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Which court has jurisdiction in foreign divorce proceedings?

source:www.zchlhls.com  |  Release time:2024年08月03日
According to the relevant provisions of China's General Principles of the Laws of the People and the Opinions of the Supreme People's Court on Several Issues Concerning the Implementation of the General Principles of the Laws of the People (for Trial Implementation), China applies the laws involving international divorce proceedings.
Divorce Litigation Involving Foreign Countries
When accepting foreign divorce cases, the People's Courts of China usually adopt the principle of "the plaintiff against the defendant". As long as the defendant has a domicile or residence in China, the courts in China have jurisdiction. However, due to specific security exceptions exist:

For a divorce lawsuit filed by a plaintiff who does not reside in the country, the jurisdiction of the people's court in the plaintiff's usual place of residence will be decided according to the jurisdiction of the people's court in the place of the plaintiff. If the plaintiff's place of residence does not coincide with his/her usual place of residence, then the decision is based on the jurisdiction of the People's Court of the plaintiff's usual place of residence.

In the case of an overseas Chinese who marries domestically and settles abroad, if the country of residence refuses to accept a divorce suit on the grounds that it requires the jurisdiction of the country in which the marriage took place, and both parties return to their home country and request the People's Court of China to deal with the case, the People's Court of the place of registration of the original marriage or the defendant's original place of domicile may accept the case;

In principle, we do not establish the jurisdiction of our People's Courts over divorce cases involving overseas compatriots who have married and settled abroad. If the case is dismissed in the country where it is located on the grounds of the defendant's nationality, then it may be heard by the people's court of the defendant's original place of residence.

Whether the case is one in which one of the Chinese citizens resides abroad and the other resides in the country, and both parties file a divorce lawsuit with our people's courts, the people's court in the country of residence has jurisdiction. If one of the foreign parties sues in the country of residence and the domestic party sues in the People's Court of China, then the People's Court against which the suit is brought has jurisdiction.

For Chinese citizens, in the case where both enterprises are abroad but have not settled, in the case where one of them files a divorce lawsuit with the People's Court of China and divorces the other by filing a complaint, the case shall be subject to the jurisdiction of the People's Court of the place of the plaintiff's or defendant's original domicile. For Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan, the jurisdiction of divorce cases, in accordance with the jurisdiction of foreign-related cases.