In the
civil law of the
common law legal systems, if a creditor states that they
forgive a certain debt, they might be blocked (or
estopped) from attempting to collect that same debt at a later date. Condonation would not prevent the creditor from collecting any subsequent or other debts, however.
Divorce law Prior to the advent of
no-fault divorce statutes, condonation was frequently asserted as a defense to divorce. Although one spouse may have committed an act that justified the other in obtaining a divorce, the other spouse might be deemed to have forgiven the conduct and thus waived the right to sue for divorce. The most typical way in which condonation occurred is if the wronged spouse, with knowledge of the act, voluntarily engaged in sexual relations with the wrongdoer. Critics of the doctrine contended that it discouraged spouses from attempting reconciliation, as one act of sexual intercourse would deprive the wronged spouse of any relief if the spouses were unable to resolve their differences. ==Military law==