Court Lacks Authority To Order Husband To Give Jewish Divorce Document

In Lowy v. Lowy, (NJ App., Dec. 21, 2011), a New Jersey appeals court held that a trial judge lacked authority to order defendant husband to give a get (Jewish divorce document) to his wife where the husband was under no contractual obligation to do so. While the parties had submitted their dispute to a Jewish religious court (Bais Din), that religious arbitration panel did not order the husband to give his wife a get. The court held:

Once the Bais Din decree is eliminated as a source of authority for the judge's August 27, 2010 enforcement order -- as it must be -- the order cannot be sustained because it constitutes impermissible judicial involvement in a matter of religious practice.

Under Jewish religious law, a get can only be issued with the cooperation of the husband, and the wife may not remarry in a traditional Jewish religious ceremony if she has not received a get. [Thanks to Steven H. Sholk for the lead.]