Members of Parliament have passed a bill to introduce “no-fault” divorce by a margin of 231-16 following a Commons debate.
Under current legislation, for an immediate start to divorce proceedings, one spouse has to allege that adultery, unreasonable behaviour, or desertion has taken place.
Under the new terms, the Divorce, Dissolution and Separation Bill says that they only have to state that the marriage has broken down irretrievably, and it will also remove the option to contest a decision to divorce.
As it stands at the moment, if a person wishes to divorce their spouse without their consent they must first live apart for five years.
It will still be possible to challenge the proceedings on certain grounds including fraud and coercion, however, currently fewer than 2% of divorce cases are contested.
The bill will also introduce the option of a joint divorce, where both parties agree to separate.
Legal terminology is also changing under the new bill with “Decree Nisi” and “Decree Absolute” becoming “conditional order” and “final order”. “Petitioners” will be referred to instead as “applicants”.
Divorces will not be instant, however, as there will remain a minimum six-month period between the lodging of a petition for divorce to it being made final.
Justice Secretary Robert Buckland opened the Commons debate, saying that the bill seeks to make the process of separation “less traumatic”.
“No-one sets out thinking that their marriage is going to end, no-one wants their marriage to break down, none of us are therefore indifferent when a couple’s lifelong commitment has sadly deteriorated,” he said.
“It is a very sad circumstance but the law, I believe, should reduce conflict when it arises.
“Where divorce is inevitable, this bill seeks to make the legal process less painful.”
Jonathan Gullis MP echoed the statement, referring to his own experiences: “I would have preferred to have had a no-fault divorce. It is a very painful process.”
Raising concerns about the bill, Jim Shannon of the DUP said: “More funding must be allocated to counselling services to provide trained help for those in marriage difficulties and to prioritise saving a marriage.”
To which Mr Buckland replied: “It is, I think, the sad experience that by the time a decision to issue a divorce petition has been made then matters have sadly gone beyond that.”
David Lammy, Labour’s shadow justice secretary, welcomed the bill on behalf of his party, saying that it offers a “common-sense approach” while still respecting the institution of marriage and civil partnerships.
He added that the new law “will promote conciliations and compromise” and will reduce legal costs which can reach “eye-watering sums quite unnecessarily”.
There was some opposition to the bill, however, with MPs including Sir Desmond Swayne, Sir John Hayes and Fiona Bruce urging the government to focus on providing assistance to couples who were undergoing marital difficulties rather than “undermining the commitment of marriage”.
They said that the bill was “badly-timed” arguing that many “otherwise durable” marriages were under “intense Covid-related strain”.
The move to change divorce legislation was prompted in part by the case of a woman who wanted to divorce her husband of 40 years. Her husband contested the split, however, and under current law, they could only obtain a divorce by living apart from him for five years.
The woman, Tini Owens, said that she was “desperately unhappy” in the marriage, but her husband disagreed saying that they still had a “few years” to enjoy as a couple.
Supreme Court Justices heard, and rejected, her case in 2018, one of whom said they had ruled against her with “no enthusiasm whatsoever” and that it was down to Parliament to change the law.
A spokesman for the Ministry of Justice said: “We will always uphold the institution of marriage. But when divorce cannot be avoided, the law must not create conflict between couples that so often harms the children involved.
“Our reforms remove the needless ‘blame game’ while ensuring there is a minimum six-month time frame to allow for reflection and the opportunity to turn back.”
*** UPDATE – THERE HAVE BEEN NEW DEVELOPMENTS OVER THE “NO FAULT DIVORCE” BILL – PLEASE CLICK HERE FOR MORE ***
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