- Latest available (Revised)
- Original (As enacted)
Matrimonial Proceedings (Children) Act 1958
You are here:
What Version
Advanced Features
- Show Geographical Extent(e.g. England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland)
- Show Timeline of Changes
Opening Options
More Resources
Changes to legislation:
Matrimonial Proceedings (Children) Act 1958, Section 8 is up to date with all changes known to be in force on or before 26 November 2024. There are changes that may be brought into force at a future date. Changes that have been made appear in the content and are referenced with annotations.
Changes to Legislation
Revised legislation carried on this site may not be fully up to date. Changes and effects are recorded by our editorial team in lists which can be found in the ‘Changes to Legislation’ area. Where those effects have yet to be applied to the text of the legislation by the editorial team they are also listed alongside the legislation in the affected provisions. Use the ‘more’ link to open the changes and effects relevant to the provision you are viewing.
Changes and effects yet to be applied to the whole Act associated Parts and Chapters:
Whole provisions yet to be inserted into this Act (including any effects on those provisions):
- s. 11(1B)(1C) inserted by 2020 asp 16 s. 19(2)
[F18 Duty of court in actions of divorce, etc., to consider arrangements for children’s welfare before granting decree.E+W
(1)Subject to the provisions of this section, in any action for divorce, nullity of marriage or separation the court shall not grant decree of divorce, nullity of marriage or separation unless and until the court is satisfied as respects every child for whose [F2custody the court has power]] to make provision in that action—
(a)that arrangements have been made for the care and upbringing of the child and that those arrangements are satisfactory or are the best which can be devised in the circumstances; or
(b)that it is impracticable for the party or parties appearing before the court to make any such arrangements.
[F3In this subsection “child” does not include a child with respect to whom the court has made an order under section 13(6) or 14(2) of the Family Law Act 1986]
(2)The court may, if it thinks fit, proceed to grant decree of divorce, nullity of marriage or separation without observing the requirements of the foregoing subsection if it appears that there are circumstances making it desirable that decree should be granted without delay and if the court has obtained a satisfactory undertaking from either or both of the parties to bring the question of the arrangements for the children before the court within a specified time.
(3)This section shall not apply in relation to actions commenced before the commencement of this Part of this Act.
Textual Amendments
F1S. 8 repealed (S.) (1.11.1996) by 1995 c. 36, s. 105(5), Sch. 5; S.I. 1996/2203, art. 3(3), Sch. Table
F2Words substituted (S.) by Family Law Act 1986 (c. 55, SIF 49:3), ss. 68(1), 69(6), Sch. 1 para. 4(a)
F3Words added (S.) by Family Law Act 1986 (c. 55, SIF 49:3), ss. 68(1), 69(6), Sch. 1 para. 4(b)
Options/Help
Print Options
PrintThe Whole Act
PrintThe Whole Part
PrintThis Section only
Legislation is available in different versions:
Latest Available (revised):The latest available updated version of the legislation incorporating changes made by subsequent legislation and applied by our editorial team. Changes we have not yet applied to the text, can be found in the ‘Changes to Legislation’ area.
Original (As Enacted or Made): The original version of the legislation as it stood when it was enacted or made. No changes have been applied to the text.
See additional information alongside the content
Geographical Extent: Indicates the geographical area that this provision applies to. For further information see ‘Frequently Asked Questions’.
Show Timeline of Changes: See how this legislation has or could change over time. Turning this feature on will show extra navigation options to go to these specific points in time. Return to the latest available version by using the controls above in the What Version box.
Opening Options
Different options to open legislation in order to view more content on screen at once
More Resources
Access essential accompanying documents and information for this legislation item from this tab. Dependent on the legislation item being viewed this may include:
- the original print PDF of the as enacted version that was used for the print copy
- lists of changes made by and/or affecting this legislation item
- confers power and blanket amendment details
- all formats of all associated documents
- correction slips
- links to related legislation and further information resources
Timeline of Changes
This timeline shows the different points in time where a change occurred. The dates will coincide with the earliest date on which the change (e.g an insertion, a repeal or a substitution) that was applied came into force. The first date in the timeline will usually be the earliest date when the provision came into force. In some cases the first date is 01/02/1991 (or for Northern Ireland legislation 01/01/2006). This date is our basedate. No versions before this date are available. For further information see the Editorial Practice Guide and Glossary under Help.
More Resources
Use this menu to access essential accompanying documents and information for this legislation item. Dependent on the legislation item being viewed this may include:
- the original print PDF of the as enacted version that was used for the print copy
- correction slips
Click 'View More' or select 'More Resources' tab for additional information including:
- lists of changes made by and/or affecting this legislation item
- confers power and blanket amendment details
- all formats of all associated documents
- links to related legislation and further information resources
All content is available under the Open Government Licence v3.0 except where otherwise stated. This site additionally contains content derived from EUR-Lex, reused under the terms of the Commission Decision 2011/833/EU on the reuse of documents from the EU institutions. For more information see the EUR-Lex public statement on re-use.