Financial Times article - Mar 10, 2010

Nigeria divorce judgment attracts attention

The Supreme Court reinforced London’s reputation as “divorce capital of the world” after it found in favour of a Nigerian woman who took her case to the UK courts after disputing the divorce settlement she was awarded by a Nigerian court .

Family lawyers said the keenly watched judgment could open the floodgates for wealthy spouses in “big money” divorce cases who are unhappy with divorce awards made by overseas courts to seek a bigger payout in the UK.

London has been dubbed ”divorce capital of the world” because recent changes in the law meant wives are now favoured in big money break-ups.

The Supreme Court ruled that Sikirat Agbaje had not received an adequate financial settlement from her barrister husband when the couple divorced in Lagos in 2003 after 38 years of marriage.

Even though the marital assets were about £700,000, a Nigerian court had awarded her a lump sum of £21,000 plus interest in a home in Nigeria.

Mrs Agbaje who has lived in Hertfordshire for some years and has dual British and Nigerian citizenship , went to the UK courts to dispute the award even though the couple lived in Nigeria for much of their married life.

The Supreme Court has overturned an earlier Court of Appeal decision and ruled Mrs Agbaje should receive £275,000 - almost three times what her husband had been ordered to give her by the Nigerian courts.

Under a 1984 law, English and Welsh courts have the power to grant financial relief after a marriage has been dissolved in a foreign country as long as there is a close connection between the spouses and the UK.

Jayne Glennon a solicitor in the family team at law firm Withers said: “In allowing Mrs Agbaje’s appeal this may give a green light to other dissatisfied foreign divorcees to claim a second bite at the cherry in England, which is widely accepted as a generous jurisdiction. This could be a very influential decision.”

Pauline Fowler of Hughes Fowler Carruthers said: “This could encourage more people to challenge their divorce awards in the UK although in reality it turns the clock back to where it was before the Court of Appeal decision, as well as providing greater clarity. It will strike a chord with many people who may have dual nationality or links with more than one jurisdiction.”

Jeremy Posnansky QC, partner at law firm Farrer & Co, said: “It will be interesting to see how the judgment is applied in future cases.

“Will trial judges steer the careful course properly, and only allow further claims where the outcome in the foreign court involves financial hardship or injustice; or will they exercise the jurisdiction exorbitantly, inappropriately allowing a second claim, and thus reinforcing England’s reputation as the divorce capital of the world?”

However Marilyn Stowe, senior partner at Stowe Family Law, said she believed the ruling demonstrated the fairness of the English courts.

”The Supreme Court’s judgment is a brave one, because it risks being criticised as “colonial” and “supremacist”, but I believe that the Court was correct to reject the law and outcome in Nigeria that had left Mrs Agbaje virtually penniless,” she said.

However she said she believed it would be difficult for all overseas litigants to go “forum shopping” and to use the UK courts.

“The bar is still set very high. The floodgates for disgruntled, overseas litigants have not opened. However for a qualifying applicant, who satisfies rigorous tests, it provides a welcome and deserved safety net. ” she added.

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