Letter: Divorce will never be straightforward so making it easier will not minimise conflict

The Department of Finance has launched a consultation into Northern Ireland’s divorce law.

It says its goal is to minimise “antagonism and conflict” and maximise “the prospect for a positive long-term relationship, post-divorce”.

It is clearly well-intentioned. But divorce will never be straightforward or easy.

We would be naïve to think marriage breakdown can be separated from tension and hostility. When a marriage ends, emotions are raw. Trust has often been shattered and conflict is hard to avoid.

The law cannot simply wish away the pain and tension that come with the collapse of a lifelong commitment. Current divorce law recognises this reality, enabling justice to prevail in an unavoidably difficult process.

Northern Ireland already has a form of ‘no-fault’ divorce. Indeed, the Department of Finance acknowledges that around three quarters of divorces in NI proceed on those grounds. But that doesn’t mean there’s no longer a place for fault-based grounds too.

On the contrary, they serve an important purpose. They provide for those whose separation is the result of serious wrongdoing, such as adultery or abuse. It allows individuals to have their experience acknowledged formally by the court, which can be deeply important for emotional, moral, and sometimes religious reasons. Removing this option would deny justice to people who need the law to name and recognise what happened to them.

If it wants to keep the fault grounds, Stormont has another obvious option for change: make ‘no-fault’ divorce even quicker and easier. That would be a mistake too.

Making divorce faster would do more harm than good. Contrary to the hopes of MLAs, it would increase rather than reduce animosity. Speed heightens emotion and pressures decision-making at precisely the time when calm reflection is most needed. (Not forgetting that the most contested part of any divorce — the inescapable financial settlement — is not covered by the proposed reforms.)

Moreover, shortening the timeline for divorce risks increasing the number of couples who separate unnecessarily. The current two-year waiting period for no-fault divorce exists for a reason. It gives couples space to gain perspective — a chance to try mediation or counselling, or simply to let time do its work.

A significant minority of those who begin divorce proceedings ultimately decide to stay together. Perhaps the grass wasn’t greener after all. We all know people who’ve come close to giving up on a relationship, only to find a way forward together.

James Kennedy, NI Policy Officer, The Christian Institute