President of Family Division backs no fault divorce

The President of the Family Division, Sir Nicholas Wall, used his keynote speech to the Resolution Conference to support its call for the introduction of no fault divorce.

In a speech to 300 delegates in Leeds, Sir Nicholas said:

“My position is very simple. I am a strong believer in marriage. But I see no good arguments against no fault divorce. At the moment, as it seems to me we have a system – so far as divorce itself is concerned – which is in fact administrative, but which masquerades as judicial. ….  In the nineteenth century and for much of the twentieth, divorce was a matter of social status – it mattered whether you were divorced or not, and if you were, it was important to demonstrate that you were the “innocent” party. All that, I think, has gone.”

In a wide-ranging speech, the President expressed concern over Legal Aid cuts and their consequences, in particular, the expected increase in cases involving self-representing litigants. Acknowledging that MIAMs were not working as they should in parts of the country, he said: “What I fear …. is that mediation and even ADR will be for the few, and that most SRLs will litigate.” He added: “Cases will take longer and become more difficult.”

Read More: Family Law Week