The Petitioner filed the Petition on 22ND April, 2022 praying for the reliefs below:
a) Dissolution of the Ordinance Marriage celebrated between the parties.
b) Each party should be made to pay for their own legal fees.
c) Any further order from the Court.
Parties were married under the Marriage Ordinance (CAP 127) on 18th March, 2019. Thereafter the parties cohabited in Accra. The Petitioner is a Nurse and the Respondent as Employee of Tema Oil Refinery.
The Petitioner is a citizen of United States of America and the Respondent a Ghanaian Citizen. There is no issue of the marriage.
PETITIONER’S CASE
It is the Petitioner’s case that the marriage between the parties has broken down beyond reconciliation because the Respondent deserted her and that the parties have been separated for the past 3 years and have not lived as man and wife within the said period without any form of intimacy also.
RESPONDENT’S CASE
Respondent did not file any process but appeared in court during the trial dated 7th October, 2022 after a Hearing Notice was served on him. Respondent testified that he is agreeable to the dissolution of the marriage.
THE ISSUE FOR DETERMINATION
The issue for determination is whether or not the marriage between the parties has broken down beyond reconciliation. The sole ground for dissolution of marriage is when it is established that the marriage has broken down beyond reconciliation under Section 1 (2) of Matrimonial Causes Act, 1971 (Act 367).
To determine whether the marriage has broken down beyond reconciliation, the court has to determine if one or more of the following facts exist under Act 367 s. 2 (1):
a) That the Respondent has committed adultery and that by reason of such adultery the Petitioner finds it intolerable to live with the Respondent; or
b) That the Respondent has behaved in such a way that the Petitioner cannot reasonably be expected to live with the Respondent; or
c) That the Respondent has deserted the Petitioner for a continuous period of at least two years immediately preceding the presentation of the Petition; or
d) That the parties to the marriage have not lived as man and wife for a continuous period of at least two years immediately preceding the presentation of the petition and the Respondent consents to the grant of a decree of divorce; provided that such consent shall not be unreasonably withheld and where the court is satisfied that it has been so withheld, the court may grant a petition for divorce, un
