Section 17 of the Matrimonial Causes Act (Chapter 282) lists the grounds. A petition may be based on one or more of them.
Section 17 — the grounds
| Para | Ground | Period required |
|---|---|---|
| (a) | Adultery since the marriage | None |
| (b) | Wilful desertion without just cause or excuse | 2 years |
| (c) | Wilful and persistent refusal to consummate | None stated |
| (d) | Habitual cruelty to the petitioner | 1 year |
| (e) | Commission of rape, sodomy or bestiality since the marriage | None |
| (f) | Habitual drunkard, or habitually intoxicated by a sedative, narcotic or stimulating drug | 2 years |
| (g) | The husband has suffered frequent convictions totalling 3 years’ imprisonment and habitually left the petitioner without reasonable means of support | Within 5 years |
| (h) | In prison after conviction for an offence punishable by death or imprisonment for life or 5 years or more, and still in prison at the date of the petition | 3 years |
| (i) | Conviction on indictment of attempting to murder or unlawfully kill the petitioner, or an offence involving grievous bodily harm to the petitioner or intent to inflict it | Within 1 year before the petition |
| (j) | Habitual and wilful failure to pay maintenance ordered by a court in PNG or Australia, or agreed in a separation agreement | 2 years before the petition |
| (k) | Failure to comply with a decree of restitution of conjugal rights | 1 year before the petition |
| (l) | Unsound mind and unlikely to recover, having been confined for 5 years in the 6 years before the petition | See left |
| (m) | Separation and living separately and apart, with no reasonable likelihood of cohabitation being resumed | 5 years before the petition |
| (n) | Presumed death — absence for such time and in such circumstances as to provide reasonable grounds | None stated |
A fault-based scheme
Twelve of the fourteen grounds require proof of conduct by the other party — adultery, desertion, cruelty, criminality, drunkenness, refusal to consummate, failure to pay maintenance.
Only two are not fault-based:
- (l) unsoundness of mind; and
- (m) five years’ separation.
Paragraph (m) is the closest the Act comes to no-fault divorce, and the period is long. Where both parties want a divorce and neither has committed a matrimonial offence, five years’ separation is the route — though see the bar on collusion in section 28.
Paragraph (g) is available to a wife only
Paragraph (g) speaks of “the petitioner’s husband”. Every other ground is expressed in terms of “the other party to the marriage”.
It requires two things together: frequent convictions aggregating three years’ imprisonment within five years, and having habitually left the petitioner without reasonable means of support. Criminality alone is not enough.
Note that “crime” is defined in section 1(1) as an offence punishable by death or imprisonment.
Whether the gendered limitation is consistent with section 55 of the Constitution has not been decided. A wife in that position could in any event rely on paragraph (h) or on desertion.
The grounds are not the whole story
- Section 31 — a petition within three years of the marriage requires leave.
- Sections 27 and 28 — condonation, connivance and collusion are absolute bars.
- Section 29 — the discretionary bars, including the petitioner’s own adultery and unreasonable delay.
- Section 10 — the court must consider the possibility of reconciliation.
- Section 59 — a decree does not become absolute where there are children under 16 unless the court is satisfied about arrangements for them.
- Section 80 — the standard of proof, and sections 81 to 85 on evidence.
- Section 4 — the Act does not apply to a customary marriage.
Sections 18 to 26 amplify individual grounds: constructive desertion (s 18), refusal to resume cohabitation (s 19), desertion continuing after mental disorder (s 20), wilful refusal to consummate (s 21), aggregation of concurrent sentences (s 22), failure to pay maintenance (s 23), unsoundness of mind (s 24), separation (s 25) and presumption of death (s 26).
Sources
- Matrimonial Causes Act (Chapter 282) — ss 1, 4, 10, 17–31, 59, 80–85
- Constitution — s 55
Before relying on anything here, read the current text of the Marriage Act (Chapter 280) and check for later amendments. If a decision matters to you, get advice — start with the Office of the Public Solicitor, or find a firm in the law firms directory.