Divorce simplified

Press, Volume CXI, Issue 32494, 2 January 1971, Page 15

Divorce simplified

(N.Z. Press Assn.-—Copyright) LONDON, Jan. 1. Britain’s simplified divorce law takes effect today, and about 50,000 spouses are reported ready to file petitions to end their “dead” marriages. Under the new legislation, either husband or wife can obtain a divorce after a fiveyear separation, in spite of objections from the other partner. Only two years separation is needed if both partners agree. Adultery, cruelty or desertion were the only grounds for divorce under the old statute. A Law Society spokesman said today that he expected the divorce cases in Britain in 1971 to top the 80,000 mark—ls,ooo more than in 1970.

Now, “irretrievable breakdown of marriage”—which still includes the three former causes—is the cornerstone of the Divorce Reform Act, which has been dubbed the "Casanova’s Charter,” by some opponents. They maintain that, divorce being available automatically

after a five-year break-up, in spite of objections from the “innocent” party, deserted wives have to counter-claim under law. Of the 50,000 spouses seeking divorce under the new law, many, according to one solicitor, Mr Leo Abse, who is also a member of the the House of Commons, are those who have been forced to “live in sin,” some for up to 30 years, because of a previous marriage partner’s objection to divorce. Some experts estimate that as many as 180,000 children of parents unable to remarry under the old law, can now be legitimised. The Law Society can give no breakdown of the number of couples seeking contested divorces or divorce by mutual consent.