The spouse's conversion to another religion or a different church, for instance, justifies divorce, as does a five-year absence with no news of the spouse's whereabouts. The current legislation was formulated during the tenure of Pope Yo'annas XIX, known for his strict interpretation of religious matters. It remained in force under his three successors. In 1978, the Coptic Church prepared a draft designed to restrict the definition of adultery and to nullify the other legal justifications for divorce, but this project came to nothing. The new legislation is in keeping with this more restrictive trend, however.
Married couples have to commit to the marriage contract.
According to the current personal status legislation, Christian couples who belong to different churches are subject to existing legislation if they take a personal status dispute to court. It is commonly believed that this has provided a way out for those seeking divorce, since they can simply convert to obtain a favourable ruling. The Church, however, has recently refused to recognise nearly 50,000 divorce rulings handed down by the Personal Status Court, and many of those who used this tactic to divorce found themselves unable to obtain permission to remarry. The new draft, furthermore, does not recognise conversion to another church if there is suspicion that it was used to facilitate divorce. El-Mote'i explains that the Catholic Church in Egypt does not permit divorce at all.