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Ireland needs clean-break divorce says new research

According to a report on Nullity released by Leman Solicitors today, Ireland would benefit from the introduction of clean-break divorce to combat the applications for nullity which remain steady, despite almost 15 years of divorce legislation.

A decree of civil nullity means that a marriage is invalid and therefore deems that a marriage never really existed in the first place. Once a decree of civil nullity is granted, the marriage is erased, both parties are seen to be single in the eyes of the law and are free to remarry (or more appropriately “marry” as they were never validly married in the first place). 

The research coincides with the Courts Annual Review also published today showing new nullity figures;   55 decrees of nullity were applied for last year, despite the introduction of divorce into Ireland 15 years ago.  While this represents a 10% decrease on the 61 nullity applications made in 2008, there was an overall decrease in all family law proceedings from 2008 to 2009. Divorce applications saw a 19% decrease and Judicial Separation applications decreased by 13%. It is suspected that this relates to the down turn in the economy and people simply being unable to afford to take proceedings.

“It is a requirement that a married couple be living separate and apart for 4 out of the previous 5 years in order to be eligible to apply for  divorce in this  jurisdiction. Even when a divorce is granted both parties retain the right to go back to Court at any stage in the future to make additional applications for financial support. It is conceivable that some nullity applications may be made because couples do not have to be separated for any particular length of time and once a marriage is annulled it is final. With today’s Courts Annual Review showing nullity figures remaining surprisingly steady, despite 15 years of divorce legislation, there is a strong argument for perhaps shortening the time a couple have to wait in order to make a divorce application and also introducing clean break divorce in some circumstances.” said Deborah Kearney of Leman Solicitors.”

So why would someone prefer it to a divorce? The grounds to apply for civil annulment have very little to do with the length of time that the parties have been married to each other. In order to apply for a civil annulment one should understand the grounds on which it is permissible to apply:

A marriage is void (i.e. never actually existed at all) if the formalities required for the marriage have not been observed. For example, a couple must notify a Registrar three months prior to the date on which the marriage is to be solemnised. Another reason is if either of the parties do not have the capacity to consent to a marriage. There are grounds which would mean that a person did not have the capacity to consent to a marriage, for instance if the marriage was bigamous. If either party to the marriage was already married and is not validly divorced then they cannot legitimately consent to marrying another person.

Lack of consent is another reason. In order to enter into a valid marriage contract both parties must give full, free and informed consent to it. You have to be mentally competent to have the capacity to enter a marriage. According to common law, a marriage is void if either party lacks the mental ability to understand the natures and responsibilities of marriage. This lack of capacity could result from mental illness. Therefore, if it can be proved that one of the parties to the marriage at the time of the marriage ceremony was suffering from a psychiatric or mental conditions which would render them incapable of validly consenting to the marriage, that marriage can be deemed as void. Another reason for lack of consent is intoxication. This is rarely used as a reason to claim lack of consent in this jurisdiction as that party must be so intoxicated that they were wholly incapable of consenting.

Duress and undue influence - are also causes for seeking a decree of nullity.  If a person is forced to enter a marriage by their spouse or any other party then the marriage can be declared void for lack of consent. In decades past, the vast majority of these cases would have concerned an unmarried pregnancy or “shotgun” weddings.

“Despite the introduction of divorce in this jurisdiction almost 15 years ago, the statistics and trends for nullity application and orders granted have remained steady and actually increased in some years. This is of concern and could possibly indicate that people are choosing to go down the route of nullity in order to avoid ancillary reliefs on divorce and separation such as maintenance and property adjustment orders” said Deborah Kearney.

“ If clean break divorce were introduced perhaps less people would opt for nullity which is archaic and badly in need of update. I do believe the option should be retained for genuine cases, just  with more clarity in the law in the form of specific legislation” she concluded.

Hundreds of influential business, industry, and academic leaders, gathered at the InterTradeIreland 2010 All-island Innovation Conference at University College Dublin to explore the potential economic opportunities which arise from building collaborative networks.

The key message to emerge from the conference was that building collaborative networks is essential to drive and facilitate innovation and to develop a dynamic and indigenous knowledge-based economy on the island of Ireland.

