And relief will be completely denied in a case where the patient, although incurably insane, continues to keep his voluntary status, because the need for certification never arises. By that time it may be clear that his insanity is incurable, yet the spouse has to wait until the full period of five years' care and treatment as a certified patient has elapsed before taking divorce proceedings. The patient may have spent some years in a mental hospital before he is certified. The Royal Commission, in paragraphs 177 and 178 of their Report, pointed out that, while it is desirable to avoid certification as far as possible, this may result in considerable hardship for the patient's spouse. There is no point in going through the four conditions in detail, but the principal feature of each condition is that it lays emphasis on the certification of the respondent as a person of unsound mind. The first of these conditions starts by providing that a person shall be taken to be under care and control only while he is detained in pursuance of any order or inquisition under the Lunacy and Mental Treatment Acts, 1890 to 1930. Section 1 (2) of the Act goes on to provide that a person shall be deemed to be under care and treatment only under four conditions. Of the Royal Commission on Marriage and Divorce presided over by the noble Lord, Lord Morton of Henryton, first, by extending the types of treatment which enable a husband or wife to obtain a divorce on the ground of the other's insanity and secondly, by preventing the supervening insanity of a deserting spouse from interrupting a period of desertion.Īs your Lordships know, Section 1 (1) ( d) of the Matrimonial Causes Act provides that a husband or wife can obtain a decree of divorce on the ground that the other party to the marriage is of incurably unsound mind and has been continuously under care and treatment for a period of at least five years immediately preceding the presentation of the petition. The primary object of the Bill is to give effect to the recommendations Allow me to say at the outset that this Bill does not create any new grounds for divorce nor does it extend any of the existing grounds for divorce. My Lords, I beg to move that the Bill known as the Divorce (Insanity and Desertion) Bill be now read a second time.
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