David Burrows breaks the seal on Kim v Morris
Most divorce cases proceed as a simple administrative exercise, performed by court staff and a district judge, in exchange for a court fee of £340 (the same applies to “applicants” for civil partnership orders, to whom this article also applies). The process is entirely statutory; and thus any judicial discretion must be prescribed by statute. A case has to be properly pleaded: under Family Procedure
Rules 2010 (FPR 2010) forms mostly do that job.
Rules 2010 (FPR 2010) forms mostly do that job.
Divorce procedure (FPR 2010, Pt 7) is based on extinct county court rules: interrogatories and discovery only went in April 2011. If a cause is defended, precision pleading is still essential. Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 (MCA 1973), s 1(3) requires the court to “inquire” into the facts. If the facts (set out in s 1(2)) are proved, the marriage will be found to have irretrievably broken down (s 1(1)) and a decree will follow (s 1(5)). Though MCA 1973 does not say so, the decree is in the first instance a decree nisi which can be made absolute
