Women’s Charter - Singapore Statutes Online

Restriction on petitions for divorce during first 3 years of marriage

94.—(1) No petition for divorce shall be presented to the court unless at the date of the presentation of the petition 3 years have passed since the date of the marriage.

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(2) The court may, upon application being made in accordance with the Rules of Court, allow a petition to be presented before 3 years have passed on the ground that the case is one of exceptional hardship suffered by the petitioner or of exceptional depravity on the part of the respondent, but if it appears to the court at the hearing of the petition that the petitioner obtained leave to present the petition by any misrepresentation or concealment of the nature of the case, the court may, if it pronounces a decree nisi, do so subject to the condition that no application to make the decree absolute shall be made until after the expiration of 3 years from the date of the marriage, or may dismiss the petition without prejudice to any petition which may be brought after the expiration of the said 3 years upon the same, or substantially the same, facts as those proved in support of the petition so dismissed.

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(3) In determining any application under this section for leave to present a petition before the expiration of 3 years from the date of the marriage, the court shall have regard to the interest of any child of the marriage and to the question whether there is reasonable probability of a reconciliation between the parties before the expiration of the said 3 years.

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(4) The court may, before determining an application under this section, refer the differences between the parties to a Conciliation Officer so that a reconciliation between the parties might be effected.

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(5) Nothing in this section shall be deemed to prohibit the presentation of a petition based upon matters which have occurred before the expiration of 3 years from the date of the marriage.

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