- Co-respondent
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- Distinguish from correspondent.
In English law, a co-respondent is, in general, a respondent to a petition, or other legal proceeding, along with another or others, or a person called upon to answer in some other way.[1]
Divorce
More particularly, since the Matrimonial Causes Act 1857, in a petition for divorce on the ground of adultery, a co-respondent is a person charged with misconduct with the petitioner's spouse.[2] Co-respondent shoes is an expression, meaning unusually patterned or coloured men's shoes that are easily remembered, for example, when left outside the hotel room in which the adultery may be taking place.
As of 2007[update], alleged parties to a spouse's adultery must be made co-respondents unless they are not named in the petition or the court directs otherwise.[3]
In practice, naming such parties in a divorce petition is discouraged as it may become a barrier to reconciliation. Such parties are only commonly named if the petitioner is seeking costs against them or has some other particular reason.[1][4]
References
- ^ a b Bond et al. (2007) 7.4.19
- ^ [Anon.] (1911) "Co-respondent", Encyclopaedia Britannica
- ^ Family Procedure Rules SI1991/1247, r.2.7(1)
- ^ Law Society (2006)
Bibliography
- Bond, T et al. (2007). Family Law (Blackstone Legal Practice Course Guides ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0199205450.
- Law Society (2006). Family Law Protocol (2nd rev. ed. ed.). London: The Law Society. ISBN 1853289841.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed (1911). Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
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