A new app offering legal advice to those contemplating divorce could make the process too easy, say critics.
A new iPhone app claims to offer easy to understand advice about divorce law, but family campaigners have raised concerns about whether the ￡9.99 programme risks trivialising the process.
The app warns that it “is not a substitute for professional advice to which users are directed throughout the app when appropriate”. Although similar apps have been available in America for some time, it is the first to offer advice specific to England and Wales.
In its Apple App Store description, the app claims to offer “the first line of information to anyone considering divorce or separation and who wants to be better informed about the process”.
In 2009, the divorce rate in England and Wales was the lowest since 1974 according to the Office for National Statistics. Fewer than 114,000 couples divorced, down 6.4 per cent on 2008. It is the sixth consecutive year that the number of divorces has fallen. In 2003, there were 153,065.
Campaigners Christian Voice accused the app of trivialising marriage and divorce. " It could encourage divorce by normalising the decision, making it seem as easy to make as any other lifestyle choice. It could also deter the other partner from fighting to save their marriage,” the organisation’s Stephen Green told The Guardian.
Anastasia de Waal of the think tank Civitas said that she thought that if “solely impenetrable legalese stands between you and spousal severance, some jargon-busting might be a good thing. But ultimately the chances are this app will be mainly used by the curious”.
正考虑离婚的人士如今可以通过一款应用软件来得到法律建议，但有批评人士指责这让离婚变得太容易。
这款iPhone手机应用软件为用户提供浅显易懂的离婚法律建议，但有家庭运动人士担心，这款售价仅9.99英镑的`软件会使人们更轻易离婚。
软件提醒称：“该软件并不能替代专业咨询，在使用时，软件会在需要时指导用户寻求专业咨询。”尽管类似软件已经在美国上市一段时间了，但还是首次向英格兰和威尔士地区提供专门咨询。
据苹果应用商店描述，该软件可以“为考虑离婚或分居的用户，以及想更多了解离婚过程的用户提供重要咨询信息。”
英国国家统计局的数据显示，英格兰和威尔士地区2009年离婚率创下了自1974年以来的最低水平，只有不到11.4万对夫妇离异，比2008年下降了6.4%。这是上述两地区的离婚率连续第六年下降。在2003年，上述两地区有15万3065对夫妻离异。
“基督教声音”组织指责这款软件将婚姻和离异简便化。该组织的斯蒂芬?格林在接受《卫报》采访时说：“这款软件将离婚决定常态化，会鼓励离婚行为，使人们决定离婚就像做出平常的生活选择一样。这也阻挠了另一方发起婚姻保卫战。”
智囊机构奇维塔斯的安娜斯塔西亚?德瓦尔认为，如果“你和伴侣的离异仅存在某些法律措辞方面的问题，那软件多教些行话不是坏事。但大部分使用者很可能只是出于好奇。”
Vocabulary:
think tank: a research institute or organization employed to solve complex problems or predict or plan future developments, as in military, political, or social areas（智囊团，智囊机构）
impenetrable: incapable of being understood; inscrutable; unfathomable（不可理解的）
legalese: language containing an excessive amount of legal terminology or of legal jargon（法律术语，法律措辞）
