Q&As

Where a divorce petition was issued relying on domicile as the basis for jurisdiction, and the petitioner would now satisfy the requirements as to habitual residence, is it possible to amend the petition and add habitual residence as a basis for jurisdiction, or is it necessary to file a new petition?

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Produced in partnership with Paul Infield of The 36 Group
Published on: 10 December 2019
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Alterations of, or additions to, a petition may be made by amendment and a petition may be amended by adding an additional or substituted prayer, for instance, to make stronger allegations of behaviour so as to convince a court to grant a decree.

The Rules regarding amending petitions are set out in the Family Procedure Rules 2010 (FPR 2010), SI 2010/2955, Pt 7 and the supporting practice direction FPR 2010, PD 7A. FPR 2010, PD 7A, para 1.3 states that ‘amended and supplemental applications operate on a principle of relation back to the date of issue of the original application’.

For that reason, if a separation petition is presented within one year of the marriage or civil partnership, it cannot be amended to a divorce

Paul Infield
Paul Infield

The 36 Group

Called in 1980, Paul has been involved in family work for all of his career. He is a mediator and IFLA arbitrator. He has been counsel in a number of report cases including as leading counsel in the Court of Appeal in Birch v. Birch and junior counsel in that case in the Supreme Court.

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Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom
Related legal acts:
Key definition:
The petitioner definition
What does The petitioner mean?

The person on whose behalf the petition for divorce or dissolution is filed.

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