ABSTRACT
To obtain a divorce in an English court, the petitioner must establish that the marriage has irretrievably broken down according to the criteria established in the legislation.27 Under the Family Law Act 1996, provided that the requirements for information meetings and arrangements for the future have been met, then the divorce is granted on the basis that the marriage has irretrievably broken down and this is established by a statement of marital breakdown made by one or both of the parties and complying with ss 5 and 6 of the legislation. Nothing less than the requirements under English law will do and, while the petitioner is free to rely on any facts which support the contention, including those facts which would sustain a foreign petition based on the concept of the matrimonial offence or on a different concept of breakdown, the position under any foreign law is irrelevant.
