Matrimonial Causes Act 1973

Which marriages meet the requirements for dissolution is defined by legal standards. Over the last 200 years, the grounds for divorce in Western societies have expanded. These expansions have made divorce more accessible. Although the divorce rate has increased, there is not a clear link between the accessibility and this increase. Other key influences effecting divorce rates include economic, social, cultural, demographic and institutional factors.

The NSW legal system has responded to the issue of domestic violence to achieve justice for family members. The Crimes (Domestic and Personal Violence) Act 2007 was introduced to better protect victims and the families of domestic violence. Under section 38 of this act, Apprehended Domestic Violence Order (ADVO’s) were introduced to protect the adult, importantly, it also instantly includes any children that are living with the adult at the time, unless there are valid reasons as to why they should be let off. This is highly effective for the family of domestic violence as it also ensures the safety of children which demonstrates fairness and equality as all members of the family are included to ensure safety. This act was also significant

The Family Court is a superior court which was first established in 1975 under the Family Law Act 1975 (Cth). This Act, as amended by the Family Law Reform Act 1995 (Cth) and the Family Law Amendment (Shared Parental Responsibility) Act 2006 (Cth), states that all children have a right to know, be cared for, and have regular contact with both parents and other ‘significant’ people. This is of course if it would be contrary to the child’s best interests.

There has been a long history regarding reform proposals and recommendations surrounding the law of divorce. The first legislation which was introduced in divorce law was the Matrimonial Causes Act 1857, which allowed people to obtain a divorce. However, today the provisions within that act are outdated, yet, it represented society in 1857. In 1937, legislation altered to catch up with societal changes and additional grounds of divorce were introduced. This again occurred in 1973, where legislation changed altering the grounds and facts in which a divorce could be obtained. This is the current legislation relied upon today.

In the terms of Divorce – the legal termination of marriage, this has increased immensely since 1971 due to the change in legislation that had liberalized divorce, made it cheaper and easier to obtain. The Divorce Reform Act of 1971 was the most important because prior to 1971, one partner had to provide ‘evidence’ that they had been wronged by the significant other (matrimonial offence). Due to the change of the law, it allowed people to divorce on the basis of “irretrievable breakdown”. In addition, since 1984, the Matrimonial and Family Proceedings Act reduced the time limit for divorce for a minimum of 3 years of marriage to only one year. After this act, the divorce rate shot up again, as it did in 1971. Now, people were finally able to legally to end all connections, as previously when divorce was either too expensive or difficult to obtain, separation was very common, which was when a couple decided to live away from each other.

As generations pass by, divorce is becoming more of a social norm than a problem between two individuals. Divorce once was a private household issue but it became widespread only a couple of decades ago. According to the statistics, in the 1950s only 3% of families got divorced and in the 1960s it was already 10%. In the 1980s, 33% of families opted for divorce due to various environmental factors. Recent studies in Canada today, show that the rate of divorce is changing to an extent such that 4 in 10 marriages end in separation. Divorce is a sensitive concept which lies beyond two individuals simply falling out of love as is both the cause and an effect. The many factors that contribute to divorce are extramarital affairs, financial struggles, and the lack of communication.

According to section 5 of the Marriage Act 1961 (Cth) marriage can be defined as “…the union of a man and a woman to the exclusion of all others, voluntarily entered into for life.” (AustiLII, n.d.). However, there are also forms of illegal marriage such as forced marriage. Filed under section 270.7A of the Criminal Code Act 1995 (Cth), forced marriage can be defined as an illegal marriage whereby the victim entered into the marriage without freely and fully consenting usually due to the use of coercion, threat or deception or because the victim was mentally incapable of understanding the nature and effect of the marriage ceremony (Office of Parliamentary Counsel, 2015).

