FOLLOWING the recent High Court case taken by a terminally ill man seeking a divorce in order to marry his partner, that court already has jurisdiction to hear applications for divorce. For most people who want a divorce, however, the relevant date is Thursday, when divorce becomes available through the circuit courts.
Even for those who have had separation agreements for years, this will be far from a rubberstamping exercise.
The Rules of the Circuit Court (1997), recently signed by the Minister, which relate to the Judicial Separation Act of 1987, the Family Law Act of 1995 and the Family Law Act (Divorce) of 1996, require a lot of work from solicitors before proceedings are even issued.
"The rules are quite horrendous," said a family lawyer, Mr Brian Gallagher. "They could not have devised a more expensive way of getting a divorce. The way they have been done has hugely inflated costs."
The rules set out the way in which a divorce (or judicial separation, or decree of nullity) must be sought. A Family Law Civil Bill has to be set out in numbered paragraphs, specifying the date and place of marriage; the length of time the parties lived apart (for divorce); details of any previous separation agreement; details of any children, with ages; details of property, including the family home; the occupations of the parties and the basis of jurisdiction under the Act.
However, what is likely to cause most expense and, for some people, inconvenience, is that in all cases both parties must provide a full statement of means, including property and pension details.
"This means that if there was a separation agreement 20 years ago, and the children are grown up and the wife has since got a job, she must make a full disclosure of her means to her husband even if they have had nothing to do with each other for 20 years, and even if they are quite uninterested in each other's means," said Mr Gallagher.
"You can't even issue proceedings without a statement of means. It was thought that you could prepare a divorce quite simply. But the amount of work a solicitor now has to do is huge. This will have an effect on the costs."
The rules are accompanied by 10 different certificates which will have to be filled in by solicitors on behalf of applicants for divorce. The first five must be presented before proceedings are issued.
The first is an indorsement of claim, which is service on the respondent, or the person not seeking the divorce, by the person seeking it. The respondent must notify the court whether he or she intends to defend the action.
The second document is an Affidavit of Means, which must be filled out by both parties. This includes all assets, income, debts and liabilities, weekly outgoings and pension information.
The third form is an Affidavit of Welfare, to which the respondent may or may not agree, which concerns the children and arrangements made or proposed for them.
The fourth is a notice to the trustees of a pension fund, requiring them to be represented at the proceedings.
When all these have been completed, a notice to fix a date for trial can be filled in and sent to the County Registrar (Form Five). Form Six is the Defeace and Counterclaim of the respondent.
Forms Seven to 10 are the certificates which must be signed by the solicitor stating that he or she has discussed the possibility of reconciliation with the client, and provided the names and addresses of people qualified in this field. A similar declaration must be made with regard to mediation. There are separate forms relating to judicial separation and divorce.
Mr Gallagher pointed out that reconciliation is largely irrelevant as far as divorce goes, as in order to qualify people must be separated for at least four years, and reconciliation is unlikely.
The resources available for mediation are so limited as to make that a largely academic option. There are only two State mediation services, in Dublin and Limerick, which received £300,000 from the Department of Equality and Law Reform this year. The waiting lists are impossibly long, and much of the country has no mediation service at all.
"The fact is that there is no state counselling and minimal State mediation," conceded a spokesman for the Department. "There are no plans to increase the facility this year. We are heading into the unknown. Maybe it will all have to be looked at again."
Meanwhile, there is no provision for a "fast track" to divorce for people who have separation agreements, or judicial separations, which have sorted out questions of maintenance, custody of children and property to the satisfaction off both parties. They must go through everything again.