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It is now easier to obtain a divorce than a driving license senior judge, Sir Paul Coleridge, claimed during an interview with the BBC yesterday. Part of me can’t help but feel that his comments have been misinterpreted somewhat. Obtaining my full driving license was a laborious and unforgiving task – it took me no less than four attempts. Procuring my provisional license, in comparison, was a doddle. I contacted the DVLA and in less than one week, I was the proud owner of a green plastic card emblazoned with a less than flattering picture of my 17 year old self. Still, regardless of Mr Justice Coleridge’s true intentions, it cannot be denied that his comments were both crass and offensive. Irrespective of the teenage frustration that came with discovering that I had once again failed in my attempts to turn my green license into its more desirable pink version, not even my questionable teenage judgement led me to believe that my emotional turmoil was in any way comparable to that which my parents had suffered during their divorce – finalised 15 years before I had so much as turned a wheel in anger. Lambasting the divorce process utilised within the UK, Coleridge claimed that securing a divorce involved little more than filing forms and asked for the government to reform laws in order to protect the institution of family and bring about a close to social ills such as truancy, drug addiction, child abuse, and bad behaviour in schools - failing to consider the fact that other social, economic and historical factors almost certainly also create such problems. What reformations would Coleridge like, exactly? His comments suggest that he would like all would-be divorcees to undertake tests before they’re afforded the right to divorce. A standard written theory test, followed by a more practical examination where an individual visits your home, observes you and your spouse interacting with one another and then determines whether or your situation is dire enough to warrant divorce, perhaps? I can imagine it now: “sorry sir but I can’t grant you a divorce today. You’re clearly trapped in a loveless marriage, but that’s only a minor according to my marking criteria. Better luck next time.” All in all, what Coleridge (who has been married for 38 years and never experienced divorce himself) seems to have forgotten is that no process which brings about such a glut of negative emotion can ever be considered simple. Furthermore, it is all too easy for a man of aristocratic stock and expensive education to deem a legal process to be simple; few laypeople that attempted to navigate the murky waters of divorce unassisted would agree with his assessment. So, rather than spend vast amounts of taxpayers money on commissions charged with the task of reforming family law in the UK, why not employ scientists to develop glasses lenses that allow an individual to see the world in black and white. That way, the government saves money and Coleridge can pretend it’s still the 1950s – everybody wins!