EU and family law
Introduction
The EU has a limited role in family law matters. Each individual member state has its own rules about separation, divorce, maintenance of spouses and children, custody and guardianship and other family law matters. The role of the EU is mainly concerned with ensuring that decisions made in one country can be implemented in another. It also has a role in trying to establish which country has jurisdiction to hear a particular case. In effect, the EU does not have rules which govern, for example, who is entitled to have custody or access but it does have rules which try to ensure that custody and access orders made in one country can be put into effect in another.
EU rules in relation to enforcement of matrimonial orders (divorce, separation, annulment) and some parental responsibility orders (mainly custody and access) came into effect in March 2001. A new regulation on matrimonial matters and parental responsibility came into effect in March 2005. This did not involve any significant change in the rules on matrimonial matters but it did involve changes in the rules governing parental responsibility. EU rules in relation to the enforcement of maintenance orders came into effect in March 2002.
The problem of conflict of laws
If all the parties to a family law dispute are from one country and are living in that country then generally the dispute is heard by the courts of that country and a decision is made and implemented in accordance with the laws of that country. Problems arise when the parties are not living in the same country or are not nationals of the same country. It may not be clear which country’s courts should make the decisions, which country’s laws should be applied and how the decisions made in one country can be implemented in another.
Each country has its own rules about how this conflict of laws should be dealt with. It is possible that several countries would have jurisdiction to hear the dispute and that each would apply different laws. The procedures for having judgements recognised and enforced in another country can be difficult and sometimes impossible. Generally, if you have a judgement from a court in one country, you have to go through another judicial process in another country in order to have it implemented there (this process is known as exequatur).
These problems arise between all countries and not only between EU member states. A number of international conventions have been agreed dealing with such conflicts of laws. These international conventions continue to apply between EU member states and non-EU member states. The EU regulations in family law matters apply in all the EU member states except Denmark – this means that if there is a conflict of laws involving Denmark and another EU member state, the matter is governed by the international conventions if they are relevant.
EU competence to deal with family law
The EU is only entitled to make laws in areas where the treaties give it the specific competence to do so. It has no specific competence to make laws in relation to divorce, maintenance or parental responsibility. This means it cannot make laws setting out the terms under which a divorce may be granted or the responsibility of spouses to pay maintenance or how decisions on custody to access to children are to be made.
However, the EU does have competence to promote judicial co-operation in civil matters which have cross border implications. It has made a number of regulations dealing with judicial co-operation in civil matters. In general, these regulations are based on the principle of mutual recognition – that is, that decisions lawfully made in one member state should be recognised and enforced in other member states and the procedures for doing so should be as simple as possible. The EU rules in the family law area generally build on the international conventions which already existed but which were not always implemented or did not have mechanisms to ensure implementation.
Maintenance
The recognition and enforcement of maintenance orders in EU member states was governed by Regulation 44/2001 of 22 December 2000 on jurisdiction and the recognition and enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters. This regulation is known as “Brussels I” and has been in effect in Ireland since March 2002. It replaced the 1968 Brussels Convention in all the EU states except Denmark. That Convention continues to apply to other countries.
The Regulation applies in civil and commercial matters and has detailed rules in a number of areas including consumer contracts and individual employment contracts. It does not cover a range of matters including taxation, the status or legal capacity of people, matrimonial matters, wills and succession and social security.
Here we are only concerned with its role in relation to family law. It does apply to maintenance orders in family law cases. It deals with jurisdiction – which court can hear the case – and enforcement of maintenance orders.
It provides that, if you are a maintenance creditor (you are owed money under a maintenance order), you may sue the maintenance debtor (the person who owes you money) in the member state where you are domiciled or habitually resident if the maintenance debtor is domiciled in another member state. Maintenance matters may also be decided by the court which is dealing with divorce or separation proceedings, provided its jurisdiction to do that is not based only on the nationality of one of the parties.
