Divorce - Foreign Divorce: Recognition in Israel

Question:

What are the possible consequences of someone having a foreign divorce judgment which has not been recognised in Israel where he lives ?

Answer:

Basically the fact that the foreign divorce has not been enforced or recognised in Israel will prevent a person from having the legal capacity to remarry under Israeli law, presuming he would be eligible to do so otherwise. If he did actually remarry he would be liable for prosecution for bigamy under the 1977 Penal Code.

Therefore it is vital for a person living in Israel who got divorced abroad to have his divorce recognized if he wishes to get married again legally - in Israel or ,indeed ,anywhere in the world other than the country where he got divorced.

Question:

Can a divorce agreement authorised in a court abroad be recognized and valid in Israel ?

Answer:

In principle, yes. The Foreign Judgment Enforcement Act of 1958 lays down the procedure and conditions for recognizing and enforcing civil judgments given abroad - within five years from when they were granted.

Israel will only recognize and enforce a foreign judgment if it is from a country which recognizes Israel’s judgments. A foreign judgment covering divorce, child custody, maintenance, visitation rights and property can be

recognized and enforced here , but not necessarily at the same court, due to jurisdictional rules. Regarding American Jews, for example, the divorce judgment can only be recognized and validated at a rabbinical court, which has exclusive jurisdiction over matters of marriage and divorce, but a family court could enforce the judgment relating to the other issues.

Question:

Will the fact that a foreign divorce judgment was granted without the defendant being present automatically mean that it cannot be recognized in Israel if he opposes a plea for its enforcement here ?

Answer:

No ! Providing all the other requirements set down in the 1958 Enforcement of Foreign Judgments Act are met, an Israeli court will not reject a plea to recognize an ex-parte foreign judgment providing the defendant was given the opportunity to attend , but decided not to exploit it. Jerusalem Family Court emphasized this in September 2004 within the context of a plea to recognize an ex-parte U.S. divorce judgment.

Question:

Is getting a foreign divorce registered at the Israeli Ministry of Interior sufficient for most things in Israel ?

Answer:

Registration of a foreign divorce judgment at the Ministry of Interior allows a person to change his/her personal status from 'married' to 'divorced' and is

normally sufficient for most administrative/financial acts requiring proof of divorce for various eligibility purposes. However, having a foreign divorce registered at the Ministry of the Interior is of administrative value only – to give it full legal value, it needs to be recognized by an Israeli court.

Question:

I am Israeli and married an American woman in the states in a civil marriage . We have just got divorced . Will the Ministry of Interior in Israel register me as divorced when I return to Israel ?

Answer:

The Ministry of Interior will recognize the American divorce judgment provided the necessary authorizations – culminating in the “apostille” - regarding it are obtained , according to the Hague Convention of 5 October 1961 Abolishing the Requirement of Legalization for Foreign Public Documents, to which both the US and Israel are bound.

Question:

I am planning ‘aliyah’ to Israel from the UK. I am divorced. Will the Israeli Ministry of Interior recognize this divorce judgment and register me as divorced ?

Answer:

The UK divorce judgment will be recognized by the Ministry of Interior provided the necessary authorizations are provided. Both the UK and Israel are bound by the Hague Convention of 1961 Abolishing the Requirement of Legalization for Foreign Public Documents. The divorce judgment will need an “apostille” stamp which can be obtained from the legalisation office of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in London.

Question:

I am going to make ‘aliyah’ to Israel from the UK. I got divorced in the 1960’s and never re-married. I only have a photocopy of the civil divorce judgment. My ‘ex’ was in possession of the original but I am no longer in contact with her. What must I do so that I have acceptable proof of being a divorce when I come to Israel?

Answer:

Firstly, where a photocopy of the divorce shows the file number , it is very simple to obtain an updated, and authorized divorced judgment on the new format used from the Family Proceedings Department attached to the Principle Registry of the Family Division in Holborn , London. This then needs the “apostille” stamp from the Legalisation Department the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in The Mall, London. This will complete the requirements for the recognition of the divorce, according to the 1961 Hague Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalization for Foreign Public Documents, which is binding on both the UK and Israel.

