Gwyneth Paltrow has yet again hit the front pages for apparently re-coupling following a “conscious uncoupling” from husband Chris Martin. No one knows for sure whether Ms Paltrow was conscious or unconscious when she re-coupled and to be perfectly honest I am not sure anyone really cares. However I did wonder what our judges would think if I made an application to have the “conscious uncoupling” recognised in Ireland. I deal with numerous applications to have divorces obtained in other countries recognised in Ireland and below is a simple summary of what the judges take into consideration.
Granting a divorce in Ireland is no simple process. There are stringent conditions to be complied with before the courts will grant a divorce. Many of my clients obtain divorces in other countries but face problems when trying to re-marry in Ireland. The validity of a second marriage rests solely on the validity of the original divorce. It is therefore important to be aware of the requirements necessary to constitute a valid foreign divorce.
The two main pieces of law that need to be considered within this area are the Domicile and Recognition of Foreign Divorces Act, 1986 (the 1986 Act) and Council Regulation 2201/2003 (Brussels II bis). Brussels II bis governs the status and recognition of divorces granted in EU countries with the exception of Denmark and the 1986 act governs Denmark and all other non-EU countries.
At its very simplest, a divorce obtained in any country prior to 1st March 2005 was subject to either party being domiciled in the country granting the divorce at the time of instigating the proceedings (prior to 1986 both parties needed to be domiciled in the country granting the divorce). This is still the case with a divorce obtained outside the EU or Denmark.
Divorces obtained in EU countries since March 2005 must adhere to Article 3 of the Brussels II bis which states that a country has jurisdiction to determine divorce
(a) in whose territory
- if the parties are habitually resident or
- were habitually resident and one of the parties still resides there, or
- if a joint application either party is habitually resident
- the applicant is habitually resident if her/she resided there for at least one year prior to the application
- the applicant is habitually resident if he/she resides in that country for at least 6 months and is either a national of the member state or as in UK/Ireland has his/her domicile there;
(b) of the nationality of both spouses or, in the case of the United Kingdom and Ireland, of the domicile of both spouses.
If you have consciously un-coupled and obtained a divorce in another country, and want it recognised in Ireland or want to get re-married in Ireland, please do not hesitate to me at laura[at]brophysolicitors.ie
Granting a divorce in Ireland is no simple process. There are stringent conditions to be complied with before the courts will grant a divorce. Many of my clients obtain divorces in other countries but face problems when trying to re-marry in Ireland. The validity of a second marriage rests solely on the validity of the original divorce. It is therefore important to be aware of the requirements necessary to constitute a valid foreign divorce.
The two main pieces of law that need to be considered within this area are the Domicile and Recognition of Foreign Divorces Act, 1986 (the 1986 Act) and Council Regulation 2201/2003 (Brussels II bis). Brussels II bis governs the status and recognition of divorces granted in EU countries with the exception of Denmark and the 1986 act governs Denmark and all other non-EU countries.
At its very simplest, a divorce obtained in any country prior to 1st March 2005 was subject to either party being domiciled in the country granting the divorce at the time of instigating the proceedings (prior to 1986 both parties needed to be domiciled in the country granting the divorce). This is still the case with a divorce obtained outside the EU or Denmark.
Divorces obtained in EU countries since March 2005 must adhere to Article 3 of the Brussels II bis which states that a country has jurisdiction to determine divorce
(a) in whose territory
- if the parties are habitually resident or
- were habitually resident and one of the parties still resides there, or
- if a joint application either party is habitually resident
- the applicant is habitually resident if her/she resided there for at least one year prior to the application
- the applicant is habitually resident if he/she resides in that country for at least 6 months and is either a national of the member state or as in UK/Ireland has his/her domicile there;
(b) of the nationality of both spouses or, in the case of the United Kingdom and Ireland, of the domicile of both spouses.
If you have consciously un-coupled and obtained a divorce in another country, and want it recognised in Ireland or want to get re-married in Ireland, please do not hesitate to me at laura[at]brophysolicitors.ie
Laura Gillen
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