EU set to simplify divorce rules for international couples.

Justice ministers endorse first use of EU rule allowing countries to adopt laws that apply only to themselves – rather than the whole EU – in this case for clarifying jurisdiction in international divorce cases.

Fourteen EU countries have asked the EU to introduce legislation to increase legal certainty for divorces involving international couples. These include marriages between people from different countries, couples who live abroad or couples who live apart in different countries.

The new rules – to apply in participating countries only - would allow international couples to choose the jurisdiction for their divorce proceedings so they can avoid unfamiliar legal systems that are hard for them to understand. Of the 1 million couples who file for divorce in the EU every year, about 13% have an international element.

The request represents the first use of the EU’s ‘enhanced cooperation procedure,’ a provision in the EU’s Amsterdam Treaty, which took effect in 1999. It allows a large group of countries to adopt laws that apply only to themselves – not the entire EU.


02/06/2010 - Malta and Portugal add their names to list of countries requesting legislation on international divorces.
31/05/2010 - Germany, Belgium and Latvia join request.

Más información:

•  Habrá más seguridad jurídica para los matrimonios internacionales (ec.europa.eu/news/justice/100324_es.htm).
• Legislación aplicable y competencia en materia matrimonial (propuesta de Reglamento) (europa.eu/legislation_summaries/justice_freedom_security/judicial_cooperation_in_civil_matters/l16020_es.htm).
• Study on Commission proposal, April 2006  (ec.europa.eu/justice_home/news/consulting_public/divorce_matters/study.pdf).