This petition was submitted during the 2019-2024 parliament
Rejected petition Make the divorce process affordable and restore legal aid
Set clear criteria for division of assets.
Hear only evidence relevant to those criteria.
Settle in a single hearing of up to 2 hours.
Make legal representation compulsory but cap costs at £2500.
Replace adversariality with conciliation.
Ban cross-examination of the spouses.
Restore legal aid.
More details
The present system of divorce in England and Wales is the most expensive and least predictable in the western world. It encourages dispute between spouses rather than conciliation. Legal representation is unaffordable for most people, yet the present complex, opaque system based on case law is hardly comprehensible even to experienced lawyers. Miscarriages of justice are therefore inevitable. That is immoral and an abuse of human rights.
Divorce should be moral, transparent and fair.
This petition was rejected
Why was this petition rejected?
It’s not clear what the petition is asking the UK Government or Parliament to do.
We understand that you'd like to make the process of divorce more affordable, but the actions here relate to a wider set of changes to the process. Petitions need to ask for a clear change from the Government.
You could start a petition focusing on one aspect of this, for example asking the Government to make legal aid widely available for the legal costs of divorce or dissolution.
We only reject petitions that don’t meet the petition standards.