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France and England have both recently seen substantial changes in their divorce proceedings. In 2021 the French divorce reform came into force, allowing spouses to get divorced quickly by simplifying the process and facilitating the conclusion of agreements.
A year later in April 2022, the biggest change to the divorce process in 50 years happened, with no-fault divorce being introduced across England and Wales. Its main purpose is to reduce conflict between separating spouses.
So, what happens when you’re faced with a choice of jurisdiction of where to commence your divorce proceedings?
Today, the English divorce process is closer to the French one. As a result, separating spouses do not need to make allegations of fault or lay blame to obtain a divorce. However, there are still substantial procedural differences between the two countries, not least the automatic right of appeal which applies in France.
Below we explore the concrete changes each reform has made and how the changes compare, helping you to weigh up the differences between the two and choose the country that’s right for your divorce proceedings.
| Key points of the English reform (April 2022) | Comparison with France |
|---|---|
| There is now one ground for divorce: the irretrievable breakdown of the marriage (no facts/details needed, no allegations allowed) |
Four grounds for divorce:
|
| No requirement for a period of separation. There is, however, a cooling-off period within the process and the application for a conditional order of divorce can only be made 20 weeks after the divorce application was made. | No requirement for a period of separation except when the divorce is based on the permanent alteration of the marital bond (1-year period) |
| The application can be made by sole or joint application. | The application to the court may be made by summons (‘assignation’) or joint request (‘requête conjointe’) for contentious divorces. There is no referral to the court for divorces by mutual consent (except for cases where a child requests to be heard by the judge) |
| Comparison with England | Key points of the French reform (January 2021) |
|---|---|
| Parties can be litigants in person | Instruction of a lawyer is mandatory |
| No requirement for a period of separation | For divorces based on the permanent alteration of the marital bond, the period of separation is reduced from 2 years to 1 year |
| N/a | The acceptance of the principle of divorce can be done by a lawyer’s act. |
|
On the divorce application, there are two stages:
On a financial application (to determine the financial provision to be made), there are two intermediary hearings before the Final Hearing:
|
The intermediary hearing which was called the conciliation hearing (‘audience de conciliation’) is replaced by the orientation and interim measures hearing (‘audience d’orientation et sur mesures provisoires’), which purpose is to set a timetable for the procedure and rule on the provisional measures relating to the spouses and, if any, the children. |
| A joint or sole application commences the divorce proceedings, a separate financial application, “Form A” commences the financial proceedings, which are ancillary to the divorce process. Children proceedings are completely separate and a Form C100 commences children proceedings, where there is a dispute between parents. In England, the arrangements for the children on divorce are not automatically considered by a court and a “no order” principle applies. | There is now only one phase in the divorce process (the old process included a conciliation phase and final phase). Note that the French divorce process deals with all aspects of the divorce together; the divorce, financial aspects and child arrangements. |
When faced with this choice, we work closely with our French lawyer contacts to help you consider not only the potential differences in the outcome of the financial application but also procedural considerations including timescales, costs and how each system operates.
FURTHER INFORMATION
If you have any questions about the topic of this blog, please contact Claire Wood or a member of our team of family and divorce lawyers.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Claire Wood returned to Kingsley Napley as Legal Counsel in 2022, having previously worked at the firm from 2008- 2018. Claire is a family lawyer with over 15 years’ experience of advising clients on divorce or separation, financial settlement, prenuptial agreements and the arrangements for children.
We welcome views and opinions about the issues raised in this blog. Should you require specific advice in relation to personal circumstances, please use the form on the contact page.
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