New law grants LGBTQ+ couples right to sue for adultery compensation

The amendment to the Civil and Commercial Code, allowing LGBTQ+ couples to sue their spouses for compensation if they commit adultery, came into effect on Wednesday. 

This change to Article 1523 was made in line with the Constitutional Court’s ruling on June 18 last year, which found that the previous version of the article was unfair to wives and offered more protection to husbands in cases of adultery. 

The court ruled that the old law allowed husbands to sue their wives’ lovers, regardless of gender, but only allowed wives to sue their husbands’ lovers who were women. 

The court deemed this discriminatory and in violation of the Constitution’s Article 27, which guarantees equality for all sexes. 

On Tuesday, the Cabinet was informed that the amendment would take effect the following day. 

The amendment also supplements changes made to provide marriage equality for the LGBTQ+ community, replacing the terms “husbands” and “wives” with “spouses”. 

The updated Article 1523 states: 

“When the court grants a divorce on the grounds specified in Article 1516 (1), one spouse has the right to claim compensation from the other spouse, as well as from a person who has been supported, maintained, or esteemed, or who is the cause of the divorce.

“A spouse may also claim compensation from a person who has violated the other spouse through extramarital affairs or from a person who openly presents themselves as being in a relationship with the other spouse.

“However, if one spouse consents to or is complicit in the other spouse's actions under Section 1516 (1), or in the actions of another person as specified in the second paragraph, then that spouse is not entitled to claim compensation.”