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.”