England begins speedy ‘no fault’ divorces, prompting debate on whether Northern Ireland should follow suit

The changes follow the high-profile case of Tini Owens, who lost a Supreme Court fight in 2018 after failing to convince judges that her “loveless” 40-year marriage should end. The Divorce, Dissolution and Separation Bill came into into effect in England and Wales today, Wednesday.

Critics say the new legislation will allow spouses to ‘simply walk away’ from a marriage without having to give any reason - and without their spouse being able to contest the decision.

However Relate NI responded that Northern Ireland is now “falling behind” England and Wales in terms of “amicable divorce options”. It notes that Northern Ireland, married couples will still only be able to secure a divorce after being married for one year, and on the grounds of ‘irretrievable breakdown’. This will still need to include at least one of the following justifications; 1) Adultery 2) Unreasonable behaviour 3) Two years’ desertion 4) Two years’ separation (with partner’s consent) 5) Five years’ separation.

Relate NI says that in the instances of adultery or unreasonable behaviour, a divorce can be triggered immediately in NI because they are “fault based”. Otherwise married couples have to wait a minimum of two years after separation before they can activate a non-fault based divorce.

Relate NI CEO, Duane Farrell, said: “When couples are experiencing relationship breakdown, if both parties agree there is no prospect of reconciliation, should they be forced to blame the other just to achieve a speedier divorce?”

“England and Wales are moving on and saying that they shouldn’t, but Northern Ireland continues to maintain an archaic divorce system which fuels unnecessary animosity and blame which does not encourage positive co-parenting relationships.”

“A wealth of research shows that frequent, intense and poorly resolved conflict is damaging to children’s life chances, whether parents are together or apart.”

However the charity CARE for Northern Ireland, which champions pro-marriage policies, argued the changes would create “acute costs” for the whole of society.

“Marriage is hugely important and benefits parents, children, and communities,” it said. “Making divorce easier undermines it and our concern has always been that if you make something easier to obtain, more people will choose it. More divorces mean more family breakdown, with acute costs to the whole of society.

“We believe marriage is one of the most important public commitments one can make. Politicians should be ensuring more funding for relationship support services to make sure the priority is on helping couples stay together, not talking up ‘quickie divorces’ that incentivise splitting up.”

The Bishop of Durham said previously that while the Church “shared the Government’s objective of reducing family conflict, it was not persuaded that the proposals for divorce had been sufficiently thought through”.