Select a region
Long-awaited changes to divorce legislation – including the introduction of ‘no-fault’ divorces – are still expected to come into force later this year, according to Policy & Resources.
A public consultation in 2019 led the Committee to propose changes to matrimonial law early in 2022 and they were approved during a States debate in July of the same year.
The most welcome aspect of the incoming legislation is the introduction of a ‘no-fault’ divorce, wherein two people can simply choose a divorce without having to prove the irretrievable breakdown of marriage.
Currently, several triggers of the divorce need to be proven before it can go through the courts, including; adultery, unreasonable behaviour, desertion, a separation of two years (with consent) or a separation of five (without consent). Additionally, the new legislation removes the ability to contest a divorce.
Pictured: Reforms to the Matrimonial Causes Law were approved on 13 July 2022 by the States of Deliberation.
A public consultation was launched all the way back in 2019 to gather the public’s opinion on current divorce legislation. 77% of those who responded were ‘very supportive’ of removing the ‘no-fault’ clause.
Despite strong support for modernising the law, changing it was never going to be a quick process and the Projet de Loi (proposed law) was only approved by His Majesty King Charles III in December. P&R said this now “[allows] officers in Guernsey to proceed with the commencement of the legislation”.
After confirming the proposed changes in April last year, P&R said that the timeframe was always going to be subject to change, especially if other urgent policy matters arose.
In the most recent statement to Express, P&R said: “Work on the implementation of the legislation is underway and it is still expected to come into force this year.”
Comments
Comments on this story express the views of the commentator only, not Bailiwick Publishing. We are unable to guarantee the accuracy of any of those comments.