Quebec Court Refuses To Enforce Husband's Agreement To Give Divorcing Wife a "Get"

According to today's Canadian Jewish News, the Quebec court of Appeals has overturned a lower court decision that had enforced an agreement that a husband had signed obligating him to appear before a Jewish religious court after receiving a civil divorce. The appellate court ruled unanimously that Superior Court justice Israel Mass was wrong when he decided that husband Jessel (Jason) Marcovitz, entered into a contract that is civilly enforceable, despite its religious nature. The Court of Appeals held that the federal Divorce Act does not give courts jurisdiction to require the issuance of a "get", the Jewish religious divorce, no matter what the divorcing parties have consented to, because courts do not have the right to enforce a matter of religious obligation. The lower court had awarded Marcovitz's wife $47,500 in damages because her husband had delayed for 15 years in giving her a "get", making it impossible during that period for her to remarry according to traditional Judaism.