Divorce and Separation

By the end of the 1960 it was felt that it was no longer in the pubic interest to try and keep alive marriages that to all sense an purpose where dead . The modern divorce was then introduced. for the first time "irretrievable breakdown" became the sole ground of divorce. in the event the the emerged as a some what uneasy compromise. while it stated that irretrievable breakdown was the only ground for divorce, it also prepurted some requirements from earlier divorce legislation.

Until the recognition of irretrievable breakdown, the law had insisted upon an innocent party and a guilty party in divorce proceedings, A guilty spouse could not petition for a divorce; an innocent party on the other hand could only obtain a divorce after proving to the court that a matrimonial offence had been committed against him or her

Since the introduction of the divorce law the number of divorces has risen massively, currently the 41% of couples divorce in britain, the highest rate in europe

Today the law of divorce is ain under urgent debate in which the conflicts cannot be easily reconciled. If society respects the institution of marriage shouldn't the law try to preserve it. If so, how? is there any purpose served by keeping people locked into marriages that they do not want? should the law encourage reconciliation between disagreeing spouses, or should the law try to make they parting as painless as possible. Should indeed these issues be taken out of the hands of lawyers and judges so that the process of divorce becomes a none judicial one. To how much of an extent should the services of mediation be employed to to the exclusion of the courts.

In relation to children of separating couples dramatic changes are already in force under the children's act 1989 parents in divorce proceedings are encouraged to take matters into they own hands and make there own decision regarding the future of the children

Another striking change is that maintenance applications for children are no longer a matter for the courts in general. under the child support act a government agencies asses an determines such applications for maintenance. the courts will only deal with maintenance matters in clearly defined circumstances

The hope is that theses and other projected major changes will lead to less litigation and less heartache. there is no certainly that they will.