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→When can the court make the divorce order?
If the claim for the divorce is based on separation, neither spouse can apply for the divorce order until one year has passed from the date of separation. The one-year period doesn't run from the date the court proceeding is started; it runs from the date of separation.
The nice thing about divorce claims based on adultery or cruelty is that the application for the divorce order can be made right away, without having to wait for one year. However, the adultery or cruelty must be proven, and most of the time it is difficult to get the other person to explicitly agree that these grounds exist. Also, if more than a year has passed from the date of separation when at the time the court is asked to make the divorce order, the court may very well refuse to make the divorce order for any reason other than because the spouses have been separated for over a year.
Lawyers rarely advise their clients to make claims for divorce based on adultery and cruelty, especially because a claim based on separation for one year is much less contentious, requires very little evidence to prove, and is much more straightforward.