A judgement on maintenance given in one member state is enforceable in the other member states – a party may ask for its enforcement and get a declaration that it is enforceable. The court must declare it enforceable unless:
- This would be contrary to public policy
- The judgement is irreconcilable with an earlier judgement
- The document which started the proceedings was not served in time
In effect, the foreign judgement is enforceable virtually automatically but it does require a court procedure.
In June 2011, Regulation 4/2009 of 18 December 2008 amended Regulation 44/2001 by replacing the provisions of that regulation that apply to maintenance obligations. Regulation 4/2009, which is commonly referred to as the Maintenance Regulation, aims to enable a maintenance creditor to obtain easily, quickly and generally free of charge, an order which can readily be enforced throughout the European Union. It does this by providing for common rules in relation to jurisdiction, applicable law, recognition, enforcement, cooperation and standardised documents. It covers maintenance obligations which arise from family relationships, parentage, marriage or affinity.
Under the regulation, each Member State has a Central Authority. The Central Authority in Ireland is the Department of Justice and Equality. The Central Authorities co-operate with each other in facilitating the operation of the regulation. They also assist individuals in relation to applications available under the regulation, particularly with regard to the transmission and receipt of applications, the initiation of related proceedings for the establishment or modification of maintenance, and for the enforcement of a maintenance decision.
Enforcement order for uncontested claims
Regulation 805/2004 of 21 April 2004 creating a European Enforcement Order for uncontested claims came into effect in Ireland on 21 October 2005. This regulation applies where the defendant debtor offers no defence to the claim made by the creditor and it only applies to judgements issued after it came into effect. It provides that uncontested orders – including maintenance orders – may be directly enforced in another member state without having to go through another judicial process in that state. A judgment that has been certified as a European Enforcement Order by the court of one member state must be enforced as if it were given in the member state in which enforcement is sought.
UN Convention
The UN Convention on the Recovery Abroad of Maintenance Payments (the New York Convention) was brought into effect for Ireland in November 1995 by the Maintenance Act 1994. This Convention is designed to facilitate the recovery of maintenance by a person living in one jurisdiction against a person living in another. If you want to enforce a maintenance order in a country not covered by the EU Regulation or the Brussels Convention, you should contact the Central Authority for Maintenance Recovery in the Department of Justice and Equality for help. The Department is responsible for transmitting and receiving maintenance claims under the Convention.
There is more information on maintenance in our document on maintenance orders and agreements.
Divorce, separation and annulment
Regulation 1347/2000 of 29 May 2000 (called the “Brussels II Regulation”) came into effect in March 2001. It set out the rules on jurisdiction and the recognition and enforcement of judgments in matrimonial matters and in matters of parental responsibility for children of both spouses. (Matrimonial matters includes divorce, annulment and legal separation but does not include, for example, the property consequences of marriage and the grounds for divorce.)
This regulation was replaced by Regulation 2201/2003 (“the new Brussels II Regulation” or the “Brussels II bis”) for cases arising on or after 1 March 2005 but its rules in relation to matrimonial matters are virtually unchanged. A Practice Guide for the application of the new Brussels II Regulation (pdf) is available.
Jurisdiction
The Regulation does not set out one general rule about jurisdiction in matrimonial matters. It provides that you may take a matrimonial action in the courts of the member state where one or both of you are or were habitually resident or the member state of your common nationality or your common domicile. This means, of course, that it may be possible to take the action in a number of states. The Regulation provides that once proceedings have started in a particular member state, other states must refuse jurisdiction. The Regulation does not deal with the question of which law applies. This is a matter for the member state that has jurisdiction. For example, most countries other than Ireland and the UK apply the law of the country of habitual residence of the parties while Ireland and the UK apply the law of the country of domicile.
Recognition of decisions
The Regulation provides that a decision on a matrimonial matter made in one member state must be recognised and enforced in the other states without any special procedures. You do not have to go to court to have it recognised. However, any interested party may ask the court in the other member state not to recognise the decision. The court may refuse to recognise the decision:
- If such recognition is clearly contrary to public policy
- If the decision contradicts another decision
- If there were certain procedural defects – in particular if one party was not properly served with the relevant papers and did not put in an appearance as a result
The court is not entitled to hear an appeal against the decision.
The law applicable to international divorces
As explained above, current EU law does not determine what law applies when an application for divorce is being considered. For example, if an Irish person living in the UK wants to divorce a German spouse who is living in France, which national law applies? At present, the different member states have different rules for answering this.
Following a public consultation in the form of a Green Paper on the applicable law and jurisdiction in divorce matters, in July 2006 the Commission proposed a draft Regulation known as “Rome III” (pdf). This draft Regulation was intended to simplify divorce procedure for EU nationals who live in other member states by dealing with the choice of applicable law and setting out clear rules relating to them. Ireland and the UK decided not to opt-in to this Regulation. The introduction of the proposed Regulation was abandoned in June 2008 as unanimous agreement could not be reached by the other member states. Under a procedure known as enhanced co-operation, a number of EU countries subsequently agreed to introduce new rules allowing international couples to choose the jurisdiction that would apply to their divorce. Ireland is not taking part in this arrangement.
Parental responsibility
As mentioned above, Regulation 2201/2003 on jurisdiction and the recognition and enforcement of judgments in matrimonial matters and the matters of parental responsibility came into effect in March 2005. This regulation replaced Regulation 1347/2000 which applied from March 2001. The earlier regulation only applied to judgments on parental responsibility that were issued in the course of matrimonial proceedings and it only applied to judgements in relation to the children of both spouses. The 2003 Regulation applies to all decisions made by the courts of member states in matters of parental responsibility.
The parents need not be married to each other. They need not be the biological parents of the child in question. It is not confined to court judgments. It also applies to agreements between parents if such agreements are enforceable in the country where they were made. In general, such agreements can be turned into court rulings and thereby made enforceable.
The regulation has detailed provisions dealing with cases which were started before 1 March 2005 but not decided until after that date and cases which were decided before that date but for which there are now different enforcement mechanisms available. For example, if, before 1 March 2005, you had an order, under the old regulation, giving you access to your children, you may now use the new enforcement procedures to implement that order.
What the regulation covers
The regulation covers the following aspects of parental responsibility:
- Jurisdiction – what country should hear the case, whose laws should apply
- Recognition and enforcement – how decisions made in one country are to be recognised and enforced in another
- Co-operation between central authorities
- Specific rules on child abduction and access rights
Parental responsibility includes rights of custody and rights of access, guardianship, the placement of a child in a foster family or in institutional care. The regulation does not apply to proceedings which involve:
- Establishing and challenging paternity
- Judgments in relation to adoption
- The child's first and last names
- Age of majority
- Trusts and inheritance
- Measures taken following criminal infringements committed by children
The regulation also applies to certain measures concerning the child’s property if they are related to the protection of the child. Measures that relate to the child’s property, but which do not concern the protection of the child, are covered by the Brussels I Regulation. It is for the judge to assess in the individual case whether a measure relating to the child’s property concerns the protection of the child or not.
Jurisdiction
The general rule is that the court which has jurisdiction in matters of parental responsibility is the court of the country where the child is habitually resident. The court in the member state of the child’s habitual residence before the abduction retains jurisdiction to deal with the case except in certain limited circumstances, for example, where all concerned have acquiesced in the abduction.
Again, in general, once the matter is before the courts in one country, that country continues to have jurisdiction even if the child has lawfully changed country of residence. It is possible to have the case transferred to the new country of residence if certain conditions are met and if it would be in the best interests of the child.
The parents may agree to have the question of parental responsibility decided in the court which has jurisdiction on the matrimonial matter or may agree to have the case heard by the court of a country with which the child has a close connection (for example, nationality).
If the child's habitual residence cannot be established, then the member state in which the child is present has jurisdiction.
In certain circumstances, the court which has jurisdiction may refer the case to another court if that other court is better placed to hear the case and this is in the best interests of the child. This could arise, for example, if the child’s habitual residence has changed. There are time limits on this procedure. If a child’s habitual residence changes as a result of a wrongful removal or retention, jurisdiction may shift only under very strict conditions.
