End nigh for unreasonable behaviour?

Family lawyers are keenly anticipating the end of a long campaign for no-fault divorce. However, the Ministry of Justice has scotched reports that a consultation is imminent.

While the Justice Secretary, David Gauke has not made an official announcement, it was widely reported that he is preparing a consultation on no-fault divorce.

However, a Ministry of Justice spokesperson said the recent reports that a consultation is underway have been overstated, although Gauke is ‘open’ to introducing the reform. The spokesperson said Gauke's position remained the same as in a May interview with The Times, where he said he was ‘increasingly persuaded’ of the need for divorce law reform and believed the current system creates ‘unnecessary antagonism in an already difficult and sensitive set of circumstances’.

Currently, unless a separating couple have lived apart for at least two years, one spouse must apportion blame by accusing the other of adultery or unreasonable behaviour in order to divorce.

In July, the Supreme Court held that Tini Owens must remain married to her husband, Hugh, in an appeal that Lord Wilson said ‘generates uneasy feelings’. Lady Hale said she had found the case ‘very troubling’ but that it was ‘not for us to change the law laid down by Parliament’.

Resolution’s former chair and longtime campaigner for reform, Nigel Shepherd, said 1.7 million people have assigned blame in the divorce process since 1996, and ‘many didn’t have to’.

‘Resolution has been leading the campaign to end the blame game for over 30 years,’ he said.

‘For far too long, couples have been forced into needless acrimony and conflict in order to satisfy an outdated legal requirement. Everyday our members see the devastating impact conflict can have on families. Apportioning blame can lead to long-term damage to relationships between children and their parents, and can undermine attempts to resolve matters outside of an already overstretched court system.’

Family lawyer Simon Burge, partner at Blake Morgan, said: ‘Too often divorce hearings focus on blame and allegations as a means to an end, which only increases acrimony at a time when there are more important matters to discuss—such as pensions, mortgages and maintenance payments.’