A Brief History Of UK Divorce Law Inside The 20th Century

UK divorce law has created more than the course with the 20th century. The initial stress for reform came within the initial decade of the century because the divorce law within the UK at the time was complicated and high priced for many people. It meant that divorce was only a legal recourse for the rich and well connected. Until the middle of 19th century the only way to get divorced was by means of an act of Parliament and there were only 317 divorces in more than 150 years.

Ladies had been also get more info  much more restricted and disadvantaged by the law and there had been lots of trapped in unhappy marriages. There was concern concerning the high volume of couples 'living in sin' owing to the issues and costs involved in obtaining divorce.

A Royal commission was setup to appear into these issues and to reform the Victorian divorce law and to streamline the procedure. The Royal commission encouraged that the divorce method really should be simplified, streamlined and be far less pricey.

The advent of the Initially World War along with the enhanced position of women added far more stress for divorce and family law reform.

A Private Member's Bill was introduced in June 1923. This bill led to the Matrimonial Causes Act created adultery by either husband or wife the sole ground for divorce. A wife no longer had to prove further faults against the husband. The Matrimonial Causes Act which stated that in the occasion of a divorce, both partners would be treated equally.

In 1937 the law was amended once again and now three other grounds for divorce had been added. The private members bill introduced was introduced by A P Herbert. The new ground for divorce that were added to that of adultery had been cruelty, desertion (for at the very least three years), and incurable insanity. Nonetheless persons had been unable to divorce inside the very first 3 years of their marriage as this clause was incorporated inside a part of the act.

Until the law changed once again in 1969 it was impossible for any "guilty" spouse to divorce an "innocent" companion. Provided that the innocent husband or wife took care not to be caught in adultery, he or she could correctly block the other's divorce and remarriage. The fact that many marriages broke down on small problems was not reflected inside the divorce law.

The Law Commission looked at these concerns in the 1960 and reported in 1966. The aim was to update the law and get rid of the emphasis on marital offence because the basis of a divorce. When it was introduced in 1971, The Divorce Reform act made it significantly simpler for a couple to escape a marriage. The Act made the so-called "quickie divorce" and introduced the principle of 'irretrievable breakdown' as grounds for separation and eventually divorce.

The act also shifted the places of your divorce hearing in the High Court towards the County Court although initial allegations nevertheless had to be proved in court. This meant that in open court hearings proof had to be given by the party issuing the divorce proceedings. Defended divorces nonetheless had to become heard within the higher court.

A series of "special procedure" were introduced in between 1971 and 1977 that allowed to get a judge of rule on the divorce procedure via the papers and affidavits offered. Neither from the parties required to attend along with the only open a part of the divorce was the situation from the degree. These particular procedures have now turn out to be the norm in divorces inside the UK.

The 1971 act is still the basis of divorce and family law inside the UK plus the existing government has announced plans to overview the existing law to see if it reflects the requires of society forty years since the law was last amended.