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In this article, the author explores the institute of divorce by mutual consent in the Serbian legislation, given the fact that the existing consensual divorce model has had a highly interesting evolution in the Serbian family law. In the first part of the paper, the author provides a general overview of the formerly applicable divorce legislation. Further on, the author provides a detailed analysis of the positive legislation in this area. Drawing upon the comprehensive critical analysis of the current normative solutions on this issue, in the final part of the paper the author proposes specific legal solutions which may be applied in eliminating the observed drawbacks and providing for a more adequate regulation on the institute of consensual divorce in the future.

In this paper, the author analyses the legal solutions contained in the German Divorce Law. The German divorce system is based on a specific combination of irretrievable breakdown of marriage (as a reason for divorce) and consensual divorce. The author draws attention to the basic presumptions governing the breakdown of marriage in the German divorce legislation. Resting upon the spouses’ decision to separate and their mutual consent to divorce, these presumptions serve as an efficient instrument in proving that the marriage has been irretrievably broken down. In addition, the author focuses on the 'hardship clauses' envisaging the prohibition of divorce in cases when the best interests of the children of the broken marriage or a spouse impose the need to preserve the marriage, which is in compliance with the principle of fairness and justice. The author also explores the institution which enables the parties to bring together the divorce proceeding and the subsequent proceeding on various divorce-related issues into a joint lawsuit aimed at regulating the consequences of divorce; this institute reinforces the concept of 'a clean break' between the spouses upon divorce.