Question:

Will an Israeli court automatically enforce a foreign divorce judgment covering dissolution of marriage, custody, maintenance and property, given by a civil court where the parties are Jewish citizens of Israel , living abroad , and one also has foreign nationality ?

Answer:

No ! An Israeli court dealing with an application to enforce a foreign judgment will only recognize it if it complies with the strict requirements of the 1958 Enforcement of Foreign Judgments Act. One of the main requirements of this is that the foreign court had jurisdiction to give the judgment. Where one of the parties is domiciled in Israel , and not abroad, then, according to Israeli rules of private international law, the foreign court does not have jurisdiction to give the judgment on issues other than the civil divorce itself . If the couple are only abroad temporarily because the one with Israeli citizenship is only studying there or on a work posting, and ,for example, they have property in Israel, then that party will still have Israeli domicile.

Where both parties are Israelis who have been living abroad for many years , and the centre of their lives is abroad, then the foreign court will have jurisdiction over issues associated with their civil divorce, as well as the civil divorce itself. However, the appropriate rabbinical court in Israel will retain jurisdiction over their divorce according to Jewish law.

Question:

I have dual American and Israeli citizenship and married my Israeli husband in Israel according to Jewish law , and also according to civil law in the States. If I get an American judgment about the dissolution of our marriage , property, custody and maintenance, can I enforce it in Israel ?

Answer:

Possibly, but only if the judgment passes a strict set of conditions set down in Israeli legislation will it be recognized and enforceable in Israel. A plea will have to be made under the 1958 Enforcement of Foreign Judgments’ Act. It will have to be proved that the foreign court had jurisdiction to give the judgment, that the judgment is no longer appealable, that is enforceable overseas, and that it is also capable of being enforced in Israel, and that it would not offend Public Regulations there.

In September 2004 Jerusalem Family Court rejected a plea from a plaintiff to recognize a foreign divorce judgment given in Maryland , U.S.A., because she failed to prove that it met these criteria. In particular she failed to provide a supporting affidavit of the required standard to prove that the judgment complied with the foreign aspect of conditions.

Question:

Can two people with dual Israeli and foreign citizenship who married and later divorced abroad in a civil ceremony have the divorce recognised in Israel ?

Answer:

In principle, yes. If the two countries fulfil the conditions about reciprocity regarding each other’s legal decisions then it will be possible to recognise and /or enforce the foreign divorce judgment according to the Recognition of Foreign Judgments Act . Where there is no convention between Israel and a particular foreign country regarding the recognition and/or enforcement of each other’s judgments, the foreign divorce judgment cannot be recognised/enforced in Israel according to the act. In this case Israeli law will recognise the foreign divorce judgment if it was given by a court with jurisdiction and conforms with the requirements for this according to the rules of private international law.

Question:

Will a civil divorce in Romania ending the marriage of a husband and wife with both dual Israeli and Romanian citizenship be recognised in Israel ?

Answer:

Probably so. In 1998 the Tel Aviv Family Court recognised a divorce judgment from Romania ending the marriage between a couple with no registered religion and dual Romanian and Israeli citizenship.

The husband had returned to Romania and the wife had remained in Israel. She needed recognition of her Romanian divorce so that she could qualify for tax exemptions applicable to property rights transfers in Israel . The family court held that it had jurisdiction to recognise the divorce indirectly to prevent injustice – if it did not the woman would suffer financially. The court said that the two countries did not recognise each other’s judgments according to the Recognition of Foreign Judgments Act . However, Israeli law still recognises foreign judgments given by a foreign court with jurisdiction which comply with the rules of private international law. Accordingly, the family court held that the sides had sufficient links to Romania and that the foreign divorce was given by a court with appropriate jurisdiction according to the rules of private international law accepted in Israel.