The Law Reform (Married Women and Tortfeasors) Act 1935 is well known among tort lawyers for abolishing the common law rule denying one tortfeasor the right to claim a contribution to damages from another. However, it is equally important for addressing the legal capacities and liabilities of married women. The Act clarified the law relating to married women’s capacity to sue and be sued. In abolishing the liability of husbands for torts committed by their wives, the Act might be seen to be as much a legal victory for men as for women, and, indeed, to a considerable extent, it was men’s actions that drove this element of reform. Nevertheless, in taking yet a further step in the direction of formal equality between men and women under the law, the Act is rightly regarded as a landmark for women’s rights.
The full version of this landmark is written by Joanne Conaghan.