PIL instrument(s)

Case number and/or case name

unknown - 08/6070/A - Civ. Liège, 22 April 2009

Details of the court

Belgium, First Instance

Articles referred to by the court

Date of the judgement

21 April 2009

Appeal history

CJEU's case law cited by the court

Summary

The applicant has Belgian nationality while the defendant is Moroccan. The parties were married in Rabat on 11 August 2005 and their marriage was transcribed in the registers of Liège on 22 March 2007. In 2008, the applicant repudiated his wife in Morocco, but the repudiation was not recognised in Belgium. The spouses never lived together in Belgium so that they did not establish their habitual residence there. Nevertheless, the Belgian Courts have jurisdiction based on Art. 3(1)(a), first and sixth indent Brussels IIbis Regulation. The domicile of the applicant has been in Belgium for more than one year before he initiated proceedings. The defendant was not present at the proceedings, and she wrote to the court explaining that she had not obtained a visum to travel to Belgium. She did not request a postponement of the proceedings. SHORT CRITIQUE The Court correctly applies the Brussels IIa Regulation. The Court could have just applied Art. 3(1)(a), sixth indent instead of referring to both indents five and six.