Legal Definition and Related Resources of Desertion

The abandonment of a relation or service in which one owes duties; the quitting wilfully and without right of one’s duties; the withdrawal , unexcused, from the obligations of some condition or status . See Johnson v Strickland, 76 S.E.2d 533, 88 Ga.App. 281. In matrimonial law, the term denotes the separation or one spouse from the other with an intention on the part of the deserting spouse of bringing cohabitation permanently to an end, without reasonable cause and without the consent of the other spouse. To constitute desertion, two elements are required on the part of the deserting spouse, namely , the fact of separation and the . animus deserendi and on the side of the deserter’s spouse, one element, namely the absence of consent. See Novak v Novak, (D:C-.App.)212 A.2d341. It is not necessary that in all cases one spouse must have removed himself or herself from the matrimonial home . A wilful , total and unjustifiable suspension by one spouse of all marital duty and relationship would constitute legal desertion even though both parties remain in the same house . See Ferine v Ferine, 114 S.E. 871, 92 W. Va. 530.

Abandonment; the abandonment of a duty or of a person as to whom the deserter is charged with a duty; as desertion by a seaman, or a soldier, or by a husband of his wife. As a cause for divorce, is an unwarranted departure from the conjugal relation, intending not to return. The precise elements vary according to the statutes. In only one or two states is mere abstinence from sexual intercourse regarded as desertion. The voluntary separation of one of the married parties from the other, or the voluntary refusal to renew a suspended cohabitation, without justification either in the consent or the wrongful conduct of the other. 122 111. App. 225.

noun

• abandonment
• abandonment of allegiance
• abjuration
• absence without leave
• act of forsaking
• apostasy
• AWOL
• defection
• departure
• derelictio
• disaffection
• disloyalty
• flight
• forsaking
• forswearing
• leaving
• mutiny
• quitting
• recreancy
• renouncement
• renunciation
• repudiation
• resignation
• secession
• unlawful departure
• willful abandonment
• Associated Concepts: constructive desertion
• willful desertion

Browse or run a search for Desertion in the American Encyclopedia of Law, the Asian Encyclopedia of Law, the European Encyclopedia of Law, the UK Encyclopedia of Law or the Latin American and Spanish Encyclopedia of Law.

Desertion in Historical Law

You might be interested in the historical meaning of this term. Browse or search for Desertion in Historical Law in the Encyclopedia of Law.

Search for legal acronyms and/or abbreviations containing Desertion in the Legal Abbreviations and Acronyms Dictionary.

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This definition of Desertion is based on the The Cyclopedic Law Dictionary . This entry needs to be proofread.

Vocabularies (Semantic Web Information)

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Desertion in Law Enforcement

Main Entry: Law Enforcement in the Legal Dictionary. This section provides, in the context of Law Enforcement, a partial definition of desertion.

Resources

See Also

• Law Enforcement Officer
• Policeman
• Law Enforcement Agency

Further Reading

• desertion in A Dictionary of Law Enforcement (Oxford University Press)
• desertion in the Encyclopedia of Law Enforcement
• A Treatise on the Police of the Metropolis

English Legal System: Desertion

In the context of the English law, A Dictionary of Law provides the following legal concept of Desertion :

1. The failure by a husband or wife to cohabit with his or her spouse. Desertion usually takes the form of physically leaving the home, but this is not essential: there may be desertion although both parties live under the same roof, if all elements of a shared life (e.g. sexual intercourse, eating meals together) have ceased. Desertion must be a unilateral act carried out against the wishes of the other spouse, with the intention of bringing married life to an end (animus deserendi). If it is continuous for more than two years, it may be evidence that the marriage has irretrievably broken down and entitle the deserted spouse to a decree of *divorce.

See also constructive desertion

2. An offence against service law committed by a member of the armed forces who leaves or fails to attend at his unit, ship, or place of duty. He must either intend at the time to remain permanently absent from duty without lawful authority or subsequently form that intentio One who absents himself without leave to avoid service overseas or service before the enemy is also guilty of desertio