Women’s Charter 1961 - Singapore Statutes Online

Divorce may be granted only if marriage has irretrievably broken down, etc.

95.—(1) Either party to a marriage may apply to the court for a divorce.

(2) A divorce is to be granted if and only if the court is satisfied that —

(a)

the marriage has irretrievably broken down;

[Act 21 of 2023 wef 01/07/2024]

(b)

if the applicant is relying on section 95A(1)(a), (b) or (c) — the applicant is not relying on his or her own adultery, behaviour or desertion, as the case may be; and

[Act 21 of 2023 wef 01/07/2024]

(c)

it is just and reasonable to grant the divorce, having regard to all relevant circumstances, including —

(i)	the conduct of the parties; and
(ii)	how a divorce would affect the parties and any child of the marriage. [Act 21 of 2023 wef 01/07/2024]

(3) The court must dismiss an application for divorce if it is not satisfied as to the matters in subsection (2).

(4) The court may grant an interim judgment for divorce (which may be subject to terms).

[Act 3 of 2022 wef 01/07/2024]

What constitutes the irretrievable breakdown of a marriage

95A.—(1) For the purposes of this Act, a marriage between X and Y is taken to have irretrievably broken down if and only if —

(a)

X has committed adultery and Y finds it intolerable to live with X;

(b)

X has behaved in such a way that Y cannot reasonably be expected to live with X;

(c)

X has deserted Y for a continuous period of 2 or more years immediately before the application for divorce;

(d)

X and Y —

(i)	have lived apart for a continuous period of 3 or more years immediately before the application for divorce; and
(ii)	consent to a divorce being granted by the court;

(e)

X and Y have lived apart for a continuous period of 4 or more years immediately before the application for divorce; or

(f)

subject to subsection (6)(c), X and Y agree that the marriage has irretrievably broken down.

(2) For the purposes of subsection (1)(a) —

(a)	if Y continues to live together with X for a total of 6 months or less despite knowing that X has committed an act of adultery, the fact that Y continued to live with X must be ignored in deciding whether Y finds it intolerable to live with X; and
(b)	if Y continues to live together with X for more than 6 months despite knowing that X has committed an act of adultery, Y may not rely on that act of adultery.

(3) For the purposes of subsection (1)(b), if Y continues to live together with X for a total of 6 months or less after the most recent instance of the relevant behaviour by X, the fact that Y continued to live together with X must be ignored in deciding whether Y can reasonably be expected to live with X.

(4) For the purposes of subsection (1)(c) —

(a)	a period of desertion is still taken to be continuous even if X and Y lived together for a total of 6 months or less during that period; but
(b)	the period during which X and Y lived together does not count towards the length of the period of desertion.

(5) For the purposes of subsection (1)(d) and (e) —

(a)	a period of living apart is still taken to be continuous even if X and Y lived together for a total of 6 months or less during that period; but
(b)	the period during which X and Y lived together does not count towards the length of the period of living apart.

(6) For the purposes of subsection (1)(f) —

(a)

an agreement must be in writing and must state the following matters:

(i)	the reasons leading X and Y to conclude that their marriage has irretrievably broken down;
(ii)	the efforts X and Y have made to reconcile;
(iii)	the consideration X and Y have given to the arrangements to be made in relation to their financial affairs and any child of the marriage;

(b)

the court must consider the stated matters in deciding whether to exercise its powers under Divisions 3 and 4 of Part 10A (amicable settlement of disputes); and

(c)

the court must not accept the agreement if it considers, in all the circumstances of the case, that there remains a reasonable possibility that X and Y might reconcile.

(7) In this section, “live together” means live together in the same household.

[Act 3 of 2022 wef 01/07/2024]

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