COTA HO
852 834 7649 F.00
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(c) where
(a)
(e)
(f)
(g)
the respondant does not consent to a divorce, the requirement for a prior period of separation of five years should be reduced to two years;
in the light of recommendation (c), the current fact of desertion for two years or more for demonstrating the irretrievable breakdown of a marriage should be deleted;
there should be
a new fact for establishing the irretrievable breakdown of a marriage of one year's notice of divorce by mutual consent, during which time the couple may or may not separate;
the current time restriction on petitioning for a divorce early in marriage should be reduced from three years to one year; and
adultery should по longer be a legal cause
for an action for damages.
In addition, we propose to make a number of amendments to rectify points of incompatibility between the Matrimonial Causes Ordinance and the Bill of Rights. The proposed amendments would result in the following :-
(a) removal of provisions on jurisdiction that apply special grounds in the case of proceedings by a wife;
(b)
(c)
elimination of the
differential treatment between a petition for divorce alleging adultery brought by a husband and such a petition brought by a wife;
replacement of the provision for devolution of property in judicial separation as it affects the wife with one that gives equal coverage for the husband and wife with respect to this matter; and
......