Resolution Calls for Divorce Law Reform
Family lawyers have expressed concerns that the Brexit negotiations are causing issues such as no-fault divorce be forgotten about.
The national chair of Resolution, Nigel Shepherd, was speaking to an assembly of family lawyers from all over the UK and highlighted that the organisation is trying to make sure that no fault divorce does not get forgotten. Resolution is a nationwide organisation of family lawyers that campaigns for the constructive resolution of family disputes.
The no-fault divorce movement has been gaining momentum over the past ten years. Supporters claim that current divorce laws are outdated and make the divorce process much more difficult and confrontational than it has to be.
Divorce can be extremely painful for all involved and children can often feel as if they are caught in the middle of arguing parents. It is argued that a no-fault divorce option would help to facilitate a more peaceful and collaborative divorce process.
photo Pearson Scott Foresman
Mr Shepherd commented, ‘There are more than 110,000 divorces each year – every day the government delays, more than 300 couples get a divorce. That’s 600 people, every day, running the gauntlet of a system that actively encourages conflict and blame.’
In 2005 a Private Members Bill was launched to try to get a fault divorce option introduced. Despite pressure from within the legal profession and the judiciary, the bill failed.
A recent case highlighted the need for reform with the President of the Family Division, Sir James Munby, slamming the current rules for being “based on hypocrisy and lack of intellectual honesty.”
With the recent triggering of Article 50, the government will have a huge amount of work to do to negotiate Britain’s departure from the EU and to secure new trade deals. It remains to be seen whether issues such as no-fault divorce will be able to get the attention they deserve during this time of constitutional upheaval.
You can find out more information about divorce in Scotland here.
Author: Molly McGrady
[…] to the justice system. The national chair of Resolution, Nigel Shepherd, speaking to an assembly of family lawyers from all over the UK, highlighted that the organisation is trying to make sure that no […]