Divorce law by country
Divorce law, the legal provisions for the dissolution of marriage, varies widely across the globe, reflecting diverse legal systems and cultural norms. Most nations allow for residents to divorce under some conditions except the Philippines and the Vatican City, an ecclesiastical sovereign city-state, which has no procedure for divorce. In these two countries, laws only allow annulment of marriages.
Summary table
Muslim societies
Historically, the rules of divorce were governed by sharia, as interpreted by traditional Islamic jurisprudence, though they differed depending on the legal school, and historical practices sometimes diverged from legal theory.Divorce in Islam is permitted, but the theology provides different rules for husbands from wives. Husbands may initiate divorce through ‘Talaq’, for any reason without requiring the wife's agreement. Some also include this to mean the stating of ‘Talaq’ three times at once to a wife, resulting in an instant divorce without route for reconciliation.
A wife seeking divorce from her husband may use the Khula process, where she must have solid grounds to end the marriage and then return to him her Mahr or a similar symbolic payment in return for his mutual consent to a divorce. If a wife cannot get her husband's agreement to a divorce, and he refuses to give ‘Talaq’, her final option is to seek approval from a judge at an Islamic court through the Faskh process.
However, the validity of a divorce from the spoken and instant Triple Talaq is controversial and debated, with many arguing it arises from an incorrect Quranic interpretation. Some scholars say that Triple Talaq should mean a husband saying ‘Talaq’ to his wife one time in each of three consecutive menstrual cycles, or that a formal three-step process including notice, arbitration and separation should be followed. Consequently, laws and regulations regarding divorce proceedings vary in different Muslim majority countries, with several criminalising Triple Talaq.
Countries that have abolished instant ‘Triple Talaq’ divorces include Pakistan, Egypt, Tunisia, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Turkey, Indonesia, Iraq and India. It is important to note that belief in the validity of a Triple Talaq divorce may persist culturally among individuals, even in countries where it is legally invalid.
The main traditional legal categories are talaq, khulʿ, and faskh, which is the only route that a wife can take unilaterally. Islamically, only the husband has the right of talaq, unless the power of talaq has also been provided to the wife in the marriage contract. Faskh is an annulment, meaning it rescinds the marriage as though it was never valid, and a wife must provide grounds and witnesses for a court to grant it.
Argentina
In Argentina, the legalisation of divorce was the result of a struggle between different governments and conservative groups, mostly connected to the Catholic Church.In 1888, Law 2,393 established that marriage and divorce in Argentina would be controlled by the State, not the Church. The law allowed for separation of the spouses by judicial order on the grounds of adultery, insults, violence, or desertion, but did not allow for dissolution of marriage.
Only in 1954, President Juan Domingo Perón had Law 14,394 passed over the objections of the Catholic Church. For the first time in the country, marriages could be ended and divorcees could remarry. But Perón was forced out of the presidency one year later by a military coup, and the government that succeeded him abolished the law.
From 1968 onwards, couples could legally separate without proving fault, but marriages still could not be dissolved.
Finally, in 1987, President Raúl Alfonsín was successful in passing the divorce law, following a ruling of the Supreme Court. The new law also provided for gender equality between the wife and husband.
A new Civil and Commercial Code, modernizing family law and simplifying divorce, came into force in August 2015.
Australia
Australia's laws on divorce and other legal family matters were overhauled in 1975 with the enactment of the Family Law Act 1975, which established no-fault divorce in Australia. Since 1975, the only ground for divorce is the irretrievable breakdown of the marriage, evidenced by a twelve-month separation. However, a residual "fault" element remains in relation to child custody and property settlement issues.Belgium
Brazil
Due to the influence of the Roman Catholic Church, divorce became legal in Brazil only in 1977, by Law 6.515/77. In Brazil, before 1977, marriage was considered an indissoluble bond by the state. Couples who could no longer stand each other had only the desquite as legal outlet. This process separated assets and allowed for living apart but did not dissolve the marriage, meaning separated individuals could never legally remarry. Those who found new partners lived in what was then stigmatized a "concubinage," facing brutal prejudice, especially toward women, who were often viewed as "second-class" by conservative society.The Catholic Church exerted strong political pressure against the legalization of divorce in Brazil. Nevertheless, Senator Nelson Carneiro became the central figure in the struggle for divorce legislation, advocating for its approval over a period of 26 years. In June 1977, Constitutional Amendment No. 9 was narrowly approved after intense conflict in Congress, and on December 26, 1977, President Ernesto Geisel sanctioned Law No. 6.515, officially legalizing divorce in Brazil. However, the law imposed significant restrictions designed to discourage marital dissolution. Divorce was permitted only after proof of a prior legal separation lasting at least three years, or a de facto separation of five years. Moreover, under the original 1977 legislation, individuals were allowed to divorce only once in their lifetime.
