A Brief Review of the No-Fault Divorce Bill

The no-fault divorce bill is swiftly making its way through the House of Commons. After passing the first and second reading unopposed, the bill is now under review at the committee stage. Because the bill, if passed, will restructure much of what we know of the archaic divorce law in the UK, it is worth taking a look at what it actually does.

As you may remember from the law school, the one and only way to get divorce in the UK is to prove the irretrievable breakdown of marriage to the Court. And whether you re-visit the original Act of 1969 or its successor, the Matrimonial Act of 1973, you’ll find that irretrievable breakdown of marriage can be proved by establishing at least one of five ‘facts’: i) abusive behavior, ii) adultery, iii) two years separation with consent, and so on.

While one would expect anything other than abusive behavior and adultery to be the sensible way to part ways and dissolve the relationship of marriage, research shows that nearly 60% of petitions are fault-based.

Couples are dragging each other to the floor of justice and making all the worse accusations that one can possibly think of. The UK government believes this blame game does not help family relationships at all, damages any prospects of future reconciliation and leaves the children shaken and disturbed.

That’s why it has proposed the no-fault bill.

The bill aims to make the divorce process less acrimonious and harmful for families already undergoing a difficult transition.

It kicks out the five facts and allows spouses to file for divorce without needing to submit evidence of inhumane behavior, adultery or separation. This also gives way to the possibility where both the parties will be able to make an application for divorce for the first time.

But there is one faction that’s strongly opposing this bill.

Its argument?

We can’t just end families based on where one party decides to walk away without giving any reason at all. This can weaken our society in the long run.

The bill does not propose any changes to the child custody or financial consequences of divorce.

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