Mrs Owens granted permission to appeal

You may have read our previous post about the Owens case and its impact on the law relating to divorce and unreasonable behaviour. Following the dismissal of Mrs Owen’s case by the Court of Appeal, she has now been given permission to appeal to the Supreme Court.

The family law community now hopes that the Supreme Court will take the opportunity to clarify the law in this area and to urge the government to take steps to change the law and bring no-fault divorce to England and Wales.

Commenting on the decision to allow Mrs Owens to appeal the decision, Nigel Shepherd, National Chair of Resolution said:

“Resolution supported Mrs Owen’s application to appeal so welcome the Supreme Court’s decision to hear her case which has significant implications for the future of divorce law in England and Wales.

“In today’s modern society, it should not be the case that someone is being forced to stay in a marriage she does not want to be part of, and is now having to go to the highest court.

“Mrs Owens’ case highlights why divorce law in the UK needs to change. We need to reduce conflict and support separating couples to resolve matters amicably, rather than forcing them to play a blame game where one or both of them thinks the marriage is over. The simple fact is that this case should not have been necessary, and only by implementing a no-fault divorce system can we ensure such a situation doesn’t happen again.

“Support for no-fault divorce is growing, from family law professionals, the public and politicians. Whether it’s before or after the case is heard by the Supreme Court, the Government needs to take urgent action to bring our outdated divorce laws up to date and ensure that Mrs Owens’ experience is not repeated.”

Anyone with concerns about this or any other issue regarding divorce should contact us for an initial fixed fee consultation.