Notification of spiritual dissolution of religious marriages to be given electronically in Cyprus

Following the recent overhaul of divorce law in Cyprus, it has also been announced that as of 1 May 2023, notifications of the spiritual dissolution of religious marriages, previously given by letter to the competent bishop, will now be done electronically at https://pnevmatikilysi.cy.net/. From that date onwards, any notification not made electronically will not be accepted and will thus be deemed invalid. This amendment aims to make the notification process easier, faster, and more efficient.

With the submission of the notification electronically, all interested parties will instantly receive a message and email notifying them of the filing of the application, as well as a confirmation which is required for the court proceedings. Thereafter, the parties will receive another message inviting them to attend a session with a designated clergyman to attempt reconciliation. If the attempted reconciliation fails, or if the parties decide not to attend the session, a relevant certificate is issued, which is then filed with the Family Court.
Included in the recent divorce law amendments, was the reduction of the post-notification waiting period from 3 months to 6 weeks; therefore at present, separating couples or one of the individuals involved, need only wait 6 weeks after the electronic notification is sent, before filing for divorce. It is noted that if the reason for the parties’ divorce is irretrievable breakdown due to domestic violence against the applicant or against a child, the notification requirement is disapplied and the spouse can proceed directly with the filing of a divorce application with the Court, provided that a complaint regarding the incident has been lodged with the police or social welfare services, and that the relevant authority has issued a certificate reflecting this.