New Zealand Case Law: Decisions & Judgments | LexChat

Topic

Matrimonial proceedings

Legal area

Court

23 Nov 2021

RAHLA HUSSEIN AMIN HARDER ALMARZOOQI v RAFID MOHAMMED SALIH [2021] NZSC 161 [23 November 2021]

Citation

[2021] NZFLR 606
Court

Supreme Court

The Supreme Court refused to grant leave to appeal because existing New Zealand law does not recognise the jurisdiction of a foreign court over a non-resident for enforcement of ancillary matrimonial financial orders on the basis of reciprocity; the limited recognition in matrimonial matters applies to the status of the marriage, not to enforcement of the Mahr; there was no miscarriage of justice and any broader change to the law is better achieved by international agreement than by this Court.
23 Jul 2021

ALMARZOOQI v SALIH [2021] NZCA 330

Citation

[2021] NZCA 330
Court

Court of Appeal

The Court dismissed the appeal because the Dubai court did not have the requisite in personam jurisdiction, for the purposes of New Zealand private international law, to make enforceable monetary orders against the respondent for the Mahr; the dissolution of marriage was a status/in rem matter but the ancillary money order was to be characterised as personam and not automatically enforceable on the basis of reciprocity or analogy to domestic service-out rules, and statutory/reciprocity exceptions did not apply to render the Dubai monetary order enforceable in New Zealand.