Editing Legal separation (section)

===Ireland===
Before the introduction of the ''Judicial Separation and Family Law Reform Act 1989'', the only means of judicial separation available in the [[Republic of Ireland]] was to seek a decree of divorce {{Lang|la|a mensa et thoro}}. This could only be obtained on the grounds of adultery, cruelty, or "unnatural practices" (a concept never defined by the legislature or the courts). Post-1989 judicial separation is possible on one of six grounds, proven on the [[balance of probabilities]]:

# Respondent has committed adultery.
# Respondent has behaved in such a way that the applicant cannot reasonably be expected to live with them (mental or physical cruelty).
# The respondent has deserted for a continuous period of at least one year immediately preceding the date of application.
# Both parties have lived apart for a continuous period of at least one year immediately preceding the date of application, and the respondent consents to the decree.
# Both parties have lived apart for a continuous period of at least three years immediately preceding the date of application.
# The marriage has broken down to the extent that the court is satisfied in all the circumstances that a normal marital relationship has not existed between the spouses for a period of at least one year immediately preceding the date of the application.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/eli/1989/act/6/enacted/en/print|title=Judicial Separation and Family Law Reform Act, 1989|work=[[Irish Statute Book]]|publisher=Government of Ireland|access-date=2 June 2017}} This content is available under the Oireachtas (Open Data) PSI Licence, which incorporates the [https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)] license. © Government of Ireland.</ref>

Of the six grounds, the latter forms the basis of the vast majority of judicial separation decrees. A "normal marital relationship" is not defined. The court must only be satisfied that there has been the loss of an "essential ingredient of the marriage".