If separated people have new partners, is it "adultery"?

23-01-2023 7:23pm #1

In 2023 is there still a crime in Irish law termed "adultery"? Are all the separated people who are in relationships while they await the conclusion of the long-drawn-out divorce process guilty of "adultery" in the laws of this State?

Lastly, on various State forms I see "marital status". If somebody has finalised their divorce, why can't they tick the "single" box rather than the "divorced" box? In other words how, legally speaking, is a fully divorced person not as "single" as a single person who never married?

Jim_Hodge · 23-01-2023 7:36pm

Adultery is not a crime.

Have you an example if those state firms?

cml387 · 24-01-2023 9:21am

There was an offence of "criminal conversation" but that was a civil matter and anyway has long since been abolished (well since 1981 according to Wikipedia).

coylemj · 24-01-2023 3:36pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120149294#Comment_120149294

Can I suggest we stop using terms like 'crime' (OP) and 'offence' (above) to describe sex between consenting adults who were not married to each other?

Criminal conversation was a tort, it was never an offence. The remedy was, as you pointed out, in a civil case.

jkforde · 22-06-2023 3:12pm

so if one spouse in a separated couple has sex outside of their marriage, that is adultery in Irish law. and so, if they were subsequently to get a divorce, how does that impact the entitlements of the spouse who engaged in the extramarital sex? recommend any good online resource?

22-06-2023 3:21pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120749521#Comment_120749521

There is no crime of adultery in Irish law. And it is extremely unlikely to have any effect on divorce proceedings - Ireland operates a no-fault divorce system: https://www.listonfamilylaw.ie/affairs-in-divorce-proceedings-in-ireland/

jkforde · 22-06-2023 8:21pm

got it, thanks 👍

Peregrinus · 23-06-2023 2:14am

As others have pointed out, adultery was never a crime in Ireland. Back in the day, though, it was a "marital offence", meaning it was one of the grounds on which you could seek a judicial separation or, in England, a divorce. (The other marital offences were cruelty, desertion, wilful neglect.) The marital offences are no longer relevant, since we have a no-fault basis both for judicial separation and for divorce.

But, to answer the OP's question, back in the day when it had some legal relevance, if a married couple were living apart and one of them had a sexual relationship with a third person — yes, that was the marital offence of adultery and was grounds for seeking a judicial separation (or, in England, a divorce). And in those times it would have had an influence on court decisions about maintenance, alimony, etc.

In fact, under the English divorce regime, one spouse could seek a divorce from the other on the grounds of the other spouse's adultery. But, bizarrely, if the spouse seeking the divorce had also committed adultery, the divorce could be denied on the basis that that spouse's conduct justified or excused or at least mitigated the adultery of the other spouse.

But all this is in the past. Nowadays if separated people embark on new relationships it's still adultery within the dictionary definition, but it has no legal consequences.

BlueSkyDreams · 23-06-2023 2:18am

True. And more people should embrace polyamourous relations anyway.

Peregrinus · 23-06-2023 4:16am

Separated people embarking on new relationships isn't really an instance of polyamory, thought.

BlueSkyDreams · 23-06-2023 4:32am

Yes. true.

But Polyamory should still be more common and socially acceptable.

Peregrinus · 23-06-2023 8:07am

Probably wise, then, not to try and bracket it with adultery, which is socially deprecated because of the deceit, dishonesty and betrayal commonly associated with it. Advocates of polyamory would presumably say that it is the opposite of adultery, rather than something to be linked with adultery.

23-06-2023 12:57pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120752292#Comment_120752292

Judicial separation isn't (necessarily) no-fault in Ireland. Adultery is still one of the grounds for granting of a decree: https://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/birth-family-relationships/separation-and-divorce/judicial-separation/#l02590

TooTired123 · 24-06-2023 12:51am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120752344#Comment_120752344

How would we make sure that polyamory was more “common”?

If separated people have new partners, is it "adultery"?

Comments