| Before the Matrimonial Causes Bill 1857 constituted fault-based divorce, England was a Protestant country preserving Catholicism religious of forbidden divorce in the earthly world. The divorce legislation of England had been changed through the years, form forbidden divorce to fault-based divorce to non-fault-based divorce, from husband-centre to spouse-centre to child-centre when England perfects no-fault-based in divorce 1996. In the following, I will show the Matrimonial institute's pass, present, as well as its prospect in one aspect by illuminating history of divorce legal system.There are four chapters. In the first chapter, it discuses the establishing of fault-based divorce. Before 1857, England was a nation without legally divorce, there existed two ways to deal with matrimonial affairs, one is a mensa et thoro adopted by ecclesiastic court, permitting spouse separation without the right of their remarriage, and the other was a viculo matrimonii adopted by Parliament, permitting spouse divorce with the right of ignoring husband remarriage if he was granted the private bill by Parliament. Both systems had been co-existed for more than 150 years until the Matrimonial Causes Bill 1857 was passed. The Act of fault-based divorce put forward two subjects: one altered the right of competence courts from ecclesiastic courts or Parliament to secular courts and the other legalized matrimonial affairs, embodying adultery as the sole divorce ground and the double standard in divorce law.In the second chapter, it focuses on how to complete 1857's Act in details. As we all known, there were two shortcomings in the Matrimonial Causes Bill 1857 : firstly, it adopted double standard in divorce lawsuit unequal male with female, and secondly, the divorce ground was limited. After World War I, with the enhance of women's economic and political status, Parliament abolished double standard in Matrimonial Causes Act of 1923. In 1936,Alan Herbert, one of Private Members, introduced matrimonial bills to Parliament and passed the Matrimonial Causes Act 1937 completing the fault-based system. 1937's Act allowed incurable insanity for more than five years to divorce, which was a key remarkable step to non-fault divorce.In the third chapter, It introduces the root of non-fault-based divorce. In 1956, Royal commission on Marriage and Divorce( Morton Commission) took on wildly survey and published Royal Commission on Marriage Divorce Report 1951-1955. They spitted two opinions, one persisted in remaining three divorce grounds of 1937's act, and the other side proposed to add certain time of separation as new divorce ground. At the same time, another group——the Archbishop of Canterbury's Commission considered to enhance their powers by reforming the divorce law. In 1966, with the leader of Dr. Mortimer published putting Asunder: a Divorce Law for Contemporary Society proposing irrevocable breakdown as the sole ground of divorce and requiring the court to inquest whether the matrimonial to be irrevocable breakdown. In the same year, law committee published Grounds of Divorce: the Field of Choice compromising on irrevocable breakdown as the sole divorce ground without investigated by the court in details. Finally, in 1969, Divorce Reform Act was passed indicating the actualization of non-fault-based divorce.In the last chapter, it addresses the perfection of non-fault legal system. Since the implementation of Divorce Reform Act in 1971, people have been working hard on how to improve and perfect this law, especially how to protect the child of separation family. Family Law Act 1996 was passed which emphasized on the child welfare in divorce litigation. Now, England divorce legal system is towards to perfection in the field of no-fault-based divorce. |
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