Islamic instant divorce ‘not legal’ in EU – court
Islamic instant divorces are not legal under EU law, the European Court of Justice ruled Wednesday.
Sharia courts in some countries allow private divorces, including the “triple talaq” divorce, where a man can divorce a woman by saying “talaq” [divorce in Arabic] three times. The triple talaq is not mentioned in Islamic law or the Koran and most Islamic countries have banned the practice.
The case centred on a couple living in Germany who got married in Syria in 1999, DW reports. In 2013, the husband ended the marriage using the triple talaq method in a Sharia court in Latakia, Syria. The wife agreed to the divorce in writing, but later contested it in Germany, after the husband sought its recognition in a Munich court.
The court ruled the Rome III regulation applied, an EU regulation that dictates which law should be used in cross-border divorces.
“Where both spouses have dual nationality, the decisive factor is their effective nationality within the meaning of national law. At the time of the divorce at issue, their effective nationality was Syrian," the Munich court said.
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The woman appealed and the case was sent to the The ECJ. It found the Rome III regulation doesn’t apply to private divorces in which a state authority isn’t involved. The Munich court will now make the final decision in the case, under German law.
Triple talaq was banned in India in August. It has been banned in a number of other countries including Iran, Jordan, Indonesia, Morocco, Egypt and the UAE. The divorce was also banned in Syria, but areas of the country came under Islamist rule since the conflict broke out.
