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Early implementation of divorce law reform
The Government will bring the divorce reform legislation into effect as soon as possible so that its provisions are available to those who wish to make use of them, the Secretary for Home Affairs, Mr Michael Suen, said today (Thursday).
Speaking at the Installation Ceremony of the 1995-96 Executive Board of the Zonta Club of Hong Kong East, Mr Suen highlighted the main features of the amendments which are aimed at relieving hardship and distress for couples whose marriage has reached the stage of irretrievable breakdown.
He said following the passage of the amendment bill through the Legislative Council last week, corresponding changes to the Chief Justice's rules that provide for the detailed procedures and forms for divorce proceedings are needed.
"I am pleased to say that work on these changes is well advanced. A full draft has already been prepared for the Chief Justice. The Judiciary Administrator is currently seeking comments on the draft both from within the judiciary and from legal practitioners," he said.
Mr Suen expected the exercise would be completed by the end of next month when the amendments would be finalised.
"We then expect the Chief Justice to move rapidly to make the amending rules so that we can bring the reform legislation into force without undue delay," he said.
The main changes embodied in the legislation involved firstly the reduction in the minimum periods of separation required as the basis for divorce proceedings from two years to one year where both parties consent to the divorce; and from five to two years where one party does not consent.
Secondly, the legislation introduces a new divorce procedure of joint application by mutual consent, which removes the adversarial element for those who prefer to conduct the divorce on the basis of mutual consent.
Meanwhile, the third significant reform under the new legislation will reduce the time restriction on divorce early in marriage from three years to one year.
Mr Suen said the amendment was based on a variety of reforms which had been proposed by the Law Reform Commission to bring the law of divorce more in line with the balance of community opinion.