RETHINKING THE STANDARD OF PROOF FOR ADULTERY IN DIVORCE LAW: WQX v WQW

In divorce proceedings, a party to a marriage may seek to satisfy the court that the marriage has irretrievably broken down by proving, inter alia, that the other party has committed adultery. But what is the standard of proof for adultery? In WQX v WQW, the General Division of the High Court (Famil...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inSingapore journal of legal studies pp. 212 - 219
Main Author Ren, Tan Ming
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Singapore Singapore Journal of Legal Studies 01.03.2025
Subjects
Adultery
Divorce
Family law
Litigation
Marriage
Uncertainty
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ISSN0218-2173

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Summary:In divorce proceedings, a party to a marriage may seek to satisfy the court that the marriage has irretrievably broken down by proving, inter alia, that the other party has committed adultery. But what is the standard of proof for adultery? In WQX v WQW, the General Division of the High Court (Family Division) found that the wife had proved beyond reasonable doubt that the husband had committed adultery, but it queried whether the criminal standard of proof beyond reasonable doubt for adultery, which applied in the past, is still warranted today. It is submitted that there are indeed strong arguments in favour of lowering the standard of proof for adultery from the criminal standard of proof beyond reasonable doubt to the civil standard of proof on a balance of probabilities.
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ISSN:0218-2173