I assume that we all know that, while a divorce legally dissolves the marriage, a legal separation is a Court’s Order that mandates the rights and duties of the couple while they are still married but living apart. In Italy, as you may know, traditionally we have always had a mandatory two steps proceeding: a legal separation is like putting your marriage on hold until you get a divorce. Typically, both spouses would move to different homes and start living separate lives. After a cooling-off period of legal separation -that generally equals to six months (separation by consent) or one year (i ..read more

Researched and written by: Nathan Martin, Intern at Family Law Italy from the University of Arkansas. Italy is a beautiful country and many people from around the world decide they want to call it home. Getting Italian citizenship is possible in several ways but this article will focus on how to get Italian citizenship through residency in Italy. The time required to live in Italy in order to be eligible to apply for citizenship through residency depends on whether or not you are a citizen in the European Union generally, though there are special circumstances that allow you to become a citize ..read more

Researched and written by: Nathan Martin, Intern at Family Law Italy from the University of Arkansas. In November of 2021 a judgement in the case of Biancardi v. Italy was handed down by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR). This case was about an alleged violation of Article 10 of the European Convention of Human Rights, a convention which is binding on all who have signed and ratified it. Italy is party to this treaty, so Italy is subject to the jurisdiction of the European Court of Human Rights. Article 10 covers freedom of expression, and in this case the applicant, Biancardi, alleges ..read more

Following years of campaigning by the legal community, the UK parliament passed the Divorce, Separation and Dissolution Act in 2020, which came into force on April 6, 2022, introducing the so called no-fault divorce. All my life as a Family Law Layer (and -since 2010- also as a Collaborative Lawyer) has been carried out under the no-fault system provided by the Italian Law: therefore the following reflections could be of some use, today. Since its enforcement in 1970 (Law n. 898) the Italian Divorce has never required blaming the other party in order to get a marriage dissolution order: t ..read more