Re NZANIRA GASHEREBUKA

Re NZANIRA GASHEREBUKA

The Court of Appeal held that the Belgian judgments n°18/1665/A and n°2019/FA/626 were provisional, not final, as they were subsumed into the later divorce proceedings and replaced by the final divorce judgment. Under Article 44 of Law N°30/2018, only final judgments are eligible for exequatur in Rwanda. Therefore,...

Source-derived case information.

Citation
RCA 00003/2021/CA
Parties
Appellant: Nzanira Gasherebuka David; Respondent: Poppe Honorine
Court
Court of Appeal
Jurisdiction
Rwanda
Judgment Date
14 December 2021
Case Number
RCA 00003/2021/CA
Procedural Posture
Civil Appeal / Final Appellate Judgment
Outcome
appeal dismissed
Legal Topics
Exequatur of Foreign Judgments, Child Custody, Provisional Measures, Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Judgments
Civil Procedure Family Law Private International Law Exequatur of Foreign Judgments Child Custody Provisional Measures Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Judgments

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Parties

Nzanira Gasherebuka David

Appellant

Poppe Honorine

Respondent

Procedural Posture

Civil Appeal / Final Appellate Judgment

  1. 1 Whether Belgian judgments n°18/1665/A and n°2019/FA/626 can be enforced (exequatur) in Rwanda
  2. 2 Whether the judgments in question are final or provisional under Rwandan law
  3. 3 Whether the High Court should have accepted the exequatur application given the procedural posture

Ratio Decidendi

The Court of Appeal held that the Belgian judgments n°18/1665/A and n°2019/FA/626 were provisional, not final, as they were subsumed into the later divorce proceedings and replaced by the final divorce judgment. Under Article 44 of Law N°30/2018, only final judgments are eligible for exequatur in Rwanda. Therefore, the application to enforce the provisional Belgian judgments in Rwanda was unfounded.

Court Disposition

appeal dismissed

Orders

  • The appeal by Nzanira Gasherebuka David is dismissed as unfounded.
  • The High Court judgment RC00020/2021/HC/KIG of 09/08/2021 is upheld.