Muslim divorces in Singapore are separate from divorces under the civil law.
In Singapore, all Muslim divorces come under the purview of the Administration of Muslim Law Act which allows for the Syariah Court in Singapore to have jurisdiction to hear and determine all disputes relating to marriage, divorces, division of property or maintenance.
The eligibility to apply for divorce under Muslim law involves:
· only parties who are Muslims or married under the Muslim law; and
· either one of the parties has to be a Singapore citizen; or lived in Singapore for at least 3 continuous years before applying for a divorce; or
· either one of the parties is domiciled in Singapore.
The whole divorce process involves counselling at the initial stage before an Originating Summons for Divorce is issued. This is followed by mediation before the matter proceeds with a trial hearing.
Divorce proceedings
Under Muslim law, divorces are known as talak, taklik, fasakh and khuluk.
These grounds for divorce comes under an area of Islamic Law based on the Quran and other Islamic sources. Let’s examine each of them.
(a) Talak
Only the husband can utter the word “talak” and have the divorce registered in the Syariah Court without the need to prove any breakdown of the marriage .
The talaks can be issued in varying degrees and this can range from uttering it once, repeating it twice, or three times.
The effect is that for the 1st and 2nd talak, there is a possibility of reconciling and continuing with the marriage. For the third talak, there is usually no room for reconciliation.
The Court generally discourages the 3rd talak as the decision may have been made by the husband hastily or in a moment of anger.
(b) Takliq
At the time marriage, there are prescribed taklik conditions. If any of the takliq conditions are breached, for example if there is four months of no maintenance or physical violence on the wife, the wife can apply for the divorce.
(c) Fasakh
Divorce by fasakh involves the marriage being annulled based on a list of grounds. Some of them include instances of physical abuse, husband being in prison for a few years, infidelity by the husband, or if the husband is insane or impotent, etc. Under such circumstances, the Court will dissolve the marriage by pronouncing the talaks.
(d) Khuluk
This is a form of redemption whereby at the request of the wife, she opts to redeem herself out of the marriage by way of a certain payment to be decided by the Court based on the means and circumstances. Under this ground of divorce by Khuluk, the wife may be required to prove her husband’s wrongdoing, or his breach of taklik or fasakh, unless the husband permits her to file for the divorce.
In respect of (b) and (c) above, the wife bears the burden of proving the evidence to support her reasons for initiating the divorce. The Court may even require 2 witnesses to support the wife’s claim(s).
There are also instances where the husband refuses to utter talak for reasons that may remain unknown. In such a case, the Court will order for the appointment of Hakam to represent both parties and discuss about releasing the wife from the marriage. At the end of the session, the Hakam will inform the Court of the outcome.
Ancillary Matters
During the mediation session, ancillary matters such as custody, maintenance and division of the matrimonial property will be discussed. Both spouses are required to personnaly attend this session.
Maintenance
Upon divorce, the wife is entitled to maintenance for a period of 3 months called the Nafkah Iddah. The amount depends on the husbands means and circumstances.
These 3 months also provides for a possibility of a reconciliation and the parties may approach the Syariah Court to revoke the earlier Divorce.
The children’s maintenance is dealt with by the Family Court. Prior to the divorce, the wife can also apply to the Family Court for an Interim Maintenance order to receive maintenance from the husband if she had not been provided for during the course of the marriage.
There is also another component known as Mut’ah, and this represents the compensation given to the wife for her contributions and sacrifice throughout the marriage. The starting point would usually be in the range of $5.00 and above per day and multiplied by the number of days of the marriage. The amount would also depend on the husbands means and circumstances.
As for the rest of the ancillary matters, the applicable principles are similar to that of divorces under the civil law.
Custody
The Court will decide on the custody, care and control of the children with the children’s welfare of paramount importance. The Court will decide on the access rights of the non-residing parent. For parties with children below 14 years old, they must attend a mandatory parenting session to reinforce their responsibilities towards their children. This is an additional safety layer prior to receiving the Divorce Certificate.
Division of matrimonial property
The financial and non- financial contributions of both parties, including direct and non- direct contributions, will be considered by the Court. The most common order would be the sale of the matrimonial property.
Division of matrimonial assets
The Court will look at the accumulation of assets known as harta sepencarian and assess the evidence. Examples include shares, investment in other properties (in addition to matrimonial home), bank accounts of the parties, etc.
Wedding expenses
This is a unique claim procedure which allows the wife to recover the wedding dowry known as the Mas Kahwin as well as the marriage expenses (belanja) which is owed by the husband at the time of the marriage.
The divorce experience is usually stressful and challenging for both parties, and especially if there are children involved. There would be constant struggles faced by the parties to try and maintain a civil relationship on the one hand having to juggle the demands and attention of the children on the other hand. It would definitely help both parties if they can amicably agree on the ancillary issues between themselves and minimise the impact of the breakdown of their marriage on their children.
If you are interested in a free initial consultation on your legal rights, please reach out to our Muslim divorce lawyers at Skandan Law immediately. You can visit our blog page to read about other legal topics that may be relevant to you.