Grounds for Divorce and the Time Restrictions on Petitions for Divorce within Three Years of Marriage
(HKLRC Report)
Noting that divorce law in Hong Kong had remained unchanged since the 1970s, while at the same time there had been significant changes in society and a substantial increase in divorce, the Commission made recommendations in this 1992 report to liberalise the law of divorce which reflected a similar trend in jurisdictions elsewhere.
The report recommended that irretrievable breakdown of marriage should remain the sole ground for divorce, but proposed a number of changes to the facts which could constitute that ground, including the reduction in the periods of time required for divorce based on separation. The report also recommended the introduction of new procedure to allow a couple to divorce by mutual consent after a period of one year's notice to the court, and the reduction from three years to one year after marriage of the restriction period on petitions for divorce.
The report's recommendations were implemented by the Matrimonial Causes (Amendment) Ordinance in 1995.
| Press Release (PDF) (MS Word) |
| Report (PDF) (MS Word) |