Cross Border Issues in International Divorce: A Legal Understanding

Abstract

International marriages are increasing due to globalization in personal and professional relationships. And international divorces are now a growing issue concerning complicated legal, cultural, and jurisdictional challenges. Different legal systems have different divorce laws, causing complications in recognition and enforcement of divorce decrees. The main objective behind the present research paper is to show the analytics of international divorce, based on the legal framework, jurisdictional conflicts, and challenges faced by an individual seeking divorce across borders. The present study discusses the role of international treaties and standard legal mechanisms in conflict resolution, both ensuring fairness to either party in proceedings. The study uses qualitative techniques to analyze the sources of research, which include legal literature, judgment-cases, and treaties governing cross-border divorces. The findings illustrate various inconsistencies in international laws on divorce; this contributes to a situation of forum shopping, legal uncertainties, and protracted court litigation. Areas that pose the most challenged include issues relating to varying grounds for divorce, recognition of foreign judgments, and conflicting child custody laws. At the end this paper recommends the harmonization of international family law and better cooperation between jurisdictions to protect the interests of all parties. International treaties are recommended to come up with some uniform standards of law that reduce international divorce problems and promote increased cooperation between national courts. Moreover Mediation and mechanisms of alternative dispute resolution are also advocated: “the avenues to achieve such amicable settlements”. Such research voices in the growing discussion on international family law, offering practical knowledge to policymakers, legal practitioners, and individuals in the throes of handling cases involving international divorce.