544 divorce cases filed last year

The courts in Malta and Gozo received 544 divorce applications last year of which 377 were decided, information tabled in parliament shows.

Justice Minister Jonathan Attard said 524 divorce cases were filed in Malta, of which 363 were decided and 161 are pending.

The Gozo court received 20 applications for divorce, 14 of which were decided and six remain pending.

The information was tabled in reply to a parliamentary question put by Opposition MP Carmelo Mifsud Bonnici.

Divorce was introduced in 2011 with a four-year waiting period between separation and divorce. However, the law was amended 10 years later to drastically cut down the waiting period depending on the couple’s circumstances.

The legal amendments eliminated the waiting time altogether for those couples that are legally separated, irrespective if the request for divorce is by mutual consent or requested by only one of the parties.