Morals of the Church
Library › Prümmer, Manuale Theologiae Moralis › Volume II › Treatise XI. On The Virtue Of Justice And The Opposed Vices › Section I. On Right And On The Virtue Of Justice Itself › Question I. On Right Itself › Chapter III. On The Subject Of Right Or Dominion › Article I. On The Dominion Of Spouses › On The Dominion Of Spouses According To The Civil Codes Of Certain Nations

Section — Prümmer, Manuale Theologiae Moralis

§ 6. On The Dominion Of Spouses According To Italian Law

23.

23. 1. In many things Italian law agrees with French law set forth above, and especially in the clause of the immutation of a contract entered after marriage. ("Matrimonial conventions of whatever species cannot be changed in any way after the celebration of marriage.")49

  1. The determination of the dowry can be made from the wife's present or future goods, but once the dowry has been determined it cannot be increased during marriage.50

  2. The husband indeed has administration and usufruct of the dowry, but not direct dominion over it, just as it has been established in French and Roman law.

  3. For making changes concerning the dowry, alienation of goods, and the nuptial pact itself, the authority of the judge is required.51

  4. In case of the dissolution of marriage, whether by the death of either spouse or by divorce, restitution of the dowry must be made according to the norms of art. 1409-1418. But the sentence of a judge is always required ("every extrajudicial separation is null").52

  5. The wife indeed retains full dominion and administration of paraphernal goods,53 but she cannot alienate her own immovable goods without the authority of the husband.54

  6. Italian law does not admit another union of goods except the union of fruits (communione degli utili);55 it is almost the same as Errungenschaftsgemeinschaft in German law and communauté des acquêts in French law.

  7. For the confessor according to Italian law, difficulties can more easily arise on the part of the husband, whose rights are rather limited, than on the part of the wife, whose rights are broader.

49 Cod. civ. Ital. a. 1385.

50 Art. 1389 and 1391.

51 Art. 1405.

52 Art. 1418.

53 Art. 1427.

54 Art. 134.

55 Art. 1433.

Property Rights of Married Women