A Jurisprudential Review of the Amount of Indemnity at the Divorce at Wife’s Instigation

The amount of indemnity at the divorce at wife’s instigation has been considered by the famous Shi'a and Sunni jurists to be indefinite and unlimited and it has been conditioned upon the consent of the wife and the husband. According to this theory, the amount of indemnity at the divorce may be greater than the amount of dowry and the property given by the husband to the wife at the time of marriage contract. There are some doubts, at the present time, about this statement and the evidences have not been considered to be enough. For the same reason, the amount of indemnity greater than the dowry has been rejected or it has been limited by some of the jurists to be at the most the same as the dowry and other property given by the husband to the wife. The other theory examined and substantiated in this article is that “the amount of indemnity at the ordinary divorce at wife’s instigation is unlimited and at the juridical divorce at wife’s instigation it is limited.” According to this theory, if it is recognized that the divorce is necessary because of the wife’s great disgust of her husband, the court should intervene in the amount determination of the indemnity and prevent from the husband’s abuse of the difficult situation of the wife and her loss. Considering the increasing amount of divorce at wife’s instigation at the present time, the family courts are involved with this case and it is a necessary jurisprudential and legal issue.