A marriage may be dissolved by a court on the following grounds:
the irretrievable breakdown of the marriage; or
the mental illness, or the continuous unconsciousness, of a party to the marriage.

Irretrievable breakdown

A court may grant a decree of divorce on the grounds of the irretrievable breakdown of the marriage if the court is satisfied that the marriage relationship between the parties to the marriage has reached such a state of disintegration that there is no reasonable prospect of the restoration of a normal marital relationship between them.

Divorce Act 70 of 1979 lays down the circumstances that a court may accept as evidence of the irretrievable breakdown of a marriage:

The parties have not lived together as husband and wife for a continued period of at least one year immediately prior to the date issuing summons for divorce.

The defendant has committed adultery and the plaintiff finds it irreconcilable with a continued marriage relationship.
The defendant was declared a habitual criminal and is undergoing imprisonment.

The court still has discretion not to grant a divorce order, and may postpone the proceedings or dismiss the claim if it appears to the court that there is a reasonable possibility that the parties may reconcile through counselling. If reconciliation is unsuccessful after a few months, the parties may proceed with the same summons. The summons will usually contain the averment that further counselling and/or treatment will not lead to any reconciliation. A court must, therefore, be satisfied that the marriage is really broken down and that there is no possibility of the continuation of a normal marriage.

Where the parties reconcile and live together again after the summons was issued and served, it does not necessarily end the divorce proceedings. If, however, the reconciliation is unsuccessful after a few months, the parties may proceed with the same summons. It is extremely important to make sure that the summons is withdrawn formally if you do decide to reconcile. Withdrawal of the summons is formally affected when the plaintiff serves a document referred to as a notice of withdrawal of the summons on the defendant or his/her attorney. If this is not done, a divorce order may be obtained by default without the defendant being aware of it. If a divorce is obtained in this manner, the aggrieved party may approach the court to set aside the order.

Since the present law on divorce is no longer based on the principle of fault, defences like insanity or the plaintiff’s own adultery are no longer valid defences. Therefore, if a divorce is instituted on account of an irretrievable breakdown, there is in fact no defence to prevent the divorce from proceeding. But if the court finds that there is a reasonable possibility of reconciliation, it may postpone the proceedings in order that the parties attempt reconciliation; this, however, is not a defence, but merely amounts to a postponement.

Mental illness or continuous unconsciousness

Mental illness

A court may grant a decree of divorce on the grounds of the mental illness of the defendant if the court is satisfied that the defendant:

has been admitted as a patient to an institution in terms of the reception order;
is being detained as a state patient at an institution or other place specified by the Minister of Correctional Services; or
is being detained as a mentally ill convicted prisoner at an institution.

A divorce order may also be granted if the defendant has, for a continuous period of at least two years immediately prior to the institution of the divorce action, not been discharged unconditionally as such a patient, state patient or mentally ill prisoner; and if the court has heard evidence from at least two psychiatrists, one of whom must have been appointed by the court, that the defendant is mentally ill and that there is no reasonable prospect that he/she will be cured of his/her mental illness.

Continuous unconsciousness

A court may grant a decree of divorce on the grounds that the defendant is, by reason of a physical disorder, in a state of continuous unconsciousness, if it is satisfied that:

the defendant’s unconsciousness has lasted for a continuous period of at least six months immediately prior to the institution of the divorce action; and
after having heard evidence from at least two medical practitioners, one of whom must be a neurologist or a neurosurgeon appointed by the court, there is no reasonable prospect that the defendant will regain consciousness.

The divorce process in South Africa is relatively straightforward, yet the financial and emotional consequences can be profound, especially since most divorces are normally lodged in the High Court, where the costs to litigate are extremely high. The other harsh reality is that the High Courts in South Africa have overly burdened court rolls, and parties normally have to wait a long time for their divorce matter to go to trial when their divorce is contested. The backlog in cases was somewhat lessened when the Regional Courts Amendment Act came into effect in 2010 to amend the Magistrates’ Courts Act, 1944, so as to allow regional divisions of the magistrates’ courts to also deal with divorce cases.

In South Africa, the marital regime of the parties determines how the assets will be divided upon dissolution of the marriage, the assets being those at the time of the divorce. In South Africa, we have a ‘no fault’ system of divorce, meaning that a divorce will be granted if one of the parties believes that there has been an ‘irretrievable breakdown of the marriage relationship’ and that there are no reasonable prospects of restoring it. Therefore, a marriage can be dissolved even if one of the parties does not wish to get divorced.

Civil marriages, civil unions and those religious marriages conducted by registered marriage officers can only be dissolved by order of the court. The spouse wishing to end the marriage must issue a summons against the other spouse, stating that the relationship has broken down, that there is no reasonable prospect of restoring the relationship and which matrimonial property regime governs the marriage. The summons must make provision for the division of the estate, either stating that the parties have entered into a prior agreement or asking the court to divide the joint estate or enforce the provisions of the Antenuptial Contract. Parties must also set out what the arrangements are with regards to any children born or adopted during the marriage.