One case is worth a dozen documents. Yesterday, the Chengdu Intermediate People's Court released the top ten typical cases of foreign-related civil and commercial trials in Chengdu courts. Among them, a Chinese citizen Wen applied to recognize the divorce judgment of the San Mateo County High Court in California, the United States of America. focus on.
If I get divorced abroad, will it be recognized in China? Let’s take a look at this case.
* Case introduction
On February 7, 2006, a Chinese citizen Wen and a foreign citizen Wang registered their marriage at the Marriage Registration Office of the Sichuan Provincial Department of Civil Affairs. On August 13, 2009, the Superior Court of San Mateo County, California, the United States of America, heard the divorce case between Wang and Wen and made a judgment on August 20, 2009: Wang and Wen divorced, and the marriage relationship ended. As of November 30, 2009. The divorce decree stated that there were no children or joint property to be disposed of by the court.
In August 2023, Wen applied to the Chengdu Intermediate People’s Court for recognition of the divorce judgment involved in the case, and submitted the foreign judgment and additional certificates.
* Court decision
The Chengdu Intermediate People's Court held that the "Convention to Abolish the Requirements for Authentication of Foreign Public Documents" officially came into effect in our country on November 7, 2023, and this case should be applied in accordance with the law. The relevant official document submitted by Wen was made in another country that is a party to the Convention and the relevant competent authority of that country has issued an additional certificate in accordance with the requirements of the Convention. Therefore, the authentication procedures should be exempted and the authenticity and identity of the relevant signatures and seals should be recognized. reliability.
After review, the foreign divorce judgment involved in the case complied with the conditions for recognition of foreign court divorce judgments stipulated in Chinese law, and did not violate the basic principles of Chinese law or damage national sovereignty, security, or social and public interests. It was therefore ruled that the United States of America should be recognized The divorce judgment at issue was entered by the Superior Court of San Mateo County, California.
* Typical meaning
The "Convention to Abolish the Requirement for Authentication of Foreign Public Documents" is currently the international treaty with the widest scope of application and the largest number of contracting parties under the framework of the Hague Conference on Private International Law. The "Convention" will officially enter into force in our country on November 7, 2023 . The core content of the Convention is that the contracting states mutually cancel the consular authentication link in the embassy and consulates, and "combine the two consular authentications before the official document is exported into one" into a "one-step" certification relying on an additional certificate (apostille). , aiming to simplify the procedures for cross-border circulation of official documents.
The Chengdu Intermediate People's Court stated that this case is the first case in the country to recognize a foreign divorce judgment after the Convention came into effect in my country, and it has strong demonstration significance for the handling of similar cases. Comprehensive and strict application of the Convention in the judicial field not only reduces the burden of litigants and avoids the burden of cumbersome and expensive chain certification, but also greatly facilitates international economic, trade and personnel exchanges, is conducive to improving judicial efficiency, and further enhances the rule of law in our country. improve the level of business environment.
Chengdu Daily Jinguan News Reporter Chendi Editor-in-Chief Liu Yang Editor Yu Tanyang
