Court upholds marriage annulment judgment in Australia – Breaking News

June 13 (Daily Mirror) – In another landmark judgment, the Colombo District Court recently recognized the validity of a marriage annulment judgment issued by the Federal Court in Melbourne, Australia for a marriage contracted in Sri Lanka.

Colombo Additional District Court Judge Chandima Edirimanna has issued a decree dissolving the marriage for a couple who acquired Australian citizenship, following an application by the plaintiff’s lawyer.

The Additional District Court judge observed that the court passed this order after considering the guidelines provided by a recent judgment of the appellate court in a writ petition, which recognizes and enforces the decree of divorce passed by a court competent in another country.

Advocate Chamara Wannisekara accompanied by Dhanushka Madubhashini, instructed by Dineth Kaushalya Baduwalage, represented the complainant.

The Court of Appeal, in its recent judgment (CA/WRIT/266/2021), held that a district court in Sri Lanka is not precluded from accepting a valid document evidencing the dissolution of a marriage issued by a competent court in another country. However, the Court of Appeal held that this acceptance must be subject to the guidelines set forth by the court and the evidentiary provisions of the law.

The first guideline is to ascertain whether the law of such a country has conferred on the court concerned the jurisdiction to dissolve marriages contracted in a foreign territory. Secondly, it is essential that both parties entering into a prenuptial agreement in Sri Lanka have resided in the respective country for a reasonable period of time before filing for divorce. Third, both husband and wife should actively participate in such divorce proceedings before a foreign court while being subject to the procedure adopted by such court regarding matrimonial actions.