Hong Kong Ordinances

MATRIMONIAL CAUSES ORDINANCE - SECT 13

Divorce not precluded by previous judicial separation

(1) A person shall not be prevented from presenting or making a petition or
application for divorce, or the court from granting a decree of divorce, by
reason only that the petitioner or an applicant or respondent has at any time,
on the same facts or substantially the same facts as those proved in support
of the petition or application, been granted a decree of judicial separation
or an order under, or having effect as if made under, the
Separation and Maintenance Orders Ordinance ( Cap 16).

(2) In a case to which subsection (1) applies the court may treat the decree
of judicial separation or the order described in that subsection as sufficient
proof of the ground on which it was granted; provided that in such a case the
court shall not grant a decree of divorce without receiving evidence from the
petitioner or, if the case is an application for divorce, evidence from both
of the applicants unless, in such a case, the court considers it reasonable in
the particular circumstances to receive evidence from 1 only of those
applicants. (Replaced 29 of 1995 s. 9)
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____ Notes: 1. Please see the saver provision in relation to the repealed
section 13(3), as contained in section 18 of 29 of 1995. Such repealed
section 13(3) and the saver provision are reproduced as follows:

"18. Saver

Where immediately before the commencement of this Ordinance section 13(3) of
the principal Ordinance applied to a particular period of desertion, that
section shall continue so to apply as if section 9 of this Ordinance had not
been enacted.".

2. 29 of 1995 commenced operation on 24 June 1996.

3. The repealed section 13(3), which was in force immediately before section 9
of 29 of 1995 came into operation, is reproduced below-

"(3) For the purposes of a petition for divorce in such a case, a period of
desertion immediately preceding the institution of proceedings for a decree of
judicial separation or for such an order as aforesaid having the effect of a
decree of judicial separation shall, if the parties have not resumed
cohabitation and the decree or order has been continuously in force since it
was granted, be deemed immediately to precede the presentation of the
petition.".