4 THE ITALIAN LAW JOURNAL NO. 2 (2018) ‘Ties that Bind’: Maintenance Order After Divorce in Italy by Giulia Terlizzi This article aims to describe the changes and uncertainties among judges and interpreters concerning the rules on after-divorce maintenance from when they were first introduced up to the most recent judgement by Italian Court of Cassation Joint Divisions. DOI 10.23815/2421-2156.ITALJ ISSN 2421-2156
Since the first statute on divorce, back in 1970, maintenance has been the object of heated debate due to the difficulty of balancing two opposing needs: recognising party autonomy in the post-marriage phase on one hand, and protecting the weaker spouse, on the other.
The courts’ fluctuating approach towards the issue, as well as the debate about the nature and application of maintenance allowance, seems to have finally come to a happy ending with the intervention of the Joint Divisions. This decision has been welcomed by most legal scholars as a guiding light in a controversial issue – at least until now.