The biggest flaw in the definition is likely to be considered as the “for life”, as when the definition was made divorce was available through the matrimonial causes act 1857 (MCA 57). This however had a very strict approach which only really gave men the right to petition for divorce, but only on the grounds of adultery, whereas woman could petition but would have to prove adultery then one of the

Despite the fact the physical effects of domestic violence could be the similar as for other forms of violent crime, the emotional effects can be much worse. Domestic violence happens when a crime is committed against a victim by someone with whom the victim is or has previously found, in a close relationship or somebody living in the same household as the victim. Domestic violence regulations differ from state to state. These variances range from conceptualization to the requirements under required reporting laws. Because of all these differences, the entire process of avoidance a domestic violence situation rest on each state. The Violence

Family Law Act 1975, in the same year established the Family Court of Australia, and the Act focuses on issues as a result of martial breakdown, such as ‘no fault divorce’; best interest of children, equal valuation of partners contributions (breadwinner / homemaker), equal consideration of mother and father when assessing custody. The Act has been amended and evolved to include coverage for casual and de-facto relationships and ex-nuptial relationships, including distribution of debts and Superannuation as equal property, strengthening court process around domestic and family

With regards to the issue of divorce, Hyde vs Hyde originally defined marriage as a union ‘for life’, hindering the ability to seek divorce. Eventually the 1959 Matrimonial Causes Act (Cth) created 14 grounds for divorce. Despite this improvement on the previous law, these grounds where still not very accessible. This was reduced to just the one ground – “irretrievable breakdown of a marriage,” in the 1975 FLA. This change was a response to the needs of a changing society, bringing in ‘no fault’ within a divorce. This shows the law is very effective with dealing relationship breakdowns and the ability to reform to align with

Despite the fact the physical effects of domestic violence could be the similar as for other forms of violent crime, the emotional effects can be much worse. Domestic violence happens when a crime is committed against a victim by someone with whom the victim is or has previously found, in a close relationship or somebody living in the same household as the victim. Domestic violence regulations differ from state to state. These variances range from conceptualization to the requirements under required reporting laws. Because of all these differences, the entire process of avoidance a domestic violence situation rest on each state. The Violence against Women Act of 1994 (VAWA) has been designed to increase victim services and detention and trial of batterers. Stakeholders are persons who have an absolute interest in it, any of individuals who begin and perform it, or individuals whom it distresses directly or secondarily. Detecting and concerning stakeholders can be a huge portion of guaranteeing the efforts accomplishment. To obtain stakeholder contribution and support, it’s vital to understand who probable stakeholders are, but their interest in the effort. Since most women and men’s obtain their health care in primary care settings, health care professionals can play a critical role in decreasing the progress of domestic violence through screening and intervention in a regular bases.

After long and bitter parliamentary debates, the federal Divorce Act was revised. Additional grounds for divorce included desertion, imprisonment, or separation for at least three years plus marital offences of physical and mental cruelty. The new law eliminated the need to appear in court in most cases – often the most personally humiliating experience in the older legal procedure. The law later changed again in 1985, where it eased off yet again, to allow divorces after only a year’s separation. The broad trend in Canada was to make divorce easier. It was accomplished by making it less fault-oriented where most divorce applications to the courts are no longer contested which eliminates the need for a formal court hearing where both parties testify and ask for different things. With “no fault” splits in place, the social stigma of divorce shrank. As more people divorced the stigma weakened further. The cycle continued while the divorce rate soared. In 1951, there had been only one divorce for every 24 marriages, by 1987, one couple divorced every two couples that married (McGovern). In 1993, there were 78 000 divorces across Canada, compared to about 11 000 in 1968 before the new divorce laws came into

In the world today, many men and women believe divorce is always a dreadful thing that occurs, but there is actually a beneficial side to it. Divorce has been around for many years and mainly just men were the only ones capable to make the decisions. Until, The Guardian states,” The 1857 Matrimonial Causes Act allowed ordinary people to divorce.” Under this new law, it was capable for women to make the decision, they just had to prove the facts to withhold a divorce. Following 1857, in 1923 there was a private member’s bill that allowed women to petition for a divorce for adultery. However, it only made it a little bit easier, they still needed to prove the reason. A few years later, they were able to pass another law, this law allowed divorce

However, even if separation agreements are largely accepted in England and that thee are no public policy objections to them, they still may not oust the jurisdiction of the courts. English law is not ready to give up on that rule yet the rationale behind it seems to be out-dated. It is indeed doubtful whether the economic need to make sure the parties do not pass their responsibility to maintain their former spouse to the state still justifies such a position. It seems to me that there is no proper reason for maintaining that