Legal Definitions - nonintercourse

Nonintercourse is a legal term with two distinct meanings, primarily referring to either a refusal of commercial dealings between countries or a lack of marital relations between spouses.

• 1. The refusal of one country to engage in commercial dealings with another.

  This typically involves a government's decision to restrict or prohibit trade, such as importing or exporting goods and services, with another nation. Such actions are often taken for political, economic, or security reasons.

  • Example A: Following a severe human rights violation, Country X imposes a ban on importing luxury goods from Country Y and prohibits its own companies from selling advanced technology to Country Y. This governmental action represents a form of nonintercourse, as Country X is refusing to engage in specific commercial activities with Country Y.

  • Example B: A coalition of nations agrees to an embargo on all arms sales to a particular conflict zone. This collective decision to cease military trade with the region demonstrates nonintercourse, as the participating countries are refusing commercial dealings in a specific sector with that area.

• 2. The lack of access, communication, or sexual relations between a husband and wife.

  This meaning often arises in legal contexts related to family law, such as divorce, annulment, or paternity disputes, where the absence of marital intimacy or cohabitation is relevant.

  • Example A: A couple has been legally separated for several years, living in different cities, and has had no contact or sexual relations since their separation. In a subsequent divorce proceeding, their prolonged period of nonintercourse would be a key factor demonstrating the irreconcilable breakdown of their marriage.

  • Example B: In a paternity case, a husband might argue that he could not be the father of a child born to his wife because he was deployed overseas for the entire period of conception and had no access to her. His claim of nonintercourse during that critical time would be presented as evidence to dispute paternity.

  • Example C: A couple seeks an annulment of their marriage, claiming that they have never consummated the union and have lived as platonic roommates since their wedding day. Their consistent state of nonintercourse could be a basis for the court to declare the marriage void.