The amendment to the Family and Guardianship Code, prepared by the Ministry of Justice, provided for the possibility of dissolving a marriage before the head of the registry office. The manager was to check whether the spouses met the statutory conditions for an extrajudicial divorce and make appropriate entries in the civil status register. This solution was to be applied only to married couples without common minor children and provided that the wife was not pregnant.
The extrajudicial divorce procedure was to be based on a joint application by both spouses. After verification by the head of the Civil Registry Office that all requirements have been met, the divorce would be entered in the civil register without the need for court proceedings. The entire procedure was to take much less time than the current court proceedings.
Żurek on Nawrocki's veto: it makes people's lives harder
“The president once again acted against citizens. Once again, he vetoed changes that were supposed to streamline court proceedings. This time it was about the simplest divorces: two adults, no minor children, no fighting over guilt, no conflict,” wrote Waldemar Żurek on the X website, commenting on the president's veto. He pointed out that you have to wait months or even years for the first hearing. “This is the legacy of Zbigniew Ziobro and PiS,” he added.
“Mr. President, please have the courage to tell them directly that they should continue to wait. Because it is easy to say big words about protecting the family and then veto and make life difficult for these people,” Żurek said. In his opinion, if these cases did not go to court, judges would be able to deal with more difficult, controversial cases, and citizens would see an improvement in the pace of their consideration. “Citizens, evaluate this move of the president,” Żurek appealed.
Divorce data. 40 percent are childless
According to data from the Central Statistical Office, in 2024, Polish courts ruled 57.4 thousand divorces. Of the almost 60,000 divorce filings that go to court every year, approximately 40 percent applies to childless marriages. The further fate of the amendment depends on whether the Sejm manages to reject the presidential veto by a majority of votes.
