Bond Unreliable to Deter Potential International Child Abduction

Blog Courts sometimes require that a parent should be permitted to take a child for an international visit, despite the objections of the other parent, if the taking parent posts a financial bond. However, such a requirement often provides a false sense of security. Last year, a Florida appeal court sensibly overturned a lower court’s […]

International Family Law: Comparing Divorce Jurisdictions

Blog Procedure May Trump Substance  Jeremy D. Morley www.international-divorce.com   When comparing possible jurisdictions for international family law cases, it is frequently important to focus on procedural matters and not simply to compare the rules and practices concerning the division of assets, maintenance and other substantive issues. For example, while it is important to know how different […]

Uganda Divorce & Bride Price

Blog The Supreme Court of Uganda has refused to declare that the practice of exchanging money, cows, or other goods for a bride is unconstitutional in Uganda, notwithstanding the claim that it reduces the women to mere properties. However, the Court has ruled that it is unconstitutional for a man to have the right to […]

Malaysia and International Child Abduction

Blog Malaysia is not a party to the Hague Abduction Convention. Malaysia has refused to adopt the treaty, on the ground that it would purportedly contradict Shariah law, since that law bases child custody decisions to a substantial extent on religious, age and gender factors.  Given that the Convention has now been signed by more […]

Prenuptial Agreements in Japan

Blog We have represented many international clients who have entered into marriage contracts or prenuptial agreements with Japanese spouses. We always work in collaboration with Japanese counsel in such matters as appropriate and as instructed by our clients. Prenuptial agreements are not common in Japan. They have never been a part of Japanese culture, even […]

International Child Relocations

Blog I was pleased that authors Audrey G. Masilla and Kristine M. Jacquin, in their chapter entitled “Relocation Evaluations in Child Custody Disputes” in the newly-published Handbook of Child Custody (Mark L. Goldstein, editor) relied substantially, when discussing international relocations, on my prior article on the topic.  My article, entitled “The Impact of Foreign Law on Child Custody […]

Implications of Mixed Marriage for Indonesian Women’s Property Ownership

Blog Awareness of the Marriage Law is essential for Indonesian women who marry foreigners to retain their land rights. Indonesian women who marry foreigners need to have sufficient understanding of the 1974 Marriage Law, the 1958 Citizenship Law and the 1960 Agrarian Law to enable them to retain their right to own freehold property. Article […]

Serving proceedings in Russia under the Hague Convention

Blog The English High Court has clarified one aspect of service of English proceedings in Russia under the Hague Convention. The English Courts remain an attractive venue for Russian related litigation. A claimant wishing to serve proceedings on a Russian based defendant will invariably need permission from the English Court and several recent cases have […]