Divorce in court

In Romania, divorce is granted by a court in most cases. The relevant law is the Civil Code and the Civil Procedure Code.

Alina Szilaghi has assisted many clients in divorce proceedings and understands the delicate issues they raise. In each case we look for the most efficient way to complete the divorce in line with the rights and interests of the people we represent.

Together with the divorce, the court can also decide certain ancillary claims, such as returning to or keeping the surname acquired by marriage, the right to use the family home, parental authority over minor children, the children’s residence, maintenance, contact arrangements and so on.

The Civil Code also allows a spouse who is not at fault to claim compensation from the spouse responsible for the breakdown of the marriage.

A court can dissolve a marriage on four grounds:

• divorce by agreement of the spouses;
• divorce for serious grounds;
• divorce after a de facto separation of at least two years;
• divorce on grounds of health that make it impossible to continue the marriage.

Divorce by agreement

We cover this in a separate section, so here we discuss the other grounds.

Divorce for serious grounds

This is used when the spouses do not agree on ending the marriage. In these cases, which are very common in practice, one spouse does not want to divorce or intends to claim compensation from the other. If the court finds that one spouse is solely to blame for the breakdown of the marriage, the other spouse may receive compensation.

It is also common for both spouses to want a divorce but to disagree on custody or the residence of the children. In such cases the spouses may rely on the grounds for divorce to show that the other spouse does not act responsibly towards the children.

Serious grounds generally include adultery, violence, alcohol or drug abuse, and serious disagreements and quarrels.

Divorce after at least two years of separation

This applies when the spouses have not lived together for at least two years. The spouse asking for the divorce must prove to the court that the separation has lasted at least that long.

Divorce on health grounds

This option is available only to the spouse who has the health condition in question. The other spouse cannot ask for a divorce on this ground.