Filenews 2 December 2022 - by Vassos Vassiliou
Divorce by mutual consent as well as divorce when the couple has been separated for two years are now institutionalized, since the Parliament will vote on the relevant bills today.
The relevant provisions are included in a bill under vote, which is being discussed together with two other bills before the plenary of the Parliament.
Gender reassignment is also one of the grounds for divorce (following a court decision) including the following:
- Where the relationship between the spouses has been severely damaged for a reason relating to the person of the defendant or of both spouses to such an extent that the continuation of the marital relationship is justifiably unbearable for the plaintiff.
It is understood that, unless the defendant proves otherwise, the relations between the spouses are presumed to have broken down and it is intolerable for the plaintiff to continue the marital relationship, in the event of the plaintiff's bigamy, adultery or abandonment, or the defendant's life being taken or his life being taken or the defendant using force against him or a child.
- When the relationship between the spouses has been irrefutablely shaken due to the fact that they have been separated for at least two years. It is understood that the completion of the prescribed period of separation is not hindered by small interruptions which were made as an attempt to restore relations between the spouses and which in total do not exceed three months.
- When the relationship between the spouses has been irrefutablely broken due to the fact that the spouses of free and unaffected will jointly consent to their marriage being dissolved by an application for the consensual dissolution of the marriage.
It is understood that the application may be registered jointly or by one of the spouses at least six months after the celebration of the marriage. It is also provided that the consent of the spouses is declared before the Court.
Furthermore, it is provided that in the event that there are minor children, the Court issues a decision on the dissolution of the marriage at that session, provided that the spouses have registered with the Court a copy of the court decision, which regulates matters of custody of or contact with children, or an application requesting the Court to issue a decision by agreement on these matters; which is issued in the same session.
- Due to gender reassignment of the defendant or plaintiff.
- Due to the obscurity of the other spouse.
- The death of one of the spouses results in the dissolution of the marriage.
An application for divorce can also be registered when one of the spouses suffers from lunacy or if the relations between the spouses have broken down and it is unbearable to continue the marital relationship for a reason related to violence, provided that a formal complaint has been submitted to the Cyprus Police or the Social Welfare Services of the Deputy Ministry of Social Welfare and a relevant certificate has been issued by them.
The aim of the bills promoted is also to ensure equality in the grounds of divorce for all citizens and residents of the Republic, while at the same time bringing about legal clarity and rationalization of legislation.
For matters that fall under the concept of marriage for those who belong to the Greek Orthodox Church or belong to a religious group, the validity of the marriage, divorce, separation from bed and bank, cohabitation of spouses or family relationships, are diagnosed by family courts, based on the provisions of the legislation.
Representations related to the initiation of divorce proceedings are notified to the relevant Bishop, which is proved by the submission, by the applicant himself or by his authorized representative, to the Secretariat of the competent Family Court of the proof of delivery of the relevant notification or the proof of the electronic registration of the data through the website of the Holy Archdiocese of Cyprus or its Dioceses.
The bishop concerned makes an effort to conciliate and in case of failure issues and delivers to the spouses a certificate, which indicates the spiritual dissolution of the marriage.
The decision of the Family Court is final
A marriage may be annulled where a person is deemed not to have freely consented to its conclusion, in the following cases:
When he is unable at the time of the marriage to perceive and appreciate his action in order to consent to the conclusion of a marriage, due to a mental disorder or deficiency or due to a brain or other condition or disease or due to dependence on addictive substances.
As for the intention to file an application for divorce, this must be notified to the ecclesiastical authorities and under the legislation promoted, no action for dissolution of marriage is registered unless prior notification is given to the competent religious leader.
With regard to the attempt at conciliation between the spouses, the religious leader, after receiving the notification and entering it in the Register of Notifications which he maintains, invites the spouses by written notice to appear in person before him and makes an effort to conciliate, by all appropriate spiritual means in his judgment, within a period of six weeks from the receipt of such notification. After six weeks have elapsed since the notification was served on the religious leader, the attempt at conciliation is deemed to have failed and either spouse may register an application for dissolution of the marriage with the Family Court.
It is noted that the manner and means used by the religious leader for conciliation are not judicially controlled.
After the finality of the decision to dissolve the marriage, a copy of it is sent by the Registrar of the Family Court which issued this decision to the religious leader, in order to proceed with the spiritual dissolution of the marriage.
The religious leader shall dissolve the marriage spiritually within a period of fifteen days from the date of notification of the decision, and in the event that for any reason the religious leader does not proceed with the spiritual dissolution of the marriage within the prescribed period of time, the validity of the decision shall not be affected.
The decision of the Family Court to dissolve the marriage becomes final after the expiration of the deadline for filing an appeal against it.
Marriage may not take place between a child and the biological father or biological mother or their blood relatives in a straight line or in a lateral line up to and including the fifth degree.
POINT OF VIEW
Positive step
If we take into account that in the past the law afflicted those who wanted to get a divorce even if they both recognized that they could no longer live together, then every step that makes it easier for a couple to free themselves from a non-existent or even problematic relationship moves in the right direction, even if not all problems are solved. There have been cases where, for stubbornness or for the purpose of revenge or even jealousy, a divorce could not be granted, but there were also cases, mainly of women, who suffered greatly and remained in a marriage either out of fear, or because of children, or because of veiled or even open threats, something that is no longer conceivable in a country that wants to be called European.
