ECC 397/67

This case involved a request for a divorce by a husband whose wife had left him. It was urged under the rules of the Coptic church the divorce could be granted if the mistakes had been made by the wife but there was evidence the husband had abused the woman and he had made the mistakes.

Background

A husband filed a case against his wife and requested the court to divorce them. The husband stated he married the wife on 20/07/1975 and she left him without justifications which had resulted in a dispute for more than three years.

The court rejected the case.

The husband appealed the ruling before the court of appeal. The court abandoned the appealed ruling and ruled the husband should be divorced.

Decision

The woman appealed the ruling before the court of cassation and stated in her grounds of appeal that the ruling had erred in the application of law because Article 57 of the rules of Coptic Orthodox Church stipulated that a divorce request should be fulfilled if the mistake had been made by the woman. The woman stated the documents provided by the husband confirmed his mistakes were the reasons for the dispute.