Summary
Pursuant to Article 3(1)(a) of Regulation (EC) No 2201/2003, Italian courts have jurisdiction over an action for legal separation brought by a wife who has been residing in Italy for more than one year against her husband residing in Belgium, if such residence in Italy is effective, i.e. if it is the place where she has established in a lasting manner the permanent or habitual centre of her own interests, regardless of her registered residence (residenza anagrafica).