In some cases, people getting divorced will simply be able to get this handled in their local city or town hall rather than having to go to court. With this move, the government hopes to ease the burden on the courts.
One of the initiatives as part of the De Wever government's plans to ‘modernise’ family law is a change in the divorce procedure. Justice Minister Annelies Verlinden (CD&V) said this system especially needed to be updated given ‘the increase in the number of divorces’.
Specifically, it will soon be possible for a divorce to be "performed by a registrar", or in other words, at the town or city hall, Het Nieuwsblad reported. Currently, family courts still handle these types of divorces.
However, this is only possible if there is a mutual agreement between both partners, which has to be drawn up in advance by a lawyer or notary. Additionally, no minor children can be involved in the divorce. If this is the case, their situation "must be assessed by a judge".
'Logical measure'
In 2023, just over 20,000 divorces were recorded in Belgium, an increase of almost 4% compared to 2022. The new procedure is intended to reduce the workload in family courts, allowing them to focus on more complex cases involving young children, for example.
Professor of family law Frederik Swennen (UAntwerpen) agrees there is hardly any added value in courts handling divorces by mutual consent. "This makes it logical to handle these cases administratively in the future."
However, he did issue a warning. "Regardless of whether the court or the registry office registers a divorce, it is and remains very important that both partners seek legal advice separately before reaching an agreement between themselves," Swennen noted.
He pointed to the fact that, in some cases, the economically weaker party – often the woman – waives the right to alimony with too much ease. "Or we often see that a man who meets another woman may feel guilty and agree to pay a lot of alimony to his ex-wife."