In a keynote address, Professor Woody Powell, a leading economic sociologist at Stanford University, California, outlined the central factors required to build robust business clusters within an economy.

Professor Powell recently conducted a study on the development of the biotech industry in 11 regions of the US. Each region had the potential to form biotech clusters because they were rich in resources such as scientific knowledge, money, and business skills, but only three regions formed robust clusters, while the other eight failed.

From his findings, Professor Powell concluded that the successful clusters were marked by the presence of  local ‘anchor tenants’ who fostered the values of openness and transparency in the region and encouraged exploration, a diversity of types of organisations and a dense web of local relationships.

“Collaborative networks are the locus of innovation and explain why high-tech clusters form in some regions but not others, even when the regions have comparable resources,” said Professor Powell.

“The implication for all industrial sectors is that successful clusters require the thorough mixing of people, ideas and resources across the university, business and financial communities. Having organisational diversity and catalytic organisations which provide the relational glue to hold clusters together and facilitate the transfer of best practices are also essential.”

“The development of true collaborative networks will be instrumental in the development of a robust and innovative knowledge-based economy on the island of Ireland,” concluded Professor Powell.

Leman Solicitors collaborated with MKO Partners, Chartered Acccountants to jointly present a breakfast seminar on Thursday, 8th July 2010 on the prevention and cure of cash flow problems that face the business community.

MKOs Frank Keane talked about how your business should manage its cash flow to avoid crisis management and explored what you need to know about managing invoices, debtors, creditors and payment periods.

Catherine Cooney of Leman Solicitors  talked about the practical and legal steps that can be taken to ensure the cheque actually is in the Post, concentrating on the various pressure points that make even the most reluctant debtors pay.

The seminar was very well attended and reflects Leman's commitment to provide top quality legal services to its clients.

Catherine Cooney has recently joined the Sandyford Group of Venture Business Network. Catherine becomes the second member of Leman Solicitors to join Venture Business Network. Her collaegue Simon Hollywood joined the D4 Venture Group in January of this year. Located in the heart of Sandyford the Sandyford Network Group meets every Thursday morning from 07.00 to 08.30. As a prime business location Sandyford has grown at a phenomenal rate over the past number of years.

On 19 of May 2010 Deborah Kearney hosted a breakfast seminar interestingly called “How to cheat death and beat the taxman”. The seminar was very well attended, showing that people have a real interest in planning for the future in these uncertain times. Deborah gave attendees food for thought on things they should consider when making their will. Guest speaker, David Moran of Kennelly Twomey gave some well thought out advice on tax planning. He illustrated what huge savings you can make in the future by doing a little planning now.

Simon Hollywood, the firm's corporate specialist attended the ninth annual InterTrade Venture Capital Conference in the Waterfront Hall in Belfast on 26th May 2010. The conference showcased the current sources of equity capital available, across 11 active funds, with access to more than €275m worth of equity. All the major players within the venture capital industry in Ireland were in attendance. The conference was attended by companies from across the island that shared their views on the challenges involved in raising equity. Leading entrepreneur turned investor, Dublin-based Bill McCabe from Oyster Technology Investments, also shared the secrets of his success. The Northern Bank was principal sponsor of the event, which was also supported by Kernal Capital and Crescent Capital as associate sponsors.

The ‘back to basics’ theme of the conference this year focused on raising the early rounds of equity for early-stage companies.

Interestingly in a survey of investors at the conference, InterTrade Ireland found that 77% are cautiously optimistic for concrete prospects for investment in the market and 83% of investors surveyed will make their next investment within the next three months.

What is clear from the conference is that a gap in funding has developed for start-up businesses with venture capital firms moving away from backing very early stage companies which are seen as high risk in recessionary times. This gap in seed funding has become more pronounced as venture funds move up the ‘food chain’ to later-stage deals, which has made it even harder for young companies to secure the necessary funds required to get their business off the ground.

Unfortunately the sources of seed funding have diminished during the recession. As the supply of private investment in companies (amongst BES, friends and family and wealthy individuals) has decreased dramatically, the case for sustained government support in this area is greater than ever. Another revelation at the event was that a key challenge for many companies seeking capital is that they are not “investor ready.”

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