Recognition of overseas divorce

Duhur-Johnson v Duhur-Johnson FD TLR 18 May

Section 51(3) of the Family Law Act 1986 provides that recognition of the validity of an overseas divorce may be refused if: ‘(a) in the case of a divorce obtained by means of proceedings, it was obtained – (i) without such steps having been taken for giving notice of the proceedings to a party to the marriage as, having regard to the nature of the proceedings and all the circumstances should reasonably have been taken …’ The wife commenced divorce proceedings in England which the husband applied to have stayed on the grounds that he had already obtained a divorce in Nigeria which the English court should recognise under s45(1) of the Act. There was no evidence that the divorce was effective in Nigeria and therefore the court could not recognise it. However, to engage the provisions of s51(3) of the 1986 Act, the judge was prepared to assume that the divorce was effective under Nigerian law. The relevant law could be distilled into the following propositions: