The Obligation of Marital Fidelity in the Context of New Technologies

This article discusses the issue of understanding the obligation of marital fidelity in the context of the development of new technologies that enable the establishment of extramarital relationships online, as well as creating wide opportunities for sexual satisfaction outside marriage, also using artificial intelligence and robots specially created for this purpose. The provision of the Polish Family and Guardianship Code, according to which spouses are obliged to be faithful to each other, is of a general nature and does not list examples of violations of this obligation. However, the case law specifies that the obligation of fidelity also includes the obligation to maintain mutual loyalty and honesty. The author analyses whether extramarital forms of relationship in which there is no physical contact may constitute a violation of the obligation of fidelity and thus constitute a premise in divorce proceedings justifying the attribution of the fault of the breakdown of a marriage to the spouse maintaining such relationships.