If you no longer want to continue your relationship with your spouse, you can file for divorce. Although your right to divorce is not a human right, divorce proceedings can affect your human rights, such as the right to a private and family life or the right to a trial within a reasonable time.
Conditions
A marriage may only be dissolved, if it has broken down. According to the Civil Law, a marriage is considered to be broken down if the spouses are no longer living together and they are not expected to renew their cohabitation. A marriage is presumed to have broken down if the spouses have lived apart for at least three years.
important Not living together doesn’t necessarily mean that the spouses have to live in a separate living space. A marriage may be considered broken down if the spouses no longer have a common household, even though they may still be living together in one house or apartment.
Exceptions
There are exceptions to the requirement of living apart for at least three years. The most common situation occurs when both partners agree to divorce.
According to the Civil Law, there are two other situations, in which the court may dissolve a marriage before the three-year period has passed:
- you or your child have suffered physical, sexual, psychological or economic violence from your spouse
- you or your spouse are living together with another person and have (or are expecting) a child with that person
Procedure
Divorce proceedings can be carried out by a notary or the court. The procedure for dissolution of marriage will differ depending on certain factors such as whether there is a mutual agreement to divorce. Read more about how to file for divorce.
What human rights violation may there be?
Your right to divorce is not a human right and as such is not protected by the right to a private and family life. However, your divorce proceedings may affect other human rights such as the right to a trial within a reasonable time and other aspects of your right to a private and family life, such as your right to re-marry.
example If your divorce proceedings are unreasonably delayed, it may violate your right to a fair trial. If you are planning to re-marry after the divorce, an unreasonable delay in the closure of those proceedings may violate your right to a private and family life.
Read more about your rights in civil court.