Divorce Law Reform updates from The House of Commons

Currently divorce law requires spouses to evidence at least one of five ‘facts.’ These are: adultery, behaviour, desertion, two years’ separation (if the other spouse consents to the divorce), or five years’ separation (if the other spouse disagrees).

The bill will replace the requirement to evidence conduct or separation ‘fact’ with the provision of a statement of irretrievable breakdown.

The Bill faced opposition from 16 MPs, 12 of whom were Conservatives, in an unusual split in parliament with The Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice facing opposition from his own party.

Rt Hon Robert Buckland QC repeatedly said the legislation was not a ‘quickie divorce bill’.

He said: ‘This is not about blame or guilt; it is about acknowledging the fact that the causes of divorce are very complex and will evolve often over a long period of time… Indeed, the limitations of the court process are not particularly well understood by the public. Under existing law, the legal fact that many people choose as their route to divorce bears little resemblance to the reality of why a marriage has broken down.’

You can read the full article on the Divorce Reform Bill in the Law Gazette at this link.