The family court shall decree a divorce from the bond of matrimony upon the application of either party when the court finds:
(1) The marriage is irretrievably broken;(2) The parties have lived separate and apart under a decree of separation from bed and board entered by any court of competent jurisdiction, the term of separation has expired, and no reconciliation has been effected;(3) The parties have lived separate and apart for a period of two years or more under a decree of separate maintenance entered by any court of competent jurisdiction, and no reconciliation has been effected; or(4) The parties have lived separate and apart for a continuous period of two years or more immediately preceding the application, there is no reasonable likelihood that cohabitation will be resumed, and the court is satisfied that, in the particular circumstances of the case, it would not be harsh and oppressive to the defendant or contrary to the public interest to a divorce on this ground on the complaint of the plaintiff.L 1870, c 16, §1; am L 1903, c 22, §2; am L 1909, c 25, §1; am L 1915, c 56, §1 and c 192, §1; am L 1919, c 10, §1; RL 1925, §2965; am L 1931, c 196, §1; RL 1935, §4460; am L 1935, c 27, §1; RL 1945, §12210; am L 1949, c 53, §29 and c 174, §1; am L 1951, c 287, §1; RL 1955, § 324-20; am L 1957, c 72, §2; am L 1965, c 52, §3; am L 1966, c 22, §6; am L 1967, c 76, §1; HRS § 580-41; am L 1970, c 116, §1; am L 1972, c 11, §1Law Journals and Reviews
For discussion of development of new approach to family problems, see Divorce, Law and Psychology. 7 HBJ 73.
The Case Against Uncontested Divorce Practice. 12 HBJ No. 4 Winter 1977, pg. 21.