Feasibility of Denying Spousal Maintenance During the Exercise of the Wife’s Right of Retention: A Critical Analysis of Article 1085 of the Civil Code

Document Type : Specialized Article

Authors

1 Ph.D student in Jurisprudence and Principles of Law, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran

2 Assistant Professor in Islamic Jurisprudence and Principles of Law, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran

10.30497/flj.2025.246963.2078

Abstract

Based on Article 1085 of the Civil Code, wife can refuse to fulfill her duties towards her husband until her dowry is delivered to her and this refusal does not negate her right to alimony.The obligation of alimony, according to the prevailing opinion of Imami jurists, is based on consensus, the verse:"Live with them in kindness," the impossibility of unity of source and multiplicity of issuers, the impossibility of imposing an unknown substitute, narrations, the practice of thereligious community, and the aggregation of evidence, all of which are conditional on specific compliance. However, according to the authors who have conducted a detailed and descriptive-analytical study of the mentioned evidence, the best reason that can prove the conditionality of alimony on compliance is the practice of the religious community. Therefore, the approach that does not see compliance as effective in the obligation of alimony is completely incorrect. Hence, Article 1085 of the Civil Code, which maintains the right to receive alimony during the exercise of the right of retention for the wife, needs to be reviewed and revised.

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