20.Section 11 amends the Divorce (Scotland) Act 1976 to reduce the periods of non-cohabitation required to establish the irretrievable breakdown of a marriage.
21.Under Scots law, the sole ground for divorce is the irretrievable breakdown of the marriage. The 1976 Act provides a list of the ways in which it is possible to establish such a breakdown. Two of these are:
the non-cohabitation of the parties to the marriage for a period of two years where
both parties consent to the divorce
the non-cohabitation of the parties to the marriage for a period of five years where
one party does not consent to the divorce.
22.Section 11 reduces the periods of non-cohabitation in the 1976 Act to 1 year where both parties consent and 2 years where one party does not consent to the divorce.