150:
Suspending reversion to a future time or a condition is not permissible. Validity of reversion is not
subject to presence of witnesses.
Article 151:
In reversible divorce, marriage relationship shall end with completion of the third menstruation, with
which the right of husband to reverse shall extinguish.
Article 152:
A minor reversible divorce dissolves marriage contract and eliminates its effects. It immediately after
occurrence eliminates power of husband and all of the marriage relationships, except the waiting
period.
Article 153:
(1) Minor irreversible divorce shall not forbid the divorcee to remarry the husband.
(2) The husband may, in minor irreversible divorce and during the waiting period or after that,
remarry his divorcee, provided that this marriage takes place upon consent of the wife and with a
new contract and dowry.
Article 154:
If divorcee marries another person and is divorced after consummation of marriage, she may marry
her previous husband. In this case, previous divorces shall have no effect and husband gains again
power to three divorces.
Article 155:
If husband, at the time of terminal illness, irreversibly divorces wife, this divorce shall not affect
inheritance rights of the divorcee provided that her waiting period does not end before death of the
husband, and provided that the divorcee is not deprived of inheritance, between divorce and death of
husband, due to another cause.