PART IX 80. In this Part of this Ordinance, unless there is something repugnant in the subject or context —| “the court” means the High Court or a judge thereof; |
| “the Court of Appeal” means three or more judges sitting in court for the hearing of appeals from the High Court under the Courts Ordinance (Cap. 3); |
| “marriage with another woman” means marriage of any person, being married, to any other person during the life of the former wife, whether the second marriage has taken place within Singapore or elsewhere; |
| “desertion” implies an abandonment against the wish of the person charging it. |
|
| Principles of law to be applied |
| 81. Subject to the provisions contained in this Part of this Ordinance, the court shall in all suits and proceedings hereunder act and give relief on principles which in the opinion of the court are, as nearly as may be, conformable to the principles on which the High Court of Justice in England acts and gives relief in matrimonial proceedings. |
82.—(1) Nothing herein shall authorize the court to make any decree of divorce except —| (a) | where the marriage has been registered or deemed to be registered under the provisions of this Ordinance; or | | (b) | where the marriage between the parties was contracted under a law providing that, or in contemplation of which, marriage is monogamous; and | | (c) | where the domicile of the parties to the marriage at the time when the petition is presented is in Singapore. |
(2) Nothing herein shall authorize the court to make any decree of nullity of marriage except —| (a) | where the marriage has been registered or deemed to be registered under the provisions of this Ordinance; or | | (b) | where the marriage between the parties was contracted under a law providing that, or in contemplation of which, marriage is monogamous; and | | (c) | where the marriage to which the decree relates was celebrated in Singapore. |
|
(3) Nothing herein shall authorize the court to make any decree of judicial separation or of restitution of conjugal rights except —| (a) | where the marriage has been registered or deemed to be registered under the provisions of this Ordinance; or | | (b) | where the marriage between the parties was contracted under a law providing that, or in contemplation of which, the marriage is monogamous; and | | (c) | where both the parties to the marriage reside in Singapore at the time of the commencement of proceedings. |
|
|
| Restriction on petitions for divorce during the first three years of marriage |
83.—(1) No petition for divorce shall be presented to the court unless at the date of the presentation of the petition three years have passed since the date of the marriage:Provided that the court may, upon application being made in accordance with rules of court, allow a petition to be presented before three 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 three 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 three years upon the same, or substantially the same, facts as those proved in support of the petition so dismissed. |
|
| (2) In determining any application under this section for leave to present a petition before the expiration of three years from the date of the marriage, the court shall have regard to the interests of any children of the marriage and to the question whether there is reasonable probability of a reconciliation between the parties before the expiration of the said three years. |
| (3) 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. |
| (4) Nothing in this section shall be deemed to prohibit the presentation of a petition based upon matters which have occurred before the expiration of three years from the date of the marriage. |
|
84.—(1) Any husband may present a petition for divorce to the court praying that his marriage may be dissolved on the ground that his wife —| (a) | has since the solemnization thereof been guilty of adultery; or | | (b) | has deserted the petitioner without cause for a period of at least three years immediately preceding the presentation of the petition; or | | (c) | has since the solemnization of the marriage treated the petitioner with cruelty; or | | (d) | is incurably of unsound mind and has been continuously under care and treatment for a period of at least five years immediately preceding the presentation of the petition. |
(2) Any wife may present a petition for divorce to the court praying that her marriage may be dissolved on the ground that her husband —| (a) | has since the solemnization thereof gone through a form of marriage with another woman; or | | (b) | has since the solemnization of the marriage been guilty of adultery; or | | (c) | has since the solemnization of the marriage been guilty of rape, sodomy or bestiality; or | | (d) | has deserted the petitioner without cause for a period of at least three years immediately preceding the presentation of the petition; or | | (e) | has since the solemnization of the marriage treated the petitioner with cruelty; or | | (f) | is incurably of unsound mind and has been continuously under care and treatment for a period of at least five years immediately preceding the presentation of the petition. |
|
| (3) Every such petition shall state, as distinctly as the nature of the case permits, the facts on which the claim to have such marriage dissolved is founded. |
