Marriage and Divorce

Probably so.

In principle, yes. If the two countries fulfill 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.