Mrs Parveen’s first husband pronounced the Talaq (Islamic divorce) in England in written form by way of a letter. The letter went to the Bradford Mosque, and this was converted into a divorce certificate. The divorce certificate was sent to Mrs Parveen in Pakistan and accepted by the Local Union Council in Pakistan. Mrs Parveen argued that the divorce to her first husband should be recognised as courts in England and Wales do have jurisdiction to question the validity and recognition of the overseas divorce.
The key issue in this case was whether this was a transnational divorce. Unfortunately for Mrs Parveen, the courts found that the divorce was transnational in nature and was not accepted as a divorce in this jurisdiction. The reason being that whilst the Talaq was accepted in Pakistan, having been initiated in England and concluded in Pakistan, it was found that as not all the steps regarding the divorce had taken place in Pakistan, then the first divorce was not capable of being recognised in this jurisdiction as an ‘overseas divorce’. However, it did not alter the validity of the first divorce in Pakistan.
If initiating Islamic divorce (Talaq, Khula, Faskh) then it is clear that the whole process must be done in the country that the legal marriage took place but if the marriage took place in England and Wales being an Islamic marriage followed up with a civil registration of the marriage, then parties must issue divorce proceedings in the courts of England and Wales. Likewise, if the Nikah has taken place in England, you must ensure that you also have a civil ceremony so as to have a legally valid marriage.