(4) For the purposes of paragraph (d) of subsection (1) and of paragraph (f) of subsection (2) of this section, a person of unsound mind shall be deemed to be under care and treatment —| (a) | while he is detained in pursuance of any order made or warrant issued under the Mental Disorders and Treatment Ordinance (Cap. 145) or is being confined in pursuance of an order under section 358 or section 363 of the Criminal Procedure Code (Cap. 132); | | (b) | while he is receiving treatment as a voluntary patient under section 36 of the Mental Disorders and Treatment Ordinance, being treatment which follows without any interval a period of such detention as aforesaid; | | (c) | while he is being detained in pursuance of any order for his detention or treatment as a person of unsound mind or a person suffering from mental illness, or while he is receiving treatment as a voluntary patient, which treatment follows without any interval a period of such detention as aforesaid, in a country where it is proved that he is receiving care and treatment according to standards which are substantially the same as those obtaining in respect of the care and treatment of patients suffering from mental illness in Singapore, |
|
| (5) The court may order that the evidence required to show that a person is receiving care and treatment in a country according to standards which are substantially the same as those obtaining in respect of the care and treatment of patients suffering from mental illness in Singapore may be given by affidavit on such conditions as the court may think reasonable. |
|
| Adulterer to be made co-respondent |
85.—(1) Upon any such petition presented by a husband, the petitioner shall make the alleged adulterer a co-respondent to the said petition, unless he is excused from doing so on one of the following grounds, to be allowed by the court —| (a) | that the respondent is leading the life of a prostitute and that the petitioner knows of no person with whom the adultery has been committed; | | (b) | that the name of the alleged adulterer is unknown to the petitioner, although he has made due efforts to discover it; or | | (c) | that the alleged adulterer is dead. |
| (2) Upon any such petition presented by a wife the court, if it sees fit, may order the person with whom the husband is alleged to have committed adultery to be made a respondent. |
|
| Duty of court on presentation of petition for divorce |
86.—(1) On a petition for divorce it shall be the duty of the court to inquire, so far as it reasonably can, into the facts alleged and whether there has been any connivance or condonation on the part of the petitioner and whether any collusion exists between the parties and also to inquire into any countercharge which is made against the petitioner.(2) If the court is satisfied on the evidence that —| (a) | the case for the petition has been proved; and | | (b) | where the ground of the petition is adultery, the petitioner has not in any manner been accessory to, or connived at, or condoned the adultery, or where the ground of the petition is cruelty the petitioner has not in any manner condoned the cruelty; and | | (c) | the petition is not presented or prosecuted in collusion with the respondent or either of the respondents, |
| the court shall pronounce a decree nisi of divorce but if the court is not satisfied with respect to any of the aforesaid matters, it shall dismiss the petition: |
Provided that the court shall not be bound to pronounce a decree of divorce and may dismiss the petition if it finds that the petitioner has during the marriage been guilty of adultery or if, in the opinion of the court, the petitioner has been guilty — |
| (i) | of unreasonable delay in presenting or prosecuting the petition; or | | (ii) | of cruelty towards the other party to the marriage; or | | (iii) | where the ground of the petition is adultery or cruelty, of having without reasonable excuse deserted, or having without reasonable excuse wilfully separated himself or herself from the other party before the adultery or cruelty complained of; or | | (iv) | where the ground of the petition is adultery or unsoundness of mind or desertion, of such wilful neglect or misconduct as has conduced to the adultery or unsoundness of mind or desertion. |
|
|
|
| 87. No adultery shall be deemed to have been condoned within the meaning of this Part of this Ordinance unless conjugal cohabitation has been continued or resumed. |
| Grant of relief to respondent, if petition opposed |
| 88. In any suit instituted for divorce, if the respondent opposes the relief sought on the ground of the adultery, cruelty or desertion without reasonable excuse of the petitioner, the court may in such suit give the respondent, on his or her application, the same relief to which he or she would have been entitled in case he or she had presented a petition seeking such relief. |
| Divorce proceedings after grant of judicial separation |
89.—(1) A person shall not be prevented from presenting a petition for divorce, or the court from pronouncing a decree of divorce, by reason only that the petitioner has at any time been granted a judicial separation upon the same or substantially the same facts as those proved in support of the petition for divorce.| (2) On any such petition for divorce, the court may treat the decree of judicial separation as sufficient proof of the adultery, desertion, or other ground on which it was granted, but the court shall not pronounce a decree of divorce without receiving evidence from the petitioner. |
