Man hat die Hürden wieder etwas höher gelegt!
SC Reiterates Rule in Judicial Recognition of Foreign Divorce
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The Supreme Court found the Republic’s petition meritorious.
The Court held that while Jocelyn established the fact of divorce by submitting the Acceptance Certificate as authenticated by the Philippine Embassy in Tokyo, Japan, she was not able to establish the law of Japan on divorce.
The Court underscored that for a petition for judicial recognition of foreign divorce to prosper, the party pleading it must prove the fact of divorce and the national law of the foreign spouse.
Under Article 26 of Executive Order No. 209, series of 1987, as amended, or The Family Code of the Philippines, a divorce between a foreigner and a Filipino may be recognized in the Philippines as long as it was validly obtained according to the foreign spouse’s national law.
Before a foreign divorce decree can be recognized by the court, the party pleading it must first prove the fact of divorce and its conformity to the foreign law allowing it.
To prove that the divorce was valid under Japanese laws, Jocelyn submitted a photocopy of the English translation of the Civil Code of Japan, published by Eibun-Horei-Sha, Inc. and stamped with “LIBRARY, Japan Information and Culture Center, Embassy of Japan, 2627 Roxas Boulevard, Pasay City.”
The Court was not convinced. It held that such document is devoid of any probative value. “Not being an official translation, the document submitted by Jocelyn does not prove the existing law on divorce in Japan. Unfortunately, without such evidence, there is nothing on record to establish that the divorce between Jocelyn and Fumio was validly obtained and is consistence with the Japanese law on divorce,” it said.
It added: “Given that Jocelyn was able to prove the fact of divorce but not the Japanese law on divorce, a remand of the case rather than its outright dismissal is proper. This is consistent with the policy of liberality that the Court has adopted in cases involving the recognition of foreign decrees to Filipinos in mixed marriage.”
Thus, the Supreme Court granted the petition and reversed and set aside the assailed November 15, 2018 Decision of the CA.