On the initiative of the Minister of Justice and Public Order Stefis Drakou and the Legal Committee, restarts today Wednesday 07 September 2022 the debate of four bills concerning the revision of family law. As part of the session, the Minister will present the bills to the Committee.
The modernization of family law is based on a total of eight bills, but the debate in Parliament will focus on four that mainly concern the relations between parents and spouses. Typically, the following bills will be discussed:
First: On the Twelfth Amendment of the Constitution Law of 2015. Second: On Attempted Conciliation and Spiritual Resolution of Marriage. Third: The Marriage Amendment Act 2018 and the Family Courts Amendment Act 2018.
With reference to the Twelfth Amendment of the Constitution Law of 2015, Article 111 of the Constitution is amended so that the divorce trial to be done by one judge instead of three. The bill entitled About Marriage concerns the following:
It is introduced for the first time in our legal system consensual divorce by agreement of the spouses,which will form the basis for the dissolution of the marriage.
The criteria for issuing a consensual divorce will be: 'When the relations of the spouses have been so severely shaken for a reason affecting both spouses that the continuation of the marriage is intolerable. The marriage must have lasted for at least six months and in case there are minor children, a written agreement of the spouses must be provided that regulates custody of the children and communication with them.
The dissociation time for the rebuttable presumption shock of relations between spouses is limited from four to two years and short breaks taken in an attempt to restore relations are limited to four months instead of six months.
In the Family Courts Act the purpose is regulation of the composition of the Family Courts. Aim the judges to have the qualifications of the presiding district judge and the district judge respectively, according to the Courts Law, and be appointed by the Supreme Court.