Jurisdiction of Courts in Divorce or Legal Separation Proceedings Initiated in Different Countries

Facts

The dispute involves a Swiss couple domiciled in the United States. The wife filed a legal separation action in New Orleans, while the husband subsequently filed a divorce petition in Zurich. The Zurich courts rejected the wife's objections to jurisdiction and lis pendens. She then appealed to the Federal Supreme Court.

The Federal Supreme Court held that when one spouse has first seized the competent court under Art. 144 CC, that court remains the sole competent court to hear any subsequent divorce or legal separation claim by the other spouse, even if the latter is domiciled elsewhere. This rule also applies when one spouse has initiated proceedings abroad and the other in Switzerland, provided the foreign judgment can be recognized in Switzerland.

However, the Federal Supreme Court remanded the case to the cantonal court to examine whether, in this case, the Louisiana courts had exclusive jurisdiction due to the connection between the two proceedings, and whether the foreign judgment could be recognized in Switzerland.

Considerations

According to the case law of the Federal Supreme Court, when one spouse has first seized the competent court under Art. 144 CC, that court remains the sole competent court to hear any subsequent divorce or legal separation claim by the other spouse, even if the latter is domiciled elsewhere. This rule also applies when one spouse has initiated proceedings abroad and the other in Switzerland, provided the foreign judgment can be recognized in Switzerland.

However, an exception is made if the proceedings initiated abroad aim for…