Final divorce orders were granted between April 2022 and April 2024 in 79 cases where online submissions were received a day earlier than allowed by law, the High Court in London heard yesterday.

UK government lawyers have asked the court not to rule that all of the divorces are void, arguing that this would have significant legal and practical consequences, The Guardian reports.

The government has said the court could instead rule they are “voidable”.

The source of the issue is an online portal that wrongly allowed applications to be submitted a year after the date of marriage, when English law requires a year and a day to have passed.

A ruling in the case will be handed down by the end of the year.