Chinese court introduces cooling-off period for would-be divorcees
Couples contemplating a permanent split now required to take three months to think it over
Clashing couples in an area of eastern China will now have to “cool off” for three months before they can legally call time on their union.
Court officials said husbands and wives were too readily seeking a final dissolution when they should be working through their disagreements, and have ordered would-be divorcees to take time out.
Anyone looking to annul their marriage in court in one part of Shandong province will need to become “calm” and “reasonable” before proceeding with a split, Xinhua reported.
Only those with a “just cause” may object to the new rule.
Although Chinese couples are still far more likely to stay married than their American counterparts, divorce rates in China have surged in recent years.
According to the country’s ministry of civil affairs, the number of couples who untied the knot in 2016 rose 8.3 per cent from the previous year to 4.2 million.