* Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash
The words of the marriage vow are not always kept by the spouses.
“And that I will not leave you until I die …“. It sometimes happens differently. When one of the spouses decides that the marriage is no longer possible, he should know which court is competent for divorce cases. It is a must know where to file for divorce.
REGIONAL COURT
According to the provisions of the Code of Civil Procedure, regional courts adjudicate on divorces.
Art. 41. A claim under a marriage relationship shall be brought only before the court in whose district the spouses had their last domicile if at least one of them still has a place of residence or habitual residence in that district. In the absence of such a ground, only the court of the defendant’s domicile is competent, and if there is no such ground, the court of the plaintiff’s domicile.
In the Regional Court in Krakow, the 11th Family Civil Division is competent to hear family cases in the first instance and cases falling within the jurisdiction of family courts in the second instance.
NATIONAL JURISDICTION
Doubts may arise when the spouses do not live in Poland. In such a case, one should refer to the solutions of the code regarding the national jurisdiction in the process.
According to Art. 1103 (1) of the Code of Civil Procedure:
§ 1. Matrimonial matters and matters relating to matrimonial property relations fall within national jurisdiction also when:
1) both spouses had the last place of residence or the last place of habitual residence in the Republic of Poland if one of them is still domiciled or habitually resident in the Republic of Poland, or
2) the spouse who is the plaintiff has a place of residence or habitual residence in the Republic of Poland for at least one year immediately prior to the initiation of the proceedings, or
3) the spouse who is the claimant is a Polish citizen and has, for at least six months immediately before the initiation of the proceedings, the place of residence or habitual residence in the Republic of Poland, or
4) both spouses are Polish citizens.
§ 2. National jurisdiction is exclusive if both spouses are Polish citizens and have their place of residence and habitual residence in the Republic of Poland.
§ 3. Domestic jurisdiction in a matrimonial case also includes deciding on parental responsibility for the spouses’ joint minor children.
MARRIAGE MATTERS
The above rules are helpful in assessing to which court to refer to a divorce case.
Marriage cases are not only cases for divorce, but also cases for separation, annulment of marriage, and assignation of the non-existence of marriage.
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