The Court of Justice of the European Union has ruled that a divorce decree drawn up by the civil registrar of the Member State of origin in accordance with national legislation constitutes a ‘judgment’ within the meaning of the Brussels IIa Regulation and must therefore be automatically recognised by the civil registries of the host country, in a judgment delivered on Tuesday 15 November (case C-646/20).
In 2018, the German civil status services refused to recognise the divorce...