You are French, European or of another nationality, you live in Senegal and your marriage is ending? Before taking any step, three questions arise: can the Senegalese court grant your divorce, which law will it apply, and will your divorce be recognised in your home country?
Does the Senegalese court have jurisdiction?
The Senