Divorce Jurisdiction and Applicable Law

Extract

[...] Thus, the Brussels II ter Regulation is applicable. B. The application of the standard Article 30 of the Brussels II ter Regulation provides that decisions made in a Member State are recognized in other Member States without the need for a special procedure. In this case, Coline intends to invoke the French divorce judgment in the Netherlands. The Brussels II ter Regulation provides for automatic recognition in the Netherlands in this situation, provided that the judgment is final, i.e., no longer susceptible to appeal in France. [...]

[...] It is necessary to determine the competent jurisdiction and the applicable law for the divorce (II.). It is also necessary to know if, in the event that the French judge is competent, the decision is likely to be recognized in the Netherlands (III.). I. The determination of the competent jurisdiction The problem is as follows: which jurisdiction is competent to hear Coline's divorce petition? To do this, it is necessary to determine the applicable norm and apply it (B.). A. [...]

[...] The determination of the applicable law The problem is as follows: which law is applicable to Coline's divorce claim? To do this, we need to determine the applicable norm and apply it (B.). A. The determination of the applicable norm As previously, the situation is international and no international convention is applicable. Therefore, we need to check if a European regulation applies, in particular the Rome III regulation. Article 1 of the Rome III Regulation provides that the Regulation applies to situations involving a conflict of laws involving a divorce or separation of bodies. [...]

[...] He strongly opposes this. After heated exchanges, Coline decides to file a divorce petition with the Lyon Judicial Court, Simon retorts that his habitual residence being now in Rotterdam, the Lyon courts are absolutely not competent. What do you think? Coline also wonders if French law will apply to her divorce request and if this law will apply to all questions related to her divorce. Simon finally retorts that, even if Coline manages to obtain the divorce judgment in France, he will strongly oppose it from taking effect in the Netherlands. [...]

[...] Alternatively, those of the plaintiff's habitual residence if he has resided there for at least one year before the introduction of the claim. - Those of the common nationality of the two spouses. In this case, since Simon is the defendant and he has his habitual residence in the Netherlands, the Dutch judges are competent. Similarly, both spouses have Dutch nationality, so the courts of the Netherlands are competent. However, Article 3 of the regulation provides alternative grounds for jurisdiction. Thus, several courts may be competent on the basis of this article. This is the case with the French courts. [...]