Ivleva v Yates: FD 4 Mar 2014

By an application Mrs Ivleva (formerly Yates) sought (i) recognition in this jurisdiction of a divorce granted in Ukraine in respect of her marriage to Mr Yates and (ii) the dismissal of divorce proceedings brought in this jurisdiction by Mr Yates.
Held: Justice to the husband required that recognition of the Ukrainian divorce be refused. Having regard to the nature of the proceedings and all the circumstances, the wife did not take reasonable steps to give the husband notice of the Ukrainian proceedings. ‘this conclusion does not represent any lack of comity between the two jurisdictions. In my view the approach to an application of this kind should not be governed exclusively by pragmatic considerations, although these will weigh heavily. The exercise of discretion must also be informed by a sense of basic fairness when considering the obtaining of an order that is of great importance to most people. Plain dealing must count for something, and it would be undesirable if a party who is fully participating in proceedings in one jurisdiction can unilaterally start proceedings in another and then expect recognition of a divorce effectively obtained in secret’

Judges:

Peter Jackson J

Citations:

[2014] EWHC 554 (Fam)

Links:

Bailii

Statutes:

Family Law Act 1986 45

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Citing:

CitedDuhur-Johnson v Duhur-Johnson FD 3-May-2005
The husband sought to stay divorce proceedings commenced here by his wife, saying that they had already been divorced in Nigeria. The wife said the Nigerian proceedings should not be recognised in English law.
Held: The cases established: 1) . .

Cited by:

CitedLiaw v Lee (Recognition of Divorce) FD 3-Jun-2015
The applicant sought that the decrees nisi and absolute of divorce issued by the High Court of Malaya at Shah Alam in favour of the respondent husband be refused recognition in England and Wales.
Held: The application was granted: ‘the husband . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Family, International

Updated: 20 April 2022; Ref: scu.522289