PIL instrument(s)

Case number and/or case name

Abelardo (2). Ref. Roj: AAP B 290/2006 - ECLI:ES:APB:2006:290A

Details of the court

Spain, Second Instance

Articles referred to by the court

Date of the judgement

16 January 2006

Appeal history

CJEU's case law cited by the court

Summary

Divorce case transacted in Spain between two spouses from Spain and Germany. Key facts: the date of the marriage of the divorced couple is 1962. The plaintiff (husband) asks for the recognition in Spain of a German court decision on the divorce (request of exequatur). Date of the German court decision: 1983. The first instance court that dealt with the case decided that the exequatur was not necessary according to Brussels II a Regulation. The plaintiff appealed. Court decision: Brussels II a Regulation is not applicable because the German court decision on the divorce is dated on 23-06-1983. The applicable instrument –considering the date of the entry into force of the German court decision- is a bilateral Convention between Spain and Germany on the recognition of foreign decisions from 1983. According to this Convention divorce court decisions can be recognised by means of an exequatur. Therefore, the appeal is rejected. Appeal history: Court decision: Juzgado de Primera Instancia nº 51 de Barcelona (Spain) (First Instance) Date: 19-07-2005