For section 3 of the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 (in this Part referred to as “the 1973 Act”) (which provides that no petition for divorce shall be presented within three years of marriage unless the leave of the court has been obtained) there shall be substituted the following section—
Bar on petitions for divorce within one year of marriage. (3) (1) No petition for divorce shall be presented to the court before the expiration of the period of one year from the date of marriage. (2) Nothing in this section shall prohibit the presentation of a petition based on matters which occurred before the expiration of that period.