Subsequent legal reforms gradually reduced these barriers. The new Constitution of Brazil, enacted in 1988, shortened the required separation periods to one or two years, although divorce remained a lengthy judicial process. However, since 2007, when Law No. 11,447 which introduced extrajudicial divorce has enacted, Brazilian couples can request a divorce at a notary's office if they have no disputed property and no minor or special-needs children. The couple need only present their national IDs and marriage certificate, and pay a fee to initiate the process, which is completed in two or three weeks. However, as is common in other areas of interaction with the government in Brazil, an expert agent, expedites the process, and finalization of the documents by a lawyer is required.
The 66th amendment to Brazil's Constitution, passed in 2010, removed the prior requirement of one year's separation before a divorce could take place. Divorce currently considered in Brazil an immediate and unconditional right, which means if one spouse wishes to divorce, the other’s consent is no longer required, and the judge may decree it without further justification.
According to data from the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics, more than 420,000 divorces were registered in 2022 alone.
Bulgaria
In Bulgaria, a new Family Code came into effect in 2009, modernizing family law. Divorce can be obtained by two means:- by mutual consent. In this case, both spouses agree to divorce; and the court admits the divorce without searching for the reasons for it
- at the request of either spouse if "the matrimony is deeply and irretrievably dissolved". The court only pronounces itself on the 'fault' of the spouse if this has been specifically requested by one of the spouses.
Canada
Federal divorce law
Under the Constitution of Canada, divorce law is a matter of federal jurisdiction, for the Parliament of Canada. However, Canada did not have a uniform federal divorce law until 1968. Before that time, the process of getting a divorce varied from province to province:- In Newfoundland and Quebec, it was necessary to get a private act of the federal Parliament to end a marriage.
- The three Maritime provinces relied on their own pre-Confederation divorce laws which continued in force after 1867.
- In the four western provinces, the English Matrimonial Causes Act 1857 applied, through the doctrine of reception of English statute law. Under that act, a husband could get a divorce on the grounds of his wife's adultery. A wife could not rely simply on her husband's adultery, but had to establish that her husband committed adultery and another listed behavior. In 1925, Parliament provided that in those provinces, a wife could sue on grounds of adultery alone.
- In Ontario, divorce was not permitted until 1930, when the federal Parliament enacted a divorce law which applied specifically to Ontario.
In Canada, while property and civil rights are in the jurisdiction of the provinces, the Constitution of Canada specifically made marriage and divorce the realm of the federal government. The federal government used this power in 1968 to enact the first Divorce Act which applied throughout Canada. This means that Canada's divorce law is now uniform throughout Canada, including Quebec, which differs from the other provinces in its use of the civil law as codified in the Civil Code of Quebec as opposed to the common law that is in force in the other provinces. The law for division of property and debt, however, is within the jurisdiction of each province or territory, creating a structure where provincial and federal laws will apply in the resolution of the issues in most divorce claims.
The Canada Divorce Act recognizes divorce only on the ground of breakdown of the marriage. The breakdown can only be established if one of three grounds hold: adultery, cruelty, and being separated for one year. Most divorces proceed based on the spouses being separated for one year, even if there has been cruelty or adultery.
The one-year period of separation starts from the time at least one spouse intends to live separate and apart from the other and acts on it. A couple does not need a court order to be separated.
A couple can be considered to be "separated" even if they are living in the same dwelling, provided they demonstrate a clear intention to end the marital relationship and live separate lives. Either spouse can apply for a divorce in the province in which either the husband or wife has lived for at least one year.
On September 13, 2004, the Ontario Court of Appeal declared a portion of the Divorce Act also unconstitutional for excluding same-sex marriages, which at the time of the decision were recognized in three provinces and one territory. It ordered same-sex marriages read into that act, permitting the plaintiffs, a lesbian couple, to divorce.