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==Origin==
Medieval Latin ''recrimination''-, ''recriminatio'', from ''recriminare'' to make a [[retaliatory]] charge, from [[Latin]] ''re''- + ''criminari'' to [[accuse]]
*[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/15th_century 1611]
==Definitions==
*1 : a retaliatory [[accusation]]; also : the making of such accusations <endless recrimination>
==Description==
In [[law]], '''recrimination''' is a [[defense]] in an action for [[divorce]] in which the accused party makes a similar [[accusation]] against the plaintiff. In plain English, it is a lawyer's way of saying "you too."
''Recrimination'' was generally considered by [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Family_law family law] experts to be one of the most [[dysfunctional]] and illogical aspects of the old fault-based divorce system in [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_law common law] countries. For example, in the context of a [[marriage]] where the marital [[relationship]] has collapsed to the point that both [[spouses]] are openly committing [[adultery]], the assertion by either spouse of this defense would prevent a [[divorce]] even though the family unit is clearly no longer capable of [[functioning]].
As a result, the defense was formally abolished by statute in many [[jurisdictions]] when they converted to a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No-fault_divorce no-fault divorce] regime.
The corollary principle of comparative rectitude ameliorated the effects of the ''recrimination'' [[doctrine]] by holding that if the [[offenses]] were of entirely different orders of seriousness, the spouse [[guilty]] of the lesser fault was still entitled to relief.
[[Category: Law]]