Mauritius
Divorce and Judicial Separation Act
Act 20 of 1981
- Commenced on 1 January 1982
- [This is the version of this document at 30 June 2017.]
1. Short title
This Act may be cited as the Divorce and Judicial Separation Act.2. Interpretation
In this Act—"child" means a child of the parties to a marriage;"Court" means the Supreme Court;"decree" means a decree of divorce or judicial separation;"party" means party to a marriage;"property" means movable or immovable property or part of property and includes money.3. Institution of proceedings
No person shall institute any proceedings under this Act unless—4. Proceedings to be by petition or motion
5. Contents of petition
6. Service and presentation of petition
7. Reconciliation
8. Further proceedings
9. Provisional decree
Subject to section 11—10. Permanent decree
11. Restrictions on provisional decree
The Court shall not grant a provisional decree unless the Court is satisfied—11A. Conversion into permanent decree
12. Judicial separation
13. Periodical payments orders
14. Maintenance agreements
15. Amendment of orders and agreements
The Court may, at any time, on application made by either party, amend or discharge an order made under section 13, an agreement made under section 14 or an agreement made under article 238-3 of the Code Civil Mauricien, if it appears necessary to do so, having regard to any material change in the circumstances relating to either of the parties or to any child.[S. 15 amended by s. 3 (j) of Act 2 of 2011 w.e.f. 15 May 2011.]16. Property transfer orders
17. Exercise of powers on orders
In the exercise of its powers under sections 13 and 16, the Court shall have regard to all the circumstances of the case, and in particular the following matters, where appropriate—18. Orders for custody of children
19. Provisional orders
On a petition for a decree, any party may apply to the Court for one or more of the following orders—20. Application of Act
20A. Suits entered outside the Island of Mauritius
Notwithstanding anything in this Act or any other enactment, in relation to any action for divorce or judicial separation entered outside the Island of Mauritius, the functions exercisable by a Judge or the Court pursuant to sections 6, 7, 8 and 19 or to articles 240 to 243 of the Code Civil Mauricien shall be performed—21. Regulations
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History of this document
30 June 2017 this version
Consolidation
01 January 1982
Commenced