Legal Ground For Divorce In Ghana: - The Basics

The Matrimonial Causes Act, 1971 (Act 367) governs the current law on divorce in Ghana. The law provides that, a petition for divorce may be presented to the court by either party to a marriage. However, the petitioner of the divorce i. e the person who starts the proceedings must be able to provide evidence to the effect that the marriage has broken down beyond reconciliation. This in fact is the sole ground for divorce. That not withstanding this sole ground must be evidenced by proof of one of the following:

Adultery Unreasonable Behavior Desertion Separation with consent for a period of 2 years 5 years of Separation ADULTERY - Section 2(1) (a) of Act 367 "... the Respondent has committed adultery and that by reason of the adultery the petitioner finds it intolerable to live with the Respondent".

Adultery may be defined as sexual intercourse between two persons of whom one or both are married but who are not married to each other. It is important to note that if you are the petitioner, you cannot rely on your own adultery. For Adultery to be proven, there must be at least partial penetration. Under Act 367, adultery is defined as the voluntary sexual intercourse of a married person with a person of the opposite sex other than his or her spouse. Further, a petitioner must satisfy the court that he/she finds it intolerable to live with the Respondent. This is however a subjective test and depends on the view of the Petitioner, which the court will ascertain and come to a conclusion. Section 3 of Act 367 provides that to rely on this fact, a couple should not have lived together for more than six months after one becomes aware of the adultery, if the couple live together for more than six months after the occurrence of adultery on the part of one of them, this ground cannot be relied upon. It is interesting to note that, on a petition for divorce in which adultery is alleged, the person alleged to have committed adultery with the party to the marriage may be made a party to the proceedings. UNREASONABLE BEHAVIOUR - Section 2(1) (b) of Act 367 "... the Respondent has behaved in a way that the petitioner cannot reasonably be expected to live with the Respondent".

Section 4 of the Act 367 provides that for the purposes of section 2(1) (b), in determining whether a petitioner cannot reasonably be expected to live with the Respondent, the court shall disregard any period or periods not exceeding six months in the aggregate during which the...