Women’s Charter - Singapore Statutes Online

Irretrievable breakdown of marriage to be sole ground for divorce

95.—(1) Either party to a marriage may petition for divorce on the ground that the marriage has irretrievably broken down.

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(2) The court hearing such petition shall, so far as it reasonably can, inquire into the facts alleged as causing or leading to the breakdown of the marriage and, if satisfied that the circumstances make it just and reasonable to do so, make a decree for its dissolution.

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(3) The court hearing a petition for divorce shall not hold the marriage to have broken down irretrievably unless the petitioner satisfies the court of one or more of the following facts:

(a)	that the respondent has committed adultery and the petitioner finds it intolerable to live with the respondent;
(b)	that the respondent has behaved in such a way that the petitioner cannot reasonably be expected to live with the respondent.
(c)	that the respondent has deserted the petitioner for a continuous period of at least 2 years immediately preceding the presentation of the petition;
(d)	that the parties to the marriage have lived apart for a continuous period of at least 3 years immediately preceding the presentation of the petition and the respondent consents to a decree being granted;
(e)	that the parties to the marriage have lived apart for a continuous period of at least 4 years immediately preceding the presentation of the petition. [26/80]

(4) In considering whether it would be just and reasonable to make a decree, the court shall consider all the circumstances, including the conduct of the parties and how the interests of any child or children of the marriage or of either party may be affected if the marriage is dissolved, and it may make a decree nisi subject to such terms and conditions as the court may think fit to attach; but if it should appear to the court that in all the circumstances it would be wrong to dissolve the marriage, the court shall dismiss the petition.

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(5) Where the parties to the marriage have lived with each other for any period or periods after it became known to the petitioner that the respondent had, since the celebration of the marriage, committed adultery, then —

(a)	if the length of that period or of those periods together was 6 months or less, their living with each other during that period or those periods shall be disregarded in determining for the purposes of subsection (3)(a) whether the petitioner finds it intolerable to live with the respondent; but
(b)	if the length of that period or of those periods together exceeded 6 months, the petitioner shall not be entitled to rely on that adultery for the purposes of subsection (3)(a). [26/80]

(6) Where the petitioner alleges that the respondent has behaved in such a way that the petitioner cannot reasonably be expected to live with him, but the parties to the marriage have lived with each other for a period or periods after the date of the occurrence of the final incident relied on by the petitioner and held by the court to support his allegation, that fact shall be disregarded in determining for the purposes of subsection (3)(b) whether the petitioner cannot reasonably be expected to live with the respondent if the length of that period or of those periods together was 6 months or less.

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(7) In considering for the purposes of subsection (3) whether the period for which the respondent has deserted the petitioner or the period for which the parties to a marriage have lived apart has been continuous, no account shall be taken of any one period (not exceeding 6 months) or of any 2 or more periods (not exceeding 6 months in all) during which the parties resumed living with each other, but no period during which the parties lived with each other shall count as part of the period of desertion or of the period for which the parties to the marriage lived apart, as the case may be.

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(8) References in this section to the parties to a marriage living with each other shall be construed as references to their living with each other in the same household.

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