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If you are interested in our legal services, do not hesitate to contact us at recepcia@akmv.sk, we will reply to you promptly. We will help you with the recognition of divorce in Slovakia, or with other legal services.
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If there is no bilateral international treaty concluded between the Slovak Republic and the country where the court issued the divorce decision, which would regulate the recognition of divorce decisions, and these states are not common contracting parties to a multilateral international treaty regulating the recognition of legally binding foreign decisions in matrimonial matters, it is necessary to proceed in the given case according to Act No. 97/1963 Coll. Act on international private and procedural law (hereinafter referred to as “Act No. 97/1963 Coll.”).
In this article, we will focus precisely on the procedure for the recognition of a divorce decision, if the divorce took place outside the European Union and the procedure is not even according to an international treaty.
Proposal for Recognition of a Foreign Divorce Decree
Before the divorce is registered in the relevant registry, the recognition of the divorce decree is necessary, i.e., submitting a proposal for the recognition of a foreign divorce decree to the Regional Court in Bratislava.
The following documents must be attached to the proposal for recognition of a foreign divorce decree:
- Marriage certificate for the dissolved marriage (apostille, official translation) – even if the proposal was submitted electronically, the court requested the delivery of a verified hard copy. If the marriage has already been recognized in Slovakia, it is sufficient to submit a Slovak marriage certificate.
- Divorce decree (apostille, official translation) – even if the proposal was submitted electronically, the court requested the delivery of the original in hard copy.
- Certificate of legal force and enforceability of the divorce decree – this document differs depending on the country; most often it will be in the form of a court seal with a specific date when the judgment became final and enforceable, which means it must be clear from it that the judgment is final and cannot be appealed against. If you are not sure whether the date of legal force is evident from the divorce documents, we recommend contacting the court that issued it directly.
- Documentary evidence that the obstacle to recognition listed in § 64 letter d) of Act no. 97/1963 Coll. is not present, or a declaration by the other participant that they do not insist on its examination (this involves proving that the other participant was not deprived of the opportunity to act before the foreign authority through the procedure of that authority, especially if the summons or the motion to initiate proceedings was not properly served on them; the court does not examine the fulfillment of this condition if the foreign decision was properly served on this participant and the participant did not appeal against it, or if this participant declared that they do not insist on the examination of this condition).
- Solemn declaration by the proposer that a Slovak court has not yet issued a final decision in the matter, or that there is no earlier decision in the same matter that has been recognized or meets the conditions for recognition (a separate document attached to the proposal).
- Solemn declaration that the address of your ex-spouse is unknown to you (if it is unknown to you).
- Power of attorney, if the proposer is represented by an authorized agent.
- Certificate of Slovak citizenship is required if the person requesting the recognition of the divorce in Slovakia does not have a valid Slovak identity document.
In accordance with the provision of § 67 par. 1 of Act No. 97/1963 Coll., a foreign decision in matrimonial matters, in matters of determination (ascertainment or denial) of parentage, adoption of a child, and in matters of restriction or deprivation of legal capacity, may be recognized only by a special decree of a Slovak court. The proposal for the recognition of a foreign decision is submitted to the Regional Court in Bratislava.
Documents issued in a foreign language will need to be apostilled and subsequently officially translated into the Slovak language.
Legal Regulation of Recognition of a Divorce Decree
In accordance with the provision of § 63 of Act No. 97/1963 Coll., decisions of foreign state authorities, agreements and settlements approved by them in matters listed in § 1 of the cited Act, if courts decide on them in the Slovak Republic, as well as foreign notarial deeds in these matters (hereinafter referred to as foreign decisions) have effect in the Slovak Republic if they have been recognized by Slovak authorities.
In accordance with the provision of § 65 of Act No. 97/1963 Coll., foreign decisions in matrimonial matters and in matters of determination (ascertainment or denial) of parentage, if at least one of the participants in the proceedings is a Slovak citizen, and foreign decisions in matters of adoption of a child, if the child or at least one of the adopters is a Slovak citizen, and foreign decisions on the restriction or deprivation of legal capacity of a Slovak citizen, are recognized in the Slovak Republic, unless prevented by the provisions of § 64 letters b) to f):
In accordance with the provision of § 64 of Act No. 97/1963 Coll., a foreign decision cannot be recognized or enforced if
- a) recognition is prevented by the exclusive jurisdiction of Slovak authorities or the foreign state authority would not have jurisdiction to decide, if the provisions of Slovak law were applied to assess its jurisdiction,
- b) it is not legally binding or enforceable in the state in which it was issued,
- c) it is not a decision on the merits of the case,
- d) the participant in the proceedings against whom the decision is to be recognized was deprived of the opportunity to act before this foreign authority through the procedure of that authority, especially if the summons or the motion to initiate proceedings was not properly served on them; the court does not examine the fulfillment of this condition if the foreign decision was properly served on this participant and the participant did not appeal against it or if this participant declared that they do not insist on the examination of this condition,
- e) a Slovak court has already made a final decision in the matter or there is an earlier foreign decision in the same matter which has been recognized or meets the conditions for recognition,
- f) recognition would contravene Slovak public policy.
In accordance with the provision of § 68e par. 1 of Act No. 97/1963 Coll., if none of the participants in the proceedings files an objection against the recognition of a foreign decision within 15 days of the delivery of the proposal for recognition, the court does not have to order a hearing.
In accordance with the provision of § 68e par. 2 of Act No. 97/1963 Coll., if the participants in the proceedings declare in writing that they agree with the recognition of the foreign decision, the court does not serve the proposal for recognition and does not order a hearing. The written declaration must be submitted together with an officially verified translation into the Slovak language. In proceedings for the recognition of a foreign decision in a matrimonial matter, if the respondent is not a Slovak citizen, and in proceedings for the recognition of a foreign decision on the restriction or deprivation of legal capacity, if the proposer is the guardian of the person whom the decision concerns, the court does not serve the proposal and does not order a hearing, even if the participants do not submit such a declaration.
Fee for Recognition of Divorce in Slovakia
A fee of 100 EUR is paid for the proposal for recognition of a divorce, and 50 EUR in the case of an electronic submission.
If the divorce took place in an EU country after May 2004, the procedure is simpler
Today, the regulation of recognition and enforcement of decisions within the European Union is unified and the procedure is fast and simple thanks to regulations by which all member states are bound. According to information provided by the Ministry of Interior of the Slovak Republic: “Since 1.5.2004, i.e. since the entry of the SR into the EU, if a divorce takes place in an EU member state (excluding Denmark), we consider a final judgment on divorce to be acceptable in the territory of the SR with a corresponding official translation.” Recognition by a regional court in Slovakia is thus not necessary.
If the divorce took place in an EU country before 1.5.2004 (before the entry of the SR into the EU)
EU regulations do not apply to judgments that were issued before our entry into the EU, and therefore it is necessary to proceed according to the provision of § 63 et seq. of Act No. 97/1963 Coll. on international private and procedural law and to have the judgment recognized by the Slovak authority. The Ministry of Justice of the SR sent us the same position, stating: “The EU regulation cannot be applied to decisions that were issued before the entry of the SR into the EU.”
Before you embark on the process of recognition of the judgment according to this law, however, do not forget to check whether there is any international treaty that would regulate the recognition of the divorce decree. One of these is the convention adopted at the session of the Hague Conference on Private International Law, which is ratified in the Decree of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of August 23, 1976 on the Convention on the Recognition of Divorces and Legal Separations. The states that have acceded to the convention include: Australia, Denmark, Finland, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Great Britain (a list of all countries that have acceded to the convention can be found at: https://www.hcch.net/en/instruments/conventions/status-table/?cid=80).
For example, Austria or Germany have not acceded to the convention, with which there is no other bilateral agreement regulating this area, so for all judgments with these countries issued before 1.5.2004 it will be necessary to proceed according to the aforementioned Act on international private and procedural law. Among the EU states with which we had bilateral agreements on the recognition and enforcement of court decisions concluded before the entry into the EU are:
- France (Decree of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of August 21, 1985 on the Treaty between the Government of the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic and the Government of the French Republic on legal assistance, recognition and enforcement of decisions in civil, family and commercial matters)
- Spain (Decree of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of December 15, 1988 on the Treaty between the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic and Spain on legal assistance, recognition and enforcement of decisions in civil matters)
A list of bilateral treaties can also be found on the website of the Ministry of Justice of the SR: https://www.justice.gov.sk/agenda-ministerstva/medzinarodne-pravo/justicna-spolupraca/pramene-prava/
Divorce in England before Brexit
Whether the recognition of the divorce decree by a Slovak court will be necessary or not depends on when the divorce proceedings began or when the decree was issued in England.
According to the Regional Court of Bratislava, EU law in the area of divorce is regulated by the provisions of Regulation (EC) No 2201/2003 (Brussels IIa Regulation). In the sense of the Withdrawal Agreement, this regulation will also apply after the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the EU (i.e. after 31.1.2020) to court proceedings initiated before the end of the transition period (i.e. court proceedings initiated before 31.12.2020).
“In general, the following legal instruments will apply to the recognition of divorce decisions issued in Great Britain, depending on when the decision was issued, or when the divorce proceedings were initiated:
- Convention on the Recognition of Divorces and Legal Separations (Hague, 1970, Decl. No. 131/1976 Coll.)
- Council Regulation (EC) No 2201/2003 of 27 November 2003 concerning jurisdiction and the recognition and enforcement of judgments in matrimonial matters and the matters of parental responsibility, repealing Regulation (EC) No 1347/2000
The recognition and enforcement of British decisions in the area of parental responsibility is currently governed by the Convention on Jurisdiction, Applicable Law, Recognition, Enforcement and Co-operation in respect of Parental Responsibility and Measures for the Protection of Children (Hague, 1966, Notice No. 344/2002 Coll.).
As regards the procedure in the case of a divorce decree from 2022, for which the court also issued a certificate according to Council Regulation (EU) No 2201/2003, Article 21, paragraph 2 of this regulation states that no special procedure is required for marking the change of personal status in the registry based on a legally binding foreign decision in a matrimonial matter. Therefore, the registry should register the divorce based on the presented certificate.
Regarding the topic of recognition and enforcement of decisions, we further recommend the article “Granting effect to foreign decisions in civil matters in the Slovak Republic (recognition and enforcement)” (HAŤAPKA, M. In Justičná revue, 67, 2015, no. 3, p. 280).
Information regarding the application of international treaties before and after the withdrawal of Great Britain from the EU can be found on the website of the Ministry of Justice of the SR (Brexit v oblasti spravodlivosti – Ministerstvo spravodlivosti SR (gov.sk).” (Source: MS SR)
Deadline for Decision
In some cases, the judgment on recognition was issued within a month after filing the proposal with the court. In other cases, the recognition took approximately 2 – 6 months.
Registration of Subsequent Marriage in the Slovak Registry
Clients often have foreign divorce decrees recognized only when they want to remarry, or it has already happened and they want to register the current marriage in the registry (and apply for a Slovak marriage certificate, for example).
Only when the divorce decree is recognized in Slovakia, i.e., after receiving the legally binding decision of the Regional Court in Bratislava on the recognition of the divorce decree, can the current marriage be registered in the special registry in Slovakia, together with this decision.
It will be necessary to physically write the record of the marriage conclusion with an official at the relevant registry office according to the place of permanent residence.
The following will be required for the registration of the marriage:
- data on the time and place of the marriage conclusion
- data on the bridegroom and bride
- data on their parents and witnesses
- marriage certificate – apostilled copy with officially verified translation into the Slovak language
- copy of the Slovak ID card / copy of the passport of the second spouse
- divorce decree of the earlier marriage (if applicable) – apostilled copy with officially verified translation into the Slovak language
- decision on the recognition of the divorce decree
- if the spouse had an earlier marriage or is widowed, the divorce decree(s) with an annotation of legal force, by which the earlier marriage was dissolved, or the death certificate of the previous spouse, will be required
- confirmation of the spouse’s residence, if it does not result from their documents
- possibly other special documents – the registry office according to the place of permanent residence may also require other documents, e.g., birth certificates of the spouses, we recommend informing the relevant registry office by phone in advance – jurisdiction is determined by permanent residence
Change of Surname After Divorce
In accordance with § 27 of Act No. 36/2005 Coll. on the Family, as amended by later regulations, a spouse who adopted the surname of the other spouse upon divorce has to notify the relevant registry office that they are readopting their previous surname within three months from the legal force of the divorce decree.
§ 27
(1) A spouse who, upon entering into marriage, adopted the surname of the other spouse as the joint surname, may notify the registry office within three months after the legal force of the decision on the dissolution of the marriage that they are readopting their previous surname.
(2) A spouse who, upon entering into marriage, adopted the surname of the other spouse as the joint surname and at the same time kept their previous surname as a second surname, may notify the registry office within three months from the legal force of the decision on the dissolution of the marriage that they are abandoning the use of the joint surname.
From when is the 3-month period calculated?
According to the opinion of the Special Registry Office, “The notification of the adoption of the previous surname is not in the nature of an application or a motion to initiate proceedings. The registry office takes note of the notification of the adoption of the previous surname by the divorced spouse, and the registrar examines only the conditions for the adoption of the previous surname, i.e., compliance with the three-month period, and the legal force of the court decision on the dissolution of the marriage. The legal force from which the period is calculated is the legal force of the court judgment abroad, i.e., the actual date of legal force of the divorce, not the date of recognition by the Regional Court in Bratislava.”
