Online portal fault allowed couples to divorce too early


Divorce: Judges deciding what to do about final orders granted in error

A fault in the digital divorce system allowed 67 members of the public to apply for their divorces earlier than they were allowed to by law, it emerged last week.

The judiciary is still considering how to deal with the cases and the divorce orders remain final until judges reach a decision, justice minister Lord Bellamy said.

Under the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973, there is a statutory bar against applying for an order for divorce before the end of one year from the date of the marriage.

The digital divorce service was introduced in 2019, which included a validation function to stop applicants making their applications before one year and one day from the date of their marriage.

A new system was built to reflect the implementation of the Divorce, Dissolution and Separation Act 2020, introducing no fault divorce, and it went live on 6 April 2022.

In a statement to Parliament, Lord Bellamy said: “We have identified a technical fault with the new system which allowed applications to be made after a year of marriage (as opposed to one year and one day) between 6 April 2022 and 23 November 2022.

“The error was rectified as soon as it came to light to prevent any future applications from members of the public being submitted early.”

HM Courts & Tribunals Service (HMCTS) has since reviewed all 90,431 applications made during this period and identified 67 cases where members of the public submitted an early application and subsequently received their final divorce order from the courts.

“The premature applications were not rejected during the court process at the stage of issuing a conditional order, or a final order.”

Pending the judiciary’s decision on the way forward, HMCTS has written to all the people affected by the error and established a dedicated helpline and contact email to offer guidance and support.

Last month, the president of the Family Court refused an application to rescind a final divorce order which a law firm had obtained by error using the online system.




Leave a Comment

By clicking Submit you consent to Legal Futures storing your personal data and confirm you have read our Privacy Policy and section 5 of our Terms & Conditions which deals with user-generated content. All comments will be moderated before posting.

Required fields are marked *
Email address will not be published.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Blog


Taking a compliance-driven approach to enhance PII renewal

Adopting a compliance-driven approach can significantly streamline and improve the professional indemnity insurance renewal process, as firms now begin to look forward to 2025.


Compliance in the age of technology

Does keeping up with best practice for your law firm in compliance, finance and risk management keep you awake at night? If so, you are not alone.


Continuing competence still in the SRA’s headlights

The SRA’s second annual assessment of continuing competence leaves lawyers and COLPs in little doubt that the regulatory spotlight is still firmly on whether skills and knowledge are being maintained.


Loading animation