An aside about gossip
Blog My daughter at college is suddenly most impressed with the press that I have been receiving. Not that I’m referring to quotes in The Economist or the Times of London — mention of which received a bored “Oh Great! What else is up?” — but to the current issue of OK! Magazine, the place for “hot celebrity gossip and […]
British Court rules Islamic Law Dscriminatory
Blog The Independent,23 October 2008 Britain’s highest court has criticised Islamic law for discriminating against women after a case in which a mother was forced to flee the Middle East for Britain to protect her son from his abusive father. In a 5-0 ruling, the law lords said that there was no place in sharia […]
Forced Marriage Law in Britain
Blog Britain has initiated a concerted effort to stem the number of forced marriages in that country. A new law – the Forced Marriage (Civil Protection) Act 2007– will come into force there next month. A “forced marriage” is one in which a party is married without his or her consent or against his or her […]
Forced Marriage is a Crime Against Humanity
Blog We have just read the appeal judgment of the Appeals Chamber of the Special Court for Sierra Leone in a case entitled Prosecutor v. Alex Tamba Brima, Brima Bazzy Kamara and Santigie Borbor Kanu. For international family lawyers the judgment is significant in that the court ruled that forced marriage constitutes a crime against […]
Fifth Circuit’s Hague Abduction Convention Ruling
Blog The Fifth Circuit has followed the Second Circuit’s ruling in Croll v. Croll and has ruled that a “ne exeat” right does not constitute a “right of custody” for the purposes of the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction. (Abbott v. Abbott, handed down on 9/16/08). The case concerned a British father […]
RUSSIA: “Lawful” Child Kidnapping
Blog The article below in today’s Daily Telegraph illustrates the grave dangers that may arise when children visit Russia: An 11-year-old British girl has been left stranded in Russia after her biological father obtained a Court Order preventing her from leaving the country until she is 18. Victoria Osborne, who was visiting her grandmother in Saratov with her mother Tatiana, […]
Jersey, Channel Islands Case Favors Spouse with Offshore Trusts
Blog The Royal Court in Jersey, Channel Islands has issued a key ruling in favor of a wealthy Indian jewelry magnate with substantial assets in offshore trusts, in a case known as Mubarak v Mubarak.The Court ruled that assets held in offshore trusts could be released to ex-spouses only if the trustees had the power to do so: The Financial […]
Korea Okays Sex During Divorce
Blog Korea’s top court has ruled that sexual relations outside marriage committed during consensual divorce proceedings was not a criminal act. Under current Korean law, adulterous relations are considered a criminal act and those found guilty can receive jail sentences of up to two years. The Supreme Court overruled a lower court’s conviction of a 57-year-old […]
Israeli court: Husband who refused divorce must pay damages
Blog The Jerusalem Family Court (Judge Ben Zion Greenberger) has reportedly ordered a husband who refused to give his wife a divorce for nine years to pay damages of approximately $160,000. In an unprecedented ruling, the judge said that even if a husband is not required by the court to give his wife a divorce, he […]
Credit crunch raises divorce rate for America’s superwealthy
Blog London Times article citing me and other N.Y. lawyers: The Times, July 11, 2008 Tom Bawden in New York America’s credit crunch is putting the squeeze on the marriages of New York’s superwealthy as a record number of couples with $10 million or more in assets sue for divorce. The New York lawyer Raoul Felder, […]