CLERK V. CLERK

FRANCOIS J.A.

The parties herein were married some 46 years ago and have five children who have all attained the age of maturity. Towards the twilight of their lives they have found it impossible to live together. An earlier petition of the husband was dismissed in December 1964 (see [1964] G.L.R. 712). The present petition was filed on 29 July 1971. The ground relied on was the irretrievable break-down of the marriage, and the enactment under which proceedings were commenced was the English Divorce Reform Act, 1969 (c. 55), which heralded our own Matrimonial Causes Act, 1971 (Act 367).

The English Divorce Reform Act, 1969, s. I provides that the sole ground on which a petitioner can secure a divorce is the irretrievable break-down of a marriage. The petitioner must however prove specific facts within one or other of five heads to secure a dissolution. Under section 2 (1) (e), the relevant section herein, the respondent succeeded on the plaint “that the parties to the marriage have liv…