Matrimonial Rights and Inheritance Jaffna Ordinance, 1911, as amended in 1947 (Chapter 58). Country/Territory Sri Lanka Document type Regulation Date 1911 (1947) Source FAO, FAOLEX Subject Land & soil Keyword Gender Land tenure Legal proceedings/administrative proceedings Ownership Geographical area Asia, Asia and the Pacific, Indian Ocean, South Asian Seas, Southern Asia Abstract This Ordinance, consisting of five Parts, applies to Tamils in property matters. It specifies that movable or immovable property a woman acquires during or before marriage remains her separate property. A woman has the power to deal with her movable property during her lifetime without the consent of her husband. However, a married woman may deal with or dispose of any immovable property to which she is entitled only with the written consent of her husband, except in the case of last wills. Property acquired by either spouse during marriage using the couple’s shared funds or estate is called thediatheddam. An undivided half-share of thediatheddam vests automatically in the non-acquiring spouse. Although a husband cannot donate the wife’s share of thediatheddam under any circumstances, he may sell or mortgage it. The law ceases to apply to a Tamil woman during the course of her marriage to a foreign man, but applies to both husband and wife in cases of marriage between a Tamil man and a foreign woman (16). The Ordinance is divided as follows: Preliminary (Part I); Matrimonial Rights of Husband and Wife with Reference to Property (Part II); Inheritance (Part III); Life Interest (Part IV); Interpretation and Repeal (Part V). Full text English Website www1.umn.edu