26 April 2019
The Home Affairs Minister has published a report summarising the responses to a recent public consultation on divorce reform, future of civil partnerships and the age of marriage.
The report indicates public support for:
- significant reform of Jersey’s divorce laws in order to reduce conflict. This includes the introduction of no-fault divorce and allowing couples to jointly file for divorce.
- allowing all couples, regardless of gender, to enter into a civil partnership.
- increasing the age of marriage from 16 to 18 years old, to ensure that Jersey complies with the United Nations Convention On The Rights Of The Child, and eliminates child marriage.
Home Affairs Minister, Connétable Len Norman, said: “It is clear from the responses to the consultation that the island’s divorce law needs reforming. When relationships break down and couples take the decision to divorce, the law should allow them to resolve matters as constructively as possible. The law should work to minimise unnecessary conflict during what is highly stressful and upsetting process.
“Consultation respondents also clearly stated that they believe civil partnerships should be available to all couples. The predominant view was that people should be able to choose a civil partnership as an alternative to marriage. There was also a clear consensus among respondents that we should raise the age of marriage to 18 years old.”
Work will now start on developing the necessary law changes for consideration by the States Assembly.
Responses to consultation on divorce reform, civil partnerships, and minimum legal age for marriage
gov.je