What happens if this ?happy? life in a different country suffers fracture and disruption and the person has to seek solace in a legal separation or divorce? Should the person follow the English law where he or she is a resident or the law of the country where he or she lives? Supposing the individual's partner belongs to another country, different from the country where the couple presently resides ? what divorce law is applicable then?

When the two spouses are English by nationality, but residing elsewhere in Europe, they may find it difficult to bring their case before an English court. To get a hearing in an English court the couple will have to move back to England and take up lawful residence of around six months. After this said time frame of six months, the litigant can move the court in England. English divorce law holds that the domicile state of the couple has to be proven through taxation identities to be able to apply for divorce. A Scandinavian couple who stay in Ireland may find that they are able to divorce only in Ireland after the mandatory four-year wait specified by Irish law. In Finland, a couple has to wait for six months to legally divorce. This waiting period is termed as ?consideration period?. In Malta, divorce is not recognized at all, while in France, a couple intending to divorce has to enter into a form of conciliation before the divorce petition may be issued. UK, Cyprus, Denmark, Finland and Ireland consider the divorce law to be applicable to all residents no matter what the nationality of the individual might be. In contrast, countries of Netherlands, Italy and Hungary offer couples the choice of opting between the national divorce law and the divorce law of their country of birth.

Thus, different countries in Europe have different divorce laws and procedures. It can be quite beneficial in terms of speed, convenience and finances. Right now, getting divorce decrees is becoming cumbersome and a tedious process requiring international legal counsel and extensive documentation of:

According to the European Commission on Family Law, the divorce grounds are nearly the same in all European countries. This makes it quite ludicrous to subject individuals to inconvenience emotionally and financially, who simply moved to another country in the hope of bettering their future economically and socially. No country should be allowed to dictate an individual's right to personal growth and happiness. If the individual feels that his or her present marital relationship if not fulfilling, he or she should be allowed to divorce in a reasonable fashion. There is no point in telling a person that he or she cannot divorce simply because he or she is not a citizen of that country. Social psychologists and legal counsellors argue that having different divorce laws is merely an inconvenience to the individual and may deter him or her not to get a divorce and suffer through a bad marriage. An individual should be allowed to get divorced if valid reasons for divorce are proven in a court of law of the country of residence. Divorce should not be a slave to country-specific laws and procedures ? true happiness should not be dictated by legalities of country of birth vs country of residence. Hence, the Commission strongly holds that as the common currency, EU has to have a common divorce law.

Globalization and recent outsourcing trends demand the establishment of this common law. Individuals no longer stay and die in their country of birth. They are prone to moving from one place to another ? from one country to another ? marrying people other than those of their own country and culture. Hence, it is quite common to find Danish people married to English people. These mixed families and consequent ongoing mingling demands a relaxation of divorce laws in various countries of Europe. But on the other hand, legal experts argue that each country has its own specific law which ought to be respected. A common law will simply increase the rate of divorces across the continent. There will no longer be any legal restriction and people won't even give ?working on the marriage? a chance. If a couple is dissatisfied, it will simply apply for divorce and get it without any sort of legal hassles and documentation. This will eventually lead to a moral degradation of society.