EUPillar S.T. and V.T.P. v. Civil registrar of Lier and the City of Lier

Summary

Since the 1st of April 2001, the Dutch civil code allows spouses to obtain a divorcee without going to court. The marriage is then first converted to a civil partnership, and the civil partnership can then be dissolved by mutual agreement. It is sufficient that a notary or lawyer witness and enact the agreement. The parties, Mr. S., who has Japanese nationality, and Mrs. V.T., who has Dutch nationality, married in The Netherlands in 1995. In 2001, they divorced using the new Dutch procedure, known as “flitsscheiding”. This divorce was not recognised by the Belgian authorities, as Mrs. V.T. found out when she wanted to declare the child she had with her new partner. She sued the civil registrar of Lier on 9 February 2005. She sued the city of Lier on 31 May 2005. Both proceedings were joined. The Brussels IIa Regulation entered into force on 1 March 2005 so that its scope must be examined with regard to the second claim. Brussels IIa is applicable to divorce, legal separation and marriage annulment proceedings, and also applies to the recognition of authentic documents. The conversion of a marriage to a registered partnership (first part of the “flitsscheiding” procedure) is not a “matter relating to divorce” (cf. Art. 149b Dutch civil code). The termination of the registered partnership (the second step) does not fall within the scope of Brussels IIa either since, by definition, it does not relate to the dissolution of a marriage.