ENGLAND & WALES Law and Practice Contributed by: Alex Carruthers, Oliver Heeks and Sian Brooks, Hughes Fowler Carruthers
Rules for Service of Divorce Proceedings The rules for service are contained in Part 6 of the Family Procedure Rules 2010 as amended by Statutory Instrument 2022/44 (FPR) and have been updated. Generally, the application will be served within the jurisdiction by the court by email, which has become one of the primary methods of service. Service within the jurisdic - tion or outside the jurisdiction must be effected within 28 days according to the method of ser - vice chosen, unless this time limit is extended. Religious Marriages To be legally valid, a religious marriage (other than marriage according to the rites and cere - monies of the Church of England and the Church in Wales, as well as Jewish and Quaker mar - riage) must generally take place in a registered building. If a couple celebrate their marriage at a place of worship – or a venue – that has not been registered for marriage, then the couple are required to go through an additional civil ceremony in order for their marriage to be valid under English law. Annulment and Judicial Separation Annulment is a different way to end a marriage. It is possible to annul a marriage in the first year of a marriage (unlike divorce). A marriage can be annulled if it was never legally valid and therefore “void” or if it was legally valid but meets one of the conditions that makes it “voidable”. Examples of void marriages include those where the parties are too closely related, or one or both of the parties was underage when they mar - ried, or one of the parties was already married. Although a void marriage never existed, parties may require a decree of nullity to prove this – for example, if they want to get married again.
A marriage may be voidable for a number of rea - sons, including that: • the marriage was never consummated; • a party did not properly consent to the mar - riage; and • the other person had a sexually transmitted disease. Parties may wish to separate legally but not divorce. This may be for many reasons (eg, reli - gious convictions). Parties can apply to court for a legal separation in these circumstances. This application can be made on a joint basis or via a sole application. The application form is called a “judicial separation application form” and is on Form D8S. 1.2 Choice of Jurisdiction Jurisdictional Grounds to Commence Divorce Proceedings As of 1 January 2021, the courts in England and Wales have jurisdiction to entertain proceed - ings for divorce, judicial separation, or nullity if the court has jurisdiction under Section 5(2) of the Domicile and Matrimonial Proceedings Act 1973 (the “DMPA 1973”) (as amended). Under the DMPA 1973, the English court will only have jurisdiction if on the date of the application at least one of the following conditions is satisfied: • both parties are habitual residents of England and Wales; • both parties were habitual residents as a couple in England and Wales and one of them still lives here; • one party wants to start a divorce and their spouse is habitually resident in England and Wales; • one party wants to start a divorce and has lived in England and Wales for at least 12 months;
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