England and Wales recently changed their Law in respect of Divorce. Now a Divorce can be granted in England and Wales on the basis that one spouse can state that the marriage is irretrievably broken down no further reasons need to be given. The new Law also provides couples with the option of jointly applying for a Divorce and making a joint statement that the marriage has irretrievably broken down. This is a welcome reform of the Law and it allows Divorce to proceed in a less contentious basis. Significantly it also avoids one party vindictively contesting Divorce forcing their spouse to remain in an unhappy marriage. It reduces the potential for domestic abusers to challenge the Divorce thereby using the Court system to further harm their victims.
I have come across cases where once spouse has abused the Court system to further harm their spouse and children. This can be done in a cruel and vindictive fashion. It can also done to effectively bleed dry financially the other spouse. The reform in England and Wales is welcome and, perhaps, this is something that could be given consideration under Irish Law. Certainly, it would be no harm to revisit the operation of the Divorce Legislation in Ireland.