Integrated into the family life cycle, divorce - "a necessary evil, because it puts an end to an even

more serious evil" - as Marcel Planiol (lawyer and professor of French law and legal history at the
University of Rennes) said, is an extremely important moment in measure to reveal unique effects and
determinations regarding the family structure, matrimonial and interpersonal relations.

Divorce is not a simple event but an often traumatic process that includes several aspects: an
emotional one - the manifestation of divergences between partners, the deterioration of emotional
relationships, a legal aspect - the pronouncement of the dissolution of marriage by an authorized court,
and an economic aspect - division of property and psychic - the acquisition of psychic autonomy from
the former partner.

The dissolution of marriage is an institution of family law that has undergone an interesting
evolution throughout history, in close connection with the social and cultural changes specific to each
era.

Known since the Roman Empire, when it was strongly influenced by the specifics of the slave state,
divorce went through very restrictive periods, in some European states being banned due to the
influence of the Catholic Church, supporting the dogma of indissolubility of marriage, considering that
marriage is part from the holy sacraments, a sacrament— "it is formed in heaven and consumed on
earth" (Loysel), producing mainly spiritual effects and only incidentally, civil effects.

In Rome, divorce was in common use, the marriage being able to be dissolved by the simple
unilateral will of one of the spouses (repudium) and, even more so, by the will of both spouses. In
Roman law, there was no institution of bigamy, because, in the case of concluding a second marriage,
the first was considered dissolved on the date of concluding the second.

In the initial regulation contained in the Family Code, the dissolution of the marriage by divorce was
of an exceptional character, the marriage being able to be dissolved only when, due to good reasons,
the relations between the spouses were so seriously and irremediably damaged that the continuation of
the marriage was clearly impossible.

By Law no. 59/1993 for the modification of the Code of Civil Procedure, the possibility of
pronouncing the divorce by the consent of the spouses is introduced in the Romanian law, if at least one
year has passed from the conclusion of the marriage and there are no minor children from the
respective marriage.

Law no. 202/2010 on accelerating the settlement of proceedings brought important news both in
terms of the conditions under which divorce can be pronounced between spouses and in the procedure
in which such requests can be resolved, introducing the possibility of obtaining divorce through
administrative procedure and notary. Also, the condition regarding the passage of a certain term from
the conclusion of the marriage was eliminated, as well as the condition that there are no minor children.
However, this last condition was maintained for the divorce procedure before the notary public or the
civil status officer, until the entry into force of the Civil Code.

However, the Civil Code brings a new regulation, so that, from a procedural point of view, divorce by
the consent of the spouses can be obtained, in accordance with the law, by court, by administrative
means or by notarial procedure.
 I chose to analyze this topic being a very topical one, thus trying to make an overall approach to the
aspects related to this institution, in order to answer some questions such as: What is the meaning of
this notion? What are the ways in which this can be achieved? What is the procedure to follow? What
changes are involved in family functions?

For society, divorce is a democratic solution to the wishes of citizens, a possibility to avoid the
traumas of couples with conflicting relationships and to avoid the educational dysfunctions of such
relationships on minor children. For spouses and children, divorce is a relief. Spouses will get rid of the
nightmare of the failure of wrongly invested or altered feelings by causes they could not resist, and
children will be able to grow up sheltered from the harmful turmoil of their parents' failed marriage.