The regulation also includes rules on what is to happen if the proceedings are started in more than one member state.
In urgent cases, a court may take provisional protective measures even if another member state has jurisdiction on the substantive issue.
Co-operation between national authorities
The Regulation creates a system of co-operation between central authorities of the member states. These authorities are obliged to facilitate communications between the courts of the relevant countries and must facilitate agreements between parents through mediation or other means.
Recognition and enforcement
Judgements given in one member state must be recognised and enforced in another member state. The court in the other member state may refuse to recognise the order only on the grounds that:
- It would be manifestly contrary to that member state’s public policy
- The child was not given an opportunity to be heard (except in urgent cases)
- The judgment was given in the absence of a person who was not served with the documents instituting the proceedings in sufficient time and in such a way as to enable him or her to arrange for his or her defence
- A person claiming that the judgment infringes his or her parental responsibility was not given the opportunity to be heard
If you are applying to a court in another member state for recognition and enforcement, you are entitled to legal aid there if you were entitled in your own state. You may also get help from the central authority in the country where you are seeking recognition and enforcement.
In the cases of child abduction, it is not necessary to go through the court procedure for recognition.
Child abduction
Child abduction is the unlawful removal or retention of a child. If you have custody of a child and your child is abducted to another member state, you may apply to that state for the return of the child. The courts of the member state to which the child has been abducted can only refuse return of the child in limited circumstances – for example, if there are not adequate safeguards to ensure that there is no serious risk that return would expose the child to harm.
In general, the court must order the immediate return of the child. You can find out more in our document on international child abduction.
Access Rights
Access rights are directly enforceable in other member states. This means that it is not necessary to go to court to declare that they are enforceable if the court which issued the orders also issues the required certificate. (This certificate guarantees that procedural safeguards have been respected – for example, that all parties had an opportunity to be heard, the child had the opportunity to be heard if that was appropriate.) It does not matter who holds the access rights – it is usually a parent but can be a grandparent or other family member depending on the national rules involved.
The certificate means that the judgement is treated in the new member state as if it were a judgement of that state.
Hague Conventions
The Hague Convention of 25 October 1980 on the civil aspects of international child abduction (“the 1980 Hague Convention”) and the Hague Convention (1996) on jurisdiction, applicable law, recognition, enforcement and cooperation in respect of parental responsibility and measures for the protection of children continue to apply in cases where the regulation does not.
The European Convention on Recognition and Enforcement of Decisions Concerning Custody of Children and on Restoration of Custody of Children (the Luxembourg Convention) applies to a number of European countries. It is now of limited relevance because the EU regulation or the Hague convention covers the relevant countries.
Both conventions were signed in 1980. They were brought into effect in Ireland in 1991 by the Child Abduction and Enforcement of Court Orders Act 1991.
Useful addresses
Central Authority for Maintenance Recovery
Department of Justice and Law Reform
Bishop's Square
Redmond's Hill
Dublin 2
Ireland
Tel:+353 (0)1 479 0200
Locall:1890 221 227
Fax:+353 (0)1 479 0201
Email: info@justice.ie
Central Authority for Child Abduction
Department of Justice and Law Reform
Bishop's Square
Redmond's Hill
Dublin 2
Ireland
Tel:+353 1 479 0200
Locall:1890 221 227
Fax:+353 1 479 0201
Homepage: http://www.justice.ie/en/JELR/Pages/International_child_abduction
Email: child_abduct_inbox@justice.ie
Language
Related Documents
- International child abduction
International child abduction occurs when a child is unlawfully removed from a country or unlawfully retained in a country. The question of arranging for the return of a child who has been abducted internationally is governed by international law. - Maintenance orders and agreements
Explanation of procedures involved in an application for a maintenance order in Ireland. - European small claims procedure
The European Small Claims Procedure provides an inexpensive and easy way for someone to pursue a cross-border claim without the need to employ a solicitor.
Contact Us
If you have a question relating to this topic you can contact the Citizens Information Phone Service on 0761 07 4000 (Monday to Friday, 9am to 9pm) or you can visit your local Citizens Information Centre.