| (3) For the purposes of any such petition for divorce a period of desertion immediately preceding the institution of proceedings for a decree of judicial separation shall, if the parties have not resumed cohabitation and the decree has been continuously in force since the granting thereof, be deemed immediately to precede the presentation of the petition for divorce. |
|
| Proceedings for decree nisi of presumption of death and divorce |
90.—(1) Any married person who alleges that reasonable grounds exist for supposing that the other party to the marriage is dead may present a petition to the court to have it presumed that the other party is dead and to have the marriage dissolved, and the court, if satisfied that such reasonable grounds exist, may make a decree nisi of presumption of death and of divorce.| (2) In any such proceedings the fact that for a period of seven years or upwards the other party to the marriage has been continually absent from the petitioner, and the petitioner has no reason to believe that the other party has been living within that time, shall be evidence that he or she is dead until the contrary is proved. |
| (3) Sections 95 and 123 of this Ordinance shall apply to a petition and a decree under this section as they apply to a petition for divorce and a decree of divorce respectively. |
|
| Petition for nullity of marriage |
| 91. Any husband or wife may present a petition to the court praying that his or her marriage may be declared null and void. |
92.—(1) A decree of nullity of marriage may be made on any of the following grounds: —| (a) | that the respondent was impotent at the time of the marriage and at the time of the institution of the suit; | | (b) | that the parties are within the prohibited degrees of consanguinity or affinity, whether natural or legal; | | (c) | that either party was of unsound mind at the time of the marriage; | | (d) | that the former husband or wife of either party was living at the time of the marriage and the marriage with such former husband or wife was then in force; | | (e) | that the consent of either party to the marriage was obtained by force or fraud in any case in which the marriage might be annulled on this ground by the law of England; | | (f) | that the marriage is invalid by the law of the place in which it was celebrated; | | (g) | that the marriage has not been consummated owing to the wilful refusal of the respondent to consummate the marriage; | | (h) | that either party to the marriage was at the time of the marriage of unsound mind or subject to recurrent fits of insanity or epilepsy; | | (i) | that the respondent was at the time of the marriage suffering from venereal disease in a communicable form; or | | (j) | that the respondent was at the time of the marriage pregnant by some person other than the petitioner: |
Provided that, in the cases specified in paragraphs (h), (i) and (j) of this subsection, the court shall not grant a decree unless it is satisfied — |
| (i) | that the petitioner was at the time of the marriage ignorant of the facts alleged; | | (ii) | that proceedings were instituted within a year from the date of the marriage; and | | (iii) | that marital intercourse with the consent of the petitioner has not taken place since the discovery by the petitioner of the existence of the grounds for a decree. |
|
| (2) For the removal of doubts, it is hereby declared that in the case of a marriage celebrated under the provisions of the Christian Marriage Ordinance (Cap. 37), or of the Civil Marriage Ordinance (Cap. 38) or of this Ordinance, paragraph (d) of subsection (1) of this section shall apply where the former husband or wife was a husband or wife by virtue of a marriage contracted under either a monogamous or a polygamous system of marriage law. |
| (3) Any child born of a marriage avoided pursuant to paragraph (h) or (i) of subsection (1) of this section shall be a legitimate child of the parties thereto notwithstanding that the marriage is so avoided. |
| (4) Nothing in this section shall be construed as validating any marriage which is by law void, but with respect to which a decree of nullity has not been granted. |
|
| 93. On a petition for nullity of marriage if the court finds that the petitioner’s case has been proved, it shall pronounce a decree nisi declaring the marriage to be null and void. |
| Children of annulled marriage |
| 94. Where a marriage is annulled on the ground that a former husband or wife was living, and it is adjudged that the subsequent marriage was contracted in good faith and with the full belief of the parties that the former husband or wife was dead, or when a marriage is annulled on the ground of insanity, children begotten before the decree nisi is made shall be specified in the decree and shall be entitled to succeed, in the same manner as legitimate children, to the estate of the parent who at the time of the marriage was competent to contract. |
| When decree nisi to be made absolute |
95.—(1) A decree nisi for divorce or for nullity of marriage may be made absolute after the expiration of such time, not less than three months from the pronouncing thereof, as is prescribed or as is fixed by the court in any suit.| (2) During that period any party may, in such manner as is prescribed or as is directed by the court in any suit, show cause why the decree nisi should not be made absolute by reason of the same having been obtained by collusion or by reason of material facts not being brought before the court. |
| (3) At any time during the progress of the suit or before the decree is made absolute any person may give information to the State Advocate-General of any matter material to the due decision of the case or affecting the jurisdiction of the court, who may thereupon take such steps as he deems necessary or expedient. |
| (4) If from any such information or otherwise the State Advocate-General suspects that any parties to the suit are or have been acting in collusion for the purpose of obtaining a decree of divorce or of nullity of marriage contrary to the justice of the case, or that material facts have not been brought before the court, he may intervene in the suit and show cause why the decree nisi should not be made absolute. |
| (5) On cause being so shown, the court shall make the decree absolute, or reverse the decree nisi, or require further inquiry or otherwise deal with the case as justice demands. |
| (6) The court may order the costs arising from such cause being shown and from such intervention, including the costs of the State Advocate-General, to be paid by the parties or such one or more of them, including a wife if she has separate property, as it thinks fit. |
| (7) Where a decree nisi has been obtained, and no application for the decree to be made absolute has been made by the party who obtained the decree, then, at any time after the expiration of three months from the earliest date on which that party could have made such an application, the party against whom the decree nisi has been granted shall be at liberty to apply to the court and the court shall, on such application, have power to make the decree absolute, reverse the decree nisi, require further inquiry or otherwise deal with the case as the court thinks fit. |
|
| Grounds for judicial separation |
96.—(1) A petition for judicial separation may be presented to the court either by the husband or the wife on any grounds on which a petition for divorce might have been presented, or on the ground of failure to comply with a decree of restitution of conjugal rights and the provisions of section 86 of this Ordinance relating to the duty of the court on the presentation of a petition for divorce, and the circumstances in which such a petition shall or may be granted or dismissed, shall apply in like manner to a petition for judicial separation.| (2) A decree of judicial separation shall have the effect of a divorce a mensa et thoro under the existing law and such other legal effect as is hereinafter mentioned. |
|
| Property of wife after judicial separation |
97.—(1) The property of a wife who at the time of her death is judicially separated from her husband shall, in case she dies intestate, go as it would have gone if her husband had been then dead.| (2) Where, upon any such judicial separation, alimony has been decreed or ordered to be paid to the wife and the same is not duly paid by the husband he shall be liable for necessaries supplied for her use. |
| (3) Nothing in this Part of this Ordinance shall prevent the wife from joining, at any time during such separation, in the exercise of any joint power given to herself and her husband. |
|
| Decree of judicial separation obtained during the absence of husband or wife may be reversed |
98.—(1) Any husband or wife, upon the application of whose wife or husband, as the case may be, a decree of judicial separation has been pronounced, may, at any time thereafter, present a petition to the court praying for a reversal of such decree on the ground that it was obtained in his or her absence and that there was reasonable excuse for the alleged desertion where desertion was the ground of such decree.| (2) The court may, on being satisfied of the truth of the allegations of such petition, reverse the decree accordingly. |
|
| Petition for restitution of conjugal rights |
99.—(1) When either the husband or the wife has without reasonable excuse withdrawn from the society of the other, either wife or husband may apply by petition to the court for restitution of conjugal rights.| (2) The court, on being satisfied of the truth of the statements made in such petition and that there is no legal ground why the application should not be granted, may decree restitution of conjugal rights accordingly. |
|
| 100. Nothing shall be pleaded in answer to a petition for restitution of conjugal rights which would not be a ground for a suit for judicial separation. |
| Periodical payments in lieu of attachment |
101.—(1) A decree of restitution of conjugal rights shall not be enforced by attachment.| (2) Where the application is by the wife the court may, at the time of making such decree or at any time afterwards, order that, in the event of such decree not being complied with within any time in that behalf limited by the court, the respondent shall make to the petitioner such periodical payments as are just. |
| (3) The court may, if it thinks fit, order that the husband shall, to the satisfaction of the court, secure to the wife such periodical payments, and for that purpose may refer the matter to the Registrar of the Supreme Court or to some advocate and solicitor to settle and approve of a proper deed or instrument to be executed by all necessary parties. |
|
| Settlement of wife’s property |
| 102. Where the application for restitution of conjugal rights is by the husband, if it is made to appear to the court that the wife is entitled to any property, either in possession or reversion, or is in receipt of any profits of trade or earnings, the court may, if it thinks fit, order a settlement to be made to the satisfaction of the court of such property or any part thereof for the benefit of the petitioner and of the children of the marriage or either or any of them, or may order such part as the court thinks reasonable of such profits of trade or earnings to be periodically paid by the respondent to the petitioner for his own benefit, or to the petitioner or any other person for the benefit of the children of the marriage or either or any of them. |
| 103. The court may vary or modify any order for the periodical payment of money, either by altering the times of payment or by increasing or diminishing the amount, or may temporarily suspend the same as to the whole or any part of the money so ordered to be paid, and again revive the same order wholly or in part, as the court thinks just. |
| Non-compliance with decree deemed to be desertion |
| 104. If the respondent fails to comply with a decree of the court for restitution of conjugal rights, such respondent shall thereupon be deemed to have been guilty of desertion without reasonable cause and a suit for judicial separation may forthwith be instituted, and a decree of judicial separation may be pronounced although the period of two years has not elapsed since the failure to comply with the decree for restitution of conjugal rights. |
| Husband may claim damages from adulterer |
105.—(1) Any husband may, either in a petition for divorce or for judicial separation or in a petition to the court limited to such object only, claim damages from any person on the ground of his having committed adultery with the wife of such petitioner.| (2) Such petition shall be served on the alleged adulterer and the wife, unless the court dispenses with such service or directs some other service to be substituted. |
| (3) The damages to be recovered on any such petition shall be ascertained by the said court, although the respondents or either of them may not appear. |
| (4) After the decision has been given the court may direct in what manner such damages shall be paid or applied. |
|
| Costs against co-respondent |
106.—(1) Whenever in any petition presented by a husband the alleged adulterer has been made a co-respondent and the adultery has been established, the court may order the co-respondent to pay the whole or any part of the costs of the proceedings.(2) The co-respondent shall not be ordered to pay the petitioner’s costs —| (a) | if the respondent was at the time of the adultery living apart from her husband and leading the life of a prostitute; or | | (b) | if the co-respondent had not at the time of the adultery reason to believe the respondent to be a married woman. |
|
|
107.—(1) In any suit under this Part of this Ordinance, whether it is instituted by a husband or a wife, the wife may present a petition for alimony pending the suit.| (2) Such petition shall be served on the husband, and the court, on being satisfied of the truth of the statements therein contained, may make such order on the husband for payment to the wife of alimony pending the suit as it deems just. |
| (3) Alimony pending the suit shall in no case exceed one-fifth of the husband’s average net income for the three years next preceding the date of the order, and shall continue, in the case of a decree for divorce, until the decree is made absolute. |
|
108.—(1) On any decree absolute for divorce or for nullity of marriage, or on any decree of judicial separation obtained by a wife, the court may, if it thinks fit, order that the husband shall, to the satisfaction of the court, secure to the wife such gross sum of money or such annual sum of money for any term not exceeding her life as, having regard to her fortune, if any, to the ability of the husband and to the conduct of the parties, it deems reasonable, and for that purpose may refer the matter to the Registrar of the Supreme Court or to some advocate and solicitor to settle and approve of a proper deed or instrument to be executed by all necessary parties, and the court may, if it thinks fit, suspend the pronouncing of its decree until such deed or instrument has been duly executed.| (2) In any such case the court may, if it thinks fit, make an order on the husband for payment to the wife during their joint lives of such monthly sum for her maintenance and support as the court thinks reasonable, and any such order may be made either in addition to or instead of an order under subsection (1) of this section. |
| (3) If the husband afterwards from any cause becomes unable to make such payments, the court may discharge or modify the order or temporarily suspend the same as to the whole or any part of the money so ordered to be paid, and again revive the order wholly or in part as the court thinks fit. |
| (4) Where the court has made any such order as is mentioned in subsection (2) or (3) of this section, and the court is satisfied that the means of the husband have increased, the court may, if it thinks fit, increase the amount payable under the order. |
|
| Court may direct payment of alimony to wife or to her trustee |
| 109. In all cases in which the court makes any decree or order for alimony, it may direct the same to be paid either to the wife herself, or to any trustee on her behalf to be approved of by the court, and may impose any terms or restrictions which to the court seem expedient, and may from time to time appoint a new trustee if it appears to the court expedient so to do. |
| Settlement of the wife’s property |
110.—(1) When a decree of divorce or of judicial separation on account of the adultery, desertion or cruelty of the wife is pronounced, and when the wife is entitled to any property, the court may order such settlement as it thinks reasonable to be made of such property, or any part thereof, for the benefit of the husband or of the children of the marriage, or of both.| (2) Any instrument executed pursuant to any order of the court at the time of or after the pronouncing of a decree of divorce or judicial separation shall be deemed valid notwithstanding the existence of the disability of coverture at the time of the execution thereof. |
| (3) The court may direct that the whole or any part of the damages recovered under section 105 of this Ordinance shall be settled for the benefit of the children of the marriage or as a provision for the maintenance of the wife. |
|
| Inquiry into existence of ante-nuptial or post-nuptial settlements |
111.—(1) After a decree absolute for divorce or for nullity of marriage has been pronounced, the court may inquire into the existence of ante-nuptial or post-nuptial settlements made on the parties whose marriage is the subject of the decree, and may make such orders with reference to the application of the whole or a portion of the property settled, whether for the benefit of the husband or the wife, or of the children, if any, of the marriage, or of both children and parents, as to the court seems fit.| (2) The court shall not make any order for the benefit of the parents or either of them at the expense of the children. |
|
| Powers of the court as to settlements |
112. Where the court has power to direct any property to be settled, or to vary the terms of an existing settlement, it may —| (a) | appoint trustees; | | (b) | order the necessary instruments to be prepared containing such provisions as it thinks fit; | | (c) | order all necessary parties to execute the same; | | (d) | from time to time appoint new trustees; and | | (e) | do all such other acts as it deems necessary for carrying such directions into effect. |
|
113.—(1) In any suit for divorce, or for nullity of marriage, or for judicial separation, or for restitution of conjugal rights, the court may; at any stage of the proceedings, or after a decree absolute has been pronounced, make such orders as it thinks fit with respect to the custody, maintenance and education of the minor children, the marriage of whose parents is the subject of such suit, and may vary or discharge the said orders, and may, if it thinks fit, direct proceedings to be taken for placing such children under the protection of the court.(2) The court may, if it thinks fit, on any decree of divorce or nullity of marriage, order the husband, or (in the case of a petition for divorce by a wife on the ground of her husband’s insanity) order the wife, to secure for the benefit of the children such gross sum of money or annual sum of money as the court may deem reasonable, and the court may for that purpose order that it shall be referred to the Registrar of the Supreme Court or to some advocate and solicitor to settle and approve a proper deed or instrument to be executed by all necessary parties:Provided that the term for which any sum of money is secured for the benefit of a child shall not extend beyond the date when the child will attain the age of twenty-one years. |
|
|
|
| Proceedings for maintenance, settlement of property, etc |
114.—(1) When a petition for divorce or nullity of marriage has been presented, proceedings under sections 107, 108, 110 and 113 of this Ordinance may, subject to and in accordance with rules of court, be commenced at any time after the presentation of the petition:Provided that no order under any of the said sections (other than an interim order for the payment of alimony under section 107 of this Ordinance) shall be made unless and until a decree nisi has been pronounced, and no such order, save in so far as it relates to the preparation, execution, or approval of a deed or instrument and no settlement made in pursuance of any such order, shall take effect unless and until the decree is made absolute. |
|
| (2) Sections 107 and 108 of this Ordinance shall apply in any case where a petition for divorce or judicial separation is presented by the wife on the ground of her husband’s insanity as if for the references to the husband there were substituted references to the wife, and for the references to the wife there were substituted references to the husband, and in any such case and in any case where a petition for divorce, nullity of marriage, or judicial separation, is presented by the husband on the ground of his wife’s insanity, the court may order the payments of alimony or maintenance under the said sections to be made to such persons having charge of the respondent as the court may direct. |
|
| 115. Subject to the provisions contained in this Part of this Ordinance, all proceedings under this Part of this Ordinance shall be regulated by the Rules of the Supreme Court. |
116.—(1) Every petition shall state the facts on which the claim is based and also all such facts as affect the jurisdiction of the court under section 82 of this Ordinance, and shall be verified by affidavit, and may at the hearing be referred to as evidence.| (2) Petitions for divorce, or for nullity of marriage, or for judicial separation shall state that there is not any collusion or connivance between the petitioner and the respondent. |
|
117.—(1) Service out of the jurisdiction of any petition under this Part of this Ordinance may be allowed by the court and service shall be effected, as nearly as may be, in the manner in which service of a writ of summons is to be effected under the Rules of the Supreme Court.| (2) The court may dispense with such service altogether if it seems necessary or expedient to do so. |
|
118.—(1) In suits under this Part of this Ordinance the parties and the husbands and wives of such parties shall be competent and compellable to give evidence.| (2) No witness whether a party to the suit or not shall be liable to be asked or bound to answer any question tending to show that he or she has been guilty of adultery unless such witness has already given evidence in the same suit in disproof of his or her alleged adultery. |
|
| 119. The whole or any part of any proceeding under this Part of this Ordinance may be heard, if the court thinks fit, in camera. |
| 120. The court may adjourn the hearing of any petition under this Part of this Ordinance, and may require further evidence thereon if it sees fit so to do. |
121.—(1) All decrees and orders made by the court in proceedings under this Part of this Ordinance shall be enforced, and may be appealed from, as if they were decrees or orders made by the court in the exercise of its original civil jurisdiction.| (2) In suits for divorce or for nullity of marriage no respondent or co-respondent not appearing and defending the suit on the occasion of the decree nisi being made shall appeal against the decree being made absolute unless the court gives leave to appeal at the time of the decree being made absolute. |
| (3) No appeal from any order absolute for divorce, or for nullity of marriage, shall lie in favour of any party who, having had time and opportunity to appeal from the decree nisi, has not appealed therefrom. |
| (4) There shall be no appeal on the subject of costs only. |
|
| Appeal to Queen in Council |
| 122. Subject to such rules as are made from time to time by Her Majesty in Council regarding appeals to Her Majesty in Council, any person may appeal to Her Majesty in Council from any decree or order under this Part of this Ordinance made by the Court of Appeal if the Court of Appeal declares that the case is a fit one for appeal. |
| Liberty to parties to re-marry |
| 123. When the time limited for appealing, whether to the Court of Appeal or to Her Majesty in Council, against a decree absolute of divorce or of nullity of marriage has expired, and no appeal has been presented against such decree, or when any such appeal has been dismissed, but not sooner, the respective parties may marry again as if the prior marriage had been dissolved by death. |
| Power to allow intervention on terms |
| 124. In any case in which any person is charged with adultery with any party to a suit, or in which the court considers, in the interest of any person not already a party to the suit, that such person should be made a party to the suit, the court may, if it thinks fit, allow that person to intervene upon such terms, if any, as the court thinks just. |
| Suits for criminal conversation abolished |
| 125. No person competent to present a petition under sections 82 and 84 of this Ordinance shall maintain a suit for criminal conversation with his wife. |
| Additional jurisdiction in proceedings by a wife |
126.—(1) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in section 82 of this Ordinance the court shall have jurisdiction to entertain proceedings by a wife under this Part of this Ordinance, although the husband is not domiciled in Singapore if —| (a) | the wife has been deserted by the husband, or the husband has been deported from Singapore under any law for the time being in force relating to the deportation of persons, and the husband was before the desertion or deportation domiciled in Singapore; or | | (b) | the wife is resident in Singapore and has been ordinarily resident in Singapore for a period of three years immediately preceding the commencement of the proceedings. |
| (2) In any proceedings in which the High Court has jurisdiction by virtue of this section, the issues shall be determined in accordance with the law which would be applicable thereto if the parties were domiciled in Singapore. |
| (3) In this section references to deportation from Singapore shall be construed as including banishment or expulsion under the Banishment Ordinance (Cap. 127). |
|
127.—(1) The judges of the Supreme Court, or any three of them, of whom the Chief Justice shall be one, may make rules to fix and regulate the fees and costs payable upon all proceedings in suits under this Part of this Ordinance, and also rules concerning the practice and procedure under this Part of this Ordinance as they consider expedient.| (2) Such rules may prescribe the forms to be used in proceedings under this Part of this Ordinance. |
| (3) A copy of such rules made by the judges under this Part of this Ordinance, certified under the hand of the Chief Justice, shall be transmitted by the Chief Justice to the Yang di-Pertuan Negara, to be presented to the Legislative Assembly. |
| (4) All such rules shall be published in the Gazette and shall be presented to the Legislative Assembly as soon as may be after publication and if a resolution is passed pursuant to a motion notice whereof has been given for a sitting day not later than the first available sitting day of the Assembly next after the expiry of one month from the date when such rules are so presented annulling the rules or any part thereof as from a specified date, such rules or such part thereof as the case may be shall thereupon become void as from such date but without prejudice to the validity of anything previously done thereunder or to the making of new rules. |
|
|
