MARRIAGE & DIVORCE ACT

In Malaysia,only the High Court has the jurisdiction to hear matrimonial issues.An application to the High Court applying for divorce is known as a petition.There are two kinds of petition- the Joint Petition and the Contested Petition.

A Joint Petition involves a situation where both the parties want to seperate and go their own ways.Even if one party is opposed to the divorce ,the law cannot restrict somebody from filing a petition in the High Court.This is known as an ex-parte application.

A Joint Petition is usually filed by young couples who just got married- usually on Valentines Day.They have no children and they have no matrimonial homes.But there is one restriction in this aspect. If the couple is married for less than 2 years, they cannot file their petition in Court. They must go to a Marriage Tribunal for attempts to reconcile. (Cari Penyelesaian). If after counselling , it is still impossible to reconcile, the Department will issue a certificate which must be filed together with the petition.

On the other hand, if it is a Contested Petition,where the spouses have property in both names,and there is a disagreement as to the portion of their shares, then this issues have to be sorted before the Divorce Court. Further if there are young children, the question of children custody and the visitation rights must be addressed.

If the woman is a housewife and she has to bring up children- she can apply to the Court for a Maintenance Order.This application must be made to the Court by a lawyer.It is for the spouse to apply but finally, it is the Court which will decide what is appropriate amount in the circumstances.

To be edited)