IRELAND’S FIRST ever online divorce has been granted.
According to The Irish Independent, three decrees were passed by a judge on Friday, May 8, in what represents an historic first for the Republic.
All of the people involved appeared via video link during the proceedings.
Remote hearings are part of a new system being adopted by the country’s Courts Service in line with social distancing rules designed to stem the flow of coronavirus across the country.
And online divorces are likely to become the new normal in the months ahead with Ireland's Chief Justice predicting that remote hearings of this kind will be in place until the end of next year.
The change comes less than a year after the people of Ireland voted overwhelmingly in a referendum to liberalise divorce laws.
The proposal passed with 82.1% of voters backing a change to the law, that previously stated spouses must be separated for four of the previous five years to divorce.
Under the new system, the couple must have been living apart from one another for at least 2 out of the previous 3 years before an application can be made.
Divorce was only legalised in Ireland in 1995, after a referendum that approved the measure by 50.28% to 49.72%.
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