How will no fault divorce impact London’s reputation as the divorce capital?

Lawyers navigating the English legal system on behalf of clients going through a divorce will be familiar with the idea that legal change in this area can move at a snail’s pace, with societal and cultural change often steaming ahead and the law struggling to keep up.

However, one change which has been long-campaigned for and will now come into force soon is no fault divorce. The Dissolution and Separation Act 2020 amends the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 and Civil Partnership Act 2004, allowing couples to remove any blame from their spilt. The demand for this change picked up pace after the Owens v Owens Supreme Court case in 2018, which saw Mrs Owens lose her appeal to divorce her husband, after the court ruled Mr Owens’ behaviour had not been unreasonable and as a result, Mrs Owens would have to wait two more years to be granted a divorce.

It is hoped the introduction of no fault divorce and removing the need for blame will create a number of benefits, both for couples going through the process and the wider, congested legal system.

The question now is how no-fault divorce could impact London’s reputation as the “divorce capital of the world’? Over the years, couples with interests and assets internationally, and therefore with options for divorce jurisdiction, have chosen to divorce in London.

Our world-class legal system is obviously a draw. Equally, London’s courts have long held a reputation as generous, specifically with maintenance payments to the less wealthy party in a divorce. For example, last year we saw Sheikh Mohammed ordered to pay his ex-wife Princess Haya bint al-Hussein a record-breaking £550m in what was the largest ever award of its kind in an English court. Our legal system also means divorces are judged on a case-by-case basis, and judges are given a huge amount of discretion which can lead to these large awards.

Could we see even more super-wealthy couples choosing to divorce in England with the introduction of no fault divorce? It is thought no fault divorce could create a further draw for international couples going through a divorce as it could help speed up the process and help remove animosity from the negotiations.

However, for many of the big-ticket divorce cases, the introduction of no fault is unlikely to make much of a difference to the parties’ decision to divorce in the English courts. The circumstances of the divorce, whether acrimonious and full of blame or the opposite, are rarely reflected in the final award. Equally, no matter what the legal system allows, and the increased focus on alternative dispute resolution and removing blame from divorces, some splitting couples want to apportion guilt and have their day in court.

It is also worth noting that by introducing no fault divorce, the English & Welsh legal system is not leading the way. A number of other jurisdictions – including the US, Canada, Spain and China – have all already adopted no fault divorce.

That being said, the introduction of no fault is certainly a welcome development in ensuring our legal system is seen as world-leading and in touch with societal demand and trends.

For couples who are in a position to forum shop and divorce in a number of different jurisdictions, it stands to reason that no fault will help to cement London’s reputation as the divorce capital, as it shows the well-established and just legal system is also open to change and a much-needed shake-up.

Farhan Farani is Managing Partner at Farani Taylor.