Khulʿ as a Mechanism for Realizing Equality in the Dissolution of the Marital Bond Under Algerian Family Law

Abstract

Islamic law has vested the power of divorce in the husband’s hand and granted him the right to dissolve the marital bond according to his will whenever he deems it necessary. Nevertheless, it has not neglected the interests of the wife; rather, it has provided her with two legal avenues to seek release from the marital relationship upon her request when marital life becomes untenable and discord prevails between the spouses.

In a similar manner, Algerian family legislation has been influenced by this principle and has sought to enshrine it through Articles 53 and 54 of the Algerian Family Code, which regulate the dissolution of the marital bond based on the unilateral will of the wife, namely judicial divorce and “khulʿ”.

This is particularly evident in the Algerian legislator’s attempt to establish “khulʿ” as the counterpart to the husband's unilateral right of divorce, while at the same time striving to preserve, to a certain extent, the principles and values derived from Islamic Sharia upon which the legislation is founded.