Summary
Pursuant to Art. 3 of Regulation (EC) No 2201/2003 of 27 Novemebr 2003, Italian courts have jurisdiction over the claim for legal separation brought by an Italian man, permanently resident in London, against his wife, Italian citizen permanently resident in London as well.
On the contrary, pursuant to Art. 8 of Regulation (EC) No 2201/2003, Italian courts do not have jurisdiction to entertain proceedings relating to parental responsiblity over the couples’s two children, both Italian citizens born in London, in view of the fact that they are habitually resident in London. Rather, English courts have jurisdiction to hear such claim.
Under Art. 3(c) of Regulation (EC) 4/2009 of 18 December 2008, Italian courts have jurisdiction to hear the claim concerning maintenance obligation between the spouses, them being the courts which have jurisdiction to entertain proceedings concerning the status of the spouses to which the matter relating to maintenance is ancillary
Hence, a question arises in relation to the interpretation of Art. 3(c) and (d) of Regulation (EC) No 4/2009. As to maintenance obligations towards the children, the following question must be referred to the European Court of Justice for preliminary ruling on the intepretation of Art. 3(c) and d) of Regulation (EC) No 4/2009: “May the decision on a request for child maintenance raised in the context of proceedings concerning the legal separation of spouses, being ancillary to those proceedings, be taken both by the court before which those separation proceedings are pending and by the court before which proceedings concerning parental responsibility are pending, on the basis of the prevention criterion, or must that decision of necessity be taken only by the latter court, as the two distinct criteria set out in points (c) and (d) of [Article 3 of Regulation No 4/2009] are alternatives (in the sense that they are mutually exclusive)?”.
[EUCG: case C-184/14]