Commentary on provisions of the Act Divorce and judicial separation Section 1: Divorce: removal of requirement to establish facts etc
This section substitutes a new section 1 of the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973.
	New subsection (1) provides that an application for a divorce order may be made to the court by either or both parties to a marriage. New subsection (2) specifies that an application for divorce must be accompanied by a statement that the marriage has broken down irretrievably ("statement of irretrievable breakdown"), and that this statement may be made by the applicant or applicants (in a joint application).
	New subsection (3) makes clear that a court in receipt of an application under subsection (1) must take the statement of irretrievable breakdown as conclusive evidence that the marriage has broken down irretrievably, and make a divorce order accordingly.
	New subsection (4) provides that a divorce order is at first a conditional order and may not be made final before 6 weeks have elapsed from the making of the conditional order. New subsection (5) provides that the court cannot make a conditional order until the applicant, or both joint applicants, has or have confirmed to the court that they want the application to continue, and the applicant(s) cannot give that confirmation until 20 weeks have elapsed since the start of the proceedings. Rules of court govern how and when proceedings are started. The current provision in rule 5.3 of the Family Procedure Rules 2010 provides that proceedings are started when a court officer issues an application at the request of the applicant (an application is issued on the date entered in the application form by the court officer).
	New subsection (6) provides that the Lord Chancellor may, by statutory instrument, shorten or lengthen the minimum periods set out in subsection (4)(b) or (5). Any such statutory instrument containing an order under subsection (6) may not be made unless a draft of the instrument has been laid before and approved by a resolution of each House of Parliament (new subsection (9)). New subsection (7) stipulates that the Lord Chancellor may not vary the minimum periods set out in subsections (4)(b) and (5) so as to provide for a total minimum period exceeding 26 weeks.
	New subsection (8) provides that the court may, in a particular case, shorten the time periods set out in subsections (4)(b) and (5). This replaces the existing power of the court currently set out in section 1(5) of the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 to reduce the six-week period to decree absolute in exceptional cases (such as in the case of terminal illness or imminent birth of a child to one of the parties).
	New subsection (10) provides that Family Procedure Rules may make provision as to the procedure for a joint application to become a sole application.