The foreign spouses reside in Spain, but they were married in Colombia and wish to divorce. Are the Spanish courts competent to hear the divorce petition? Or can they file the petition directly using the “full marriage certificate” from Colombia?
To determine international judicial competence, reference must be made to the Brussels II Bis Regulation (Council Regulation (EC) No 2201/2003 of 27 November 2003, on jurisdiction, recognition, and enforcement of judgments in matrimonial matters and matters of parental responsibility, repealing Regulation (EC) No 1347/2000).
According to this Regulation, the Spanish courts are competent to hear the petition, since Spain is the habitual residence of the spouses, as established in Article 3 of the Regulation. It is not necessary to register the marriage in Spain to file the petition. A certificate issued by the competent Colombian authority, duly legalized or apostilled, will be sufficient.
