Jersey looks to reform its divorce laws
Consultation asks islanders' views on divorce
The States of Jersey has launched a social media consultation which asks islanders for their views on whether Jersey's 70-year-old divorce laws need to change.
Last weekend, a live chat was launched on Facebook, through the Apptivism.je app, and in the first ten hours over 450 Facebook users responded. The live chat is the first step in a major public consultation on divorce reform that will take place during this year.
The main issues include:
- Removing the three-year bar on divorce – at present a spouse has to be married for three years before filing for divorce.
- Moving to 'no fault divorce' – where you can file for divorce without having to prove that your husband or wife was a fault.
- Joint filing for divorce.
- Introducing 'compulsory mediation' – couples could potentially be required to attend mediation to try and agree their divorce settlement before instructing lawyers and going to court.
Home Affairs Minister Kristina Moore said:
"The States agreed, in principle, in 2015 that our divorce laws should be radically reformed. Our current law, the Matrimonial Causes Law 1949, is almost 70-years-old and does not reflect how people live today. Reform is long overdue.
"Our current system of divorce can be highly adversarial. Children and families of divorcing couples get caught up in the process and affected by the outcomes, especially where there are contested court proceedings."
For further information, click here.
26/1/18