opinion that to undertake any inquiry beyond those limits might ruin the present undertaking. There were special difficulties in regard to Moslem and Hindu law. The question of Moslem law was under consideration. The Committee was trying to ascertain whether it would be possible to obtain the necessary documentation. There was a mass of literature from the pens of European and Eastern jurists, and Koranic law could be studied up to a certain point. The difficulty lay in the fact that Koranic law was not uniformly applied in all Moslem countries, owing to the existence of many different sects. One special difficulty in the case of India arose from the existence of castes. The Committee had left the question open and proposed to deal with it at a later session. In conclusion, the Chairman pointed out that the women's organizations had already afforded the Committee their collaboration in the form of the copious documentation which now appeared in print. That material had of course been communicated to the scientific institutes already referred to. Any further information to be supplied to the Committee or, more correctly, to be sent to the Secretariat, should be transmitted by one of the international organizations otherwise the Secretariat and the Committee might be placed in an embarrassing position. National organizations wishing to communicate with the Secretariat were therefore asked to do so through one of the international organizations. SCHEME OF WORK, 12 APRIL 1938 1 It will be necessary not merely to describe the position.of women as such but also to deal with differentiations made between women themselves on the ground of marriage, age, education, number of children, etc. In some cases moreover a law which prima facie affects both sexes equally is in reality of a nature to operate adversely to b. C. Eligibility: 1. in the national sphere, 2. in the regional or local spheres, 3. in other cases. Educational facilities for women (e. g., admission to schools, universities, etc.). 2 d. Admission to public functions and participation in public e. f. g. h. services. Right to exercise a profession or other independent occupation.2 Position of women as regards personal freedom and safety, liberty of speech and of assembly. Fiscal laws affecting women as such. Certain benefits peculiar to women (allowances, pensions, etc.).2 Section II. Private Law A. Capacity a. Capacity in general of women: 1. Majority, emancipation and deprivation of capacity. 3. Authorization for the performance of legal acts by women b. Rules of capacity applicable to the following particular cases: 1. Right to enter into contract. 2. Right to represent the household. 3. Right of a married woman to carry on business or industry. 4. Right to acquire, hold, manage and dispose of property. 5. Right to institute or defend legal proceedings. 6. Right to give evidence and to attest documents. 7. Testamentary capacity, including donations mortis causa. B. Family Law a. Marriage: 1. Betrothal, promise of marriage and their consequences. 2. Requirements for a valid marriage. This matter falls within the competence of the International Labor Organization as one of those in regard to which a proper relationship must be maintained between the work of the Committee and the work of the International Labor Office. 3. Nonexistent, void and voidable marriages and their effects. Putative marriages. 4. Judicial and other forms of separation. 5. Dissolution of marriage by divorce. b. Personal relations of the spouses (during the marriage and after its dissolution): 1. The personal rights and duties of the spouses compared. 2. Name and legal rank of the married women. 3. Obligation of either spouse to maintain the other. 4. Possibility for a married woman to obtain a separate passport. 5. Separate residence or domicile of the married women. c. Pecuniary and proprietary relationships between the spouses (during the marriage and after its dissolution by divorce or judicial separation): 1. Matrimonial regimes. 2. The right of a woman to dispose of her earnings. 3. Contracts between the spouses and contracts entered into by the wife in the name of the husband. 4. Liability in tort of one spouse towards the other. 5. Liability of one spouse to third parties for the acts of the other. 6. Actions for debt between the spouses; the ranking of the married woman in the event of levy of execution on, or insolvency of, the husband. d. Relations between parents and children (during the marriage and after its dissolution): 1. Authority over the children. 2. Custody and guardianship. 3. Obligations as to maintenance. 4. Right of the parents to the services, or to the earnings or other income of the children or to their property. 5. Right of daughters to a dowry. e. Law of adoption as it effects women. f. Effects of the prolonged absence of the husband. g. Irregular unions: 1. Ascertainment of the mother or the father. 2. Legal position of the woman. 3. Legal position of the children. 4. Authority over the children. 5. Right of illegitimate children to maintenance. C. Law of Succession and Donatio Mortis Causa 1. Rules of the law of succession which apply exclusively to women. 2. Right of a married woman to be nominated as executor, administrator or trustee. 3. Succession in the case of illegitimacy. D. Legal Position of the Widow b. Detention pending trial, penalties and measures of security applicable to women. Method of execution of such penalties and measures. c. The application to some women of rules relating to the suspension of sentences, release on probation or parole and the after care of prisoners. d. Protection afforded to women by the criminal law. e. Prostitution and traffic in women. f. The law of vagrancy as it affects women. g. Special provisions of criminal procedure relating to women. h. Participation of women in police activities, in the administration of justice in the criminal courts and in prison administration. EXCERPTS FROM AIDE-MEMOIRE FOR THE SCIENTIFIC INSTITUTES, 12 APRIL, 1938 1 2. The object of the proposed survey is to furnish an objective picture of the legal status of women at the present time. For this reason it is important that nothing should appear in the survey which savors of criticism or of direct or indirect propaganda. * 5. The mandate conferred on the Committee by the Assembly speaks not only of the law as such but also of its application. The Committee is at present not prepared to take a final decision as to the matters which may properly be considered to fall under this heading. This is a question which can only be dealt with satisfactorily when more experience has been gained in the course of the work. It will be discussed again at the Committee's next meeting. 1 Source: League of Nations, Official No. C. S. F./12 (2). 744732°-47-5 8. It is the intention of the Committee that, at least for the present, the survey should not extend beyond the study of laws of the Western type, using that term in its widest sense. The consultation which has taken place with the three Institutes mentioned by the First Committee of the Assembly has shown that these bodies have no adequate means at their disposal for studying other systems of law, with possibly the exception of such rules of Mohammedan law as may be enforced in Europe. The Committee is exploring the possibility of organizing the study at a future date of the systems of law which at present have been reserved. 12. The survey is intended both to give a general picture to the reader and also to serve as a work of reference for lawyers, legislators and other specialists. It is, therefore, important on the one hand that it should not include too much minute detail and on the other hand that the references and the sources from which fuller information can be obtained should be clearly and fully indicated. It will not be advisable as a rule to set out the text of a law or legal decision in full. A summary will be sufficient provided that the essential points appear clearly from it. 2 There are countries particularly in the Near and Far East in which the law relating to women is in part of the Western and in part of the Oriental type. For the time being, for the reason given, the latter law cannot be dealt with. REPORT ON THE PROGRESS OF THE INQUIRY, ADOPTED 10 JANUARY 1939 1 At the close of its second session, the Committee feels it convenient that it should report to the Council on the progress of its work. Origin and Method of the Inquiry In September 1937, the Assembly decided that the League should publish a comprehensive survey of "the legal status enjoyed by women in the various countries of the world as the result of the provisions of national law and the application of those provisions" (resolution of September 30, 1937). The compilation of the survey was to be carried out by "the competent scientific institutes." The Assembly itself requested the International Institute for the Unification of Private Law at Rome to undertake the part of the survey which related to civil law. For public law and criminal law, it was suggested that recourse should be had to 1 Source: League of Nations, Official No. C. 59. M. 21. 1939. V.; C. S. F. 25 (1). |