Ruling could prompt tackling of 'divorce tourism'

28 July 2010



A court ruling could go some way to redressing London's reputation as the "divorce capital of the world", following the high-profile split between Boris and Galina Berezovsky, lawyers believe. According to the Finanacial Times, comments made by a senior judge could signal a sea change for so-called "divorce tourists".

Ruling in a separate case involving Russian couple Ilya and Elena Golubovich last week, Lord Justice Thorpe asked whether there should not be a "more stringent allocation of judicial time" in cases where wealthy couples have tenuous links to the UK jurisdiction, leaving more time for "cases concerning the welfare of children".

The European Union is already addressing the problem of "forum shopping" and aims to clarify which country's laws should apply when multinational couples split up. Similarly, the Guardian's Siobhain Butterworth recently questioned whether the US Speech Act, which is designed to prevent "libel tourism", could prompt the UK to re-examine its own approach to the issue.

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Posted by Sue Andrews.

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