Baroness Fiona Shackleton thinks that divorce laws are archaic and need to be changed! She emphasizes that people should understand the purpose of marriage!
Divorce rates are on the rise. More and more couples break up and have to seek legal action to end their marital association.
But the laws governing the divorce process have not been changed over the years and UK’s famous lawyer Baroness Fiona Shackleton feels that the current divorce laws are archaic and need a change with the changing social structure and thinking.
What is the current divorce system in England and Wales?
In the present divorce laws, the couples have to prove to the court that their marriage cannot be salvaged. They need to provide proofs that their association is broken and cannot be repaired.
What does Baroness Fiona think?
A new study on divorce was published just a week back and Baroness Fiona was talking on BBC Radio 4’s Today program at the end of July 2018 on it. The research has been done at the University of Exeter and Baroness Fiona was the sponsor.
Baroness Fiona Shackleton feels that teachings on marriage should commence in schools. Schools should stress that marriages should be considered some most important decisions in a person’s life. It should not just happen but it should happen with some pre-thinking. Baroness said:
“It’s not just about the heart. It’s a practical arrangement.”
She explained that merely asking 10 questions could help couples before they go in seriously for a relationship. It would help them decide whether it would be right to go ahead with the relationship or not.
She said:
“[Marriage] is a practical arrangement which has to survive to rear children. And it’s the children who are the very sad losers when parents are selfish and decide their own desires override those of their family.”
Baroness added:
“What I think should happen is that people should understand that when they are entering this commitment which is meant to be for life.”
She feels that in a marriage, the pair should not try to change each other since traits cannot be changed. One should understand the practicality of the marriage and aim towards it.
An example of a peculiar divorce case
There was a recent case in which a lady named Tini Owens had appealed to the Supreme Court regarding her fight to divorce her husband and she had lost the case.
Tini, 68 wanted to separate from her husband citing that she was unhappy with him but her husband Hugh refused to give her the divorce. Both the Family Court and the Court of Appeal have rejected her divorce papers and she is now forced to stay with her husband with whom she said she is unhappy.
What should the new law be?
Specialist lawyers feel that there could be a special reason put and divorce granted. It could be called ‘no-fault divorce’. Such a thing would have helped Tini in getting what she wanted.
The present scenario is that couples either have to agree beforehand for the divorce or have to exaggerate matters to get one. If they agree it would be a mutual divorce and things would be settled amicably. But if things need to be exaggerated to seek a divorce, it would become ugly and hateful.
She feels that besides changing the laws on divorce there should also be reforms around finance management in such cases.
About Baroness Fiona
Baroness Fiona has been in the practice of the law for the last 4 decades. She is a solicitor to Prince Harry as well as Prince William. She deals mainly with divorce cases and has been on some important celebrity divorces such as that of Prince Charles and Sir Paul McCartney. In 2010, she has been made the life peer.
Source: bbc.co.uk
