Pro-family groups opposed to making Northern Ireland’s divorce law far more permissive are appealing to members to make their views known to an open consultation before Sept 26th.
Northern Ireland’s current legislation on divorce, introduced in 1978, is hybrid, allowing for divorce on grounds of fault (unreasonable behaviour, adultery and desertion) or no-fault (evidenced by separation).
The mooted changes include moving the NI system toward full “no fault” or even an administrative model like England and Wales, where applications bypass the courts altogether and cannot normally be contested.
The Coalition for Marriage (C4M) want to keep the mixed system, saying it better reflects the seriousness of marriage, allows the truth to be recognised where there is serious misconduct and promotes fairness in financial and child arrangements.
The are particularly opposed to an administrative, unilateral route that cannot normally be contested as they say marriage is a public commitment and the law should not treat ending it as a simple process.
