Procedure to declare a Foreign Divorce Decree Executor/Executory in Mauritius

Below is a brief insight on the law and procedure relating to the enforcement of a foreign divorce decree in Mauritius.

A foreign divorce decree can be made executory in Mauritius by persons who are desirous of getting re-married or simply for the divorce decree to be enforceable.

The procedure is normally initiated by an Attorney at Law who will draft the application to be presented before the Family Division of the Supreme Court.

Documents which are required for making the application are as follows:

-The original Divorce Decree duly legalised/apostilled in the country from where it originates.

If it is not legalised/apostilled, the application may be refused by the Judge of the Supreme Court. The object of legalising the decree is to verify the authenticity of the document.

- A recent marriage certificate delivered by the Civil Status Division (if applicable)

- A statement from the opposing ex-spouse that he/she does not object to the proceedings (if applicable)

Once the application has been lodged it will be served on the adverse party and the Judge will order the decree executory if he is satisfied with the application.

Nothing in this article shall be construed as legal advice from the author. Professional advice should therefore be sought before any action is undertaken based on this article. You are kindly advised to contact the author for more detailed and personalised legal advice.

Judicial Separation In Mauritius/Séparation de Corps a Maurice

Article 269 et sequitur du Code Civil Mauricien/s. 12 Divorce and Juudicial Separation Act 1982

La séparation de corps peut être prononcée à la demande de l’un des époux dans les mêmes cas et aux mêmes conditions que le divorce.

L’époux contre lequel est présentée une demande en séparation de corps peut former une demande reconventionnelle en divorce. Si une demande en divorce et une demande en séparation de corps sont simultanément accueillies, le juge prononce à l’égard des deux conjoints le divorce aux torts partagés  vide Veeramootoo v Veeramootoo 1990

La séparation de corps ne dissout pas le mariage mais elle met fin au devoir de cohabitation (Art. 272 CCM). La femme séparée conserve l’usage du nom du mari. Toutefois, le jugement de séparation de corps, ou un jugement postérieur, peut le lui interdire. En cas de décès de l’un des époux séparés de corps, l’autre époux conserve les droits que la loi accorde au conjoint survivant.

Il en est toutefois privé lorsque la séparation de corps est prononcée a ses torts exclusifs ou lorsqu’il a pris l’initiative d’une séparation de corps en raison de la rupture de la vie commune. La séparation de corps entraîne toujours séparation de biens (Art. 275 CCM).

La séparation de corps laisse subsister le devoir de secours; le jugement qui la prononce ou un jugement postérieur fixe la pension alimentaire due à l’époux dans le besoin.

Selon l’article 279 CCM, la reprise volontaire de la vie commune met fin à la séparation de corps. Pour être opposable aux tiers, celle-ci doit, soit être constatée par acte notarié, soit faire l’objet d’une déclaration à l’officier d’état civil. Mention en est faite en marge de l’acte de mariage.

La séparation de biens subsiste sauf si les époux adoptent un nouveau régime matrimonial.

Dans tous les cas de séparation de corps, celle-ci peut être convertie en divorce par consentement mutuel. Lorsque la séparation de corps a été prononcée par consentement mutuel, elle ne peut être convertie en divorce que par consentement mutuel. Du fait de la conversion, la cause de la séparation de corps devient la cause du divorce et l’attribution des torts n’est pas modifiée.

Le juge règle les conséquences du divorce. Cependant, les prestations et pensions entre époux sont déterminées selon les règles propres au divorce.

The Procedure/La Procedure:

The procedure is the same as that for divorce, i.e. by way of petition. Any application incidental to the petition must be done by way of motion and affidavit. A petitioner who has been granted a decree of judicial separation may at any time apply to the Court for the conversion of the decree into a decree of divorce. The respondent to a decree of judicial separation may, not earlier than 2 years after the date of the decree, apply to the Court for the conversion of the decree into a decree of divorce.

ENFORCEMENT OF FOREIGN JUDGMENTS IN MAURITIUS

Below is a brief insight on the law and procedure relating to the enforcement of foreign judgments in Mauritius.

In Mauritius, there are 3 pieces of legislation which govern enforcement of foreign judgments, namely:-

1. Article 546 of the Code de Procedure Civile, for the enforcement of judgments originating from countries other than the United Kingdom and Commonwealth Countries;

2. The Reciprocal Enforcement of Judgments Act 1923, for enforcement of UK judgments; and

3. The Foreign Judgments (Reciprocal Enforcement) Act 1961, for the enforcement of Commonwealth judgments.

The procedure to be followed for enforcing a foreign judgment will therefore depend on the country from which the judgment originated and there are specific conditions to be fulfilled in each case.

However, generally, an applicant wishing to enforce a foreign judgment will have to enter an action before the Supreme Court of Mauritius, for leave of a Judge to the foreign judgment registered in the Register of Foreign Judgments kept at the Registry of the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court on receipt of such an application, fix the time limit (a maximum of two months) within which the respondent should apply to set aside the application for registration. If no such application is made within the time limit, the Judge will order the registration of the Judgment and it will be declared executor in Mauritius.

Nothing in this article shall be construed as legal advice from the author. Professional advice should therefore be sought before any action is undertaken based on this article. You are kindly advised to contact the author for more detailed and personalised legal advice.

Code of Ethics for Attorneys

A pdf of the document is available on request.

Requests should be made at sandeep.07@hotmail.com.