ABSTRACT
Divorce questions frequently feature on examination papers, either as a whole question or linked with other issues. Divorce is increasingly common, with recent statistics showing that around one in three marriages end in divorce. The law regarding divorce is in confusion. The Family Law Act 1996 fundamentally altered the way in which divorces would be obtained, and abolished the concept of fault-based divorce. The Act was radical, but will not be implemented. In 1997 the new Labour Government indicated they would implement the divorce provisions of the Act (that is, Pt II, ss 2-21) after successful pilot schemes, probably in 2000. However, in 1999, the Lord Chancellor ’s Department stated that implementation was to be delayed and in 2001 the Government announced that it was abandoning the divorce reforms. The pilot schemes had not been viewed as a success, and had proved costly and not necessarily any less antagonistic than the Matrimonial Causes Act (MCA) 1973 procedure. The present law in the MCA will continue to be in force, and so the following questions highlight the present position, and consider how this was altered under the Family Law Act 1996.
