Italy approves quicker divorce law

A new law that allows quicker divorce got final approval of Italian parliament and became a law on Wednesday.

Based on the new law, named by the local press as "quickie divorce," couples can divorce within six months if there is mutual consent or at the latest within a year if they need the help of a judge.

Until now it required three years to divorce in Italy. "The result will be less family conflict, not only in the interest of couples, but also and especially in the interest of children," Justice Undersecretary Cosimo Ferri commented.

The majority of political forces in parliament voted in favor of the new law, exclusive of rightwing parties Northern League and Brothers of Italy.

"I have voted against the quickie divorce law, thus against disposable marriage especially when children are involved. Kids are not a detail, they always need protection," Brothers of Italy's head Giorgia Meloni said.

An opposition voice also came from the Catholic world. "This is the umpteenth attack to families and children, the latter less and less protected and victims of irresponsibility," Famiglia Cristiana (Christian Family) weekly magazine wrote.

The magazine noted that three years is a lapse of time believed by experts to be necessary in order to allow a couple to reflect on the decision. "Various couples after careful consideration changed their mind and did not divorce anymore," Famiglia Cristiana wrote.

Divorce has been legal in Italy since the early 1970s. According to latest figures of national statistics institute Istat, in 2012 there were 51,319 divorces, or 174 every 1,000 marriages.

The average duration of marriage at the time of divorce proceedings being filed was 19 years, while the average age for divorce was 49 for husbands and 46 for wives.