Women’s Charter 1961 - Singapore Statutes Online

Jurisdiction of court in matrimonial proceedings

93.—(1) Subject to subsection (2), the court has jurisdiction to hear proceedings for divorce, presumption of death and divorce, judicial separation or nullity of marriage only if either of the parties to the marriage is —

(a)	domiciled in Singapore at the time of the commencement of the proceedings; or
(b)	habitually resident in Singapore for a period of 3 years immediately preceding the commencement of the proceedings.

(2) In proceedings for nullity of marriage on the ground that the marriage is void or voidable, the court may, even though the requirements in subsection (1) are not fulfilled, grant the relief sought where both parties to the marriage reside in Singapore at the time of the commencement of the proceedings.

(3) For the purposes of proceedings for nullity of marriage, “marriage” includes a marriage which is not valid by virtue of any of the provisions of this Act.

Restriction on filing of writ for divorce during first 3 years of marriage

94.—(1) No writ for divorce is to be filed in the court unless at the date of the filing of the writ 3 years have passed since the date of the marriage.

(2) The court may, upon application being made in accordance with the Family Justice Rules made under section 139, allow a writ to be filed before 3 years have passed on the ground that the case is one of exceptional hardship suffered by the plaintiff or of exceptional depravity on the part of the defendant, but if it appears to the court at the hearing of the proceedings that the plaintiff obtained leave to file the writ by any misrepresentation or concealment of the nature of the case, the court may —

(a)	if it grants an interim judgment, do so subject to the condition that no application to make the judgment final may be made until after the expiration of 3 years from the date of the marriage; or
(b)	dismiss the proceedings without prejudice to any proceedings 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 proceedings so dismissed. [27/2014]

(3) In determining any application under this section for leave to file a writ before the expiration of 3 years from the date of the marriage, the court is to 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.

(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.

[Act 3 of 2022 wef 30/12/2022]

(5) Nothing in this section is deemed to prohibit the filing of a writ based upon matters which have occurred before the expiration of 3 years from the date of the marriage.

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