Updated: 294 divorce requests, 73 accepted

Updated - Adds comments by Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando:

The courts in Malta and Gozo have since September, received 294 applications for divorce and upheld 73, Justice Minister Chris Said said in reply to a parliamentary question.

He said 284 applications were made in the courts in Malta and 69 were upheld. Another 10 requests for divorce were submitted before the court in Gozo and four were accepted.

Of the applications made in Malta, 202 came from couples that were already officially separated. 52 of the applications were submitted jointly. 23 divorce applications were made as part of separation proceedings and there were seven cases where the divorce application was made even though the couples were not officially separated.

In a reaction on his facebook page, Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando, who sparked off the process leading to the introduction of divorce, noted that of the 284 applications made in Malta, 202 came from couples that were already officially separated.

"Glad to see the predictions of the NO camp were way off mark! They tried to give the impression that the introduction of divorce would lead to a complete breakdown in the local social fabric," he said.