Tini Owens, the wife who lost her appeal against the refusal of the court to grant her a divorce, has applied for permission to appeal to the Supreme Court.
Last month the Court of Appeal dismissed Mrs Owens’ appeal, upholding the original ruling of the court that she had failed to prove, within the meaning of the law, that her husband had behaved in such a way that she could not reasonably be expected to live with him. The decision means that Mrs Owens is locked into a loveless marriage, despite the fact that the court accepted that the marriage had broken down.
Mrs Owens has now lodged an application for permission to appeal with the Supreme Court. She will only be able to proceed with the appeal if permission is granted.
Permission to appeal is only granted for applications that, in the opinion of the Supreme Court Justices, raise an arguable point of law of general public importance which ought to be considered by the Supreme Court, bearing in mind that the matter has already been the subject of judicial decision and has already been reviewed on appeal.
Mrs Owens’ barrister Philip Marshall QC has expressed the hope that the Supreme Court find a workable solution to the present unsatisfactory state of the divorce law “which is both intellectually honest and better reflects modern thinking and social attitudes”. Family Law Cafe agrees, although the best solution would be for Parliament to enact a system of no-fault divorce so that it is no longer necessary in any cases to attribute blame for the breakdown of the marriage.
For further information on the ground for divorce, see this post.
Image: UK Supreme Court, by Alex F, licensed under CC BY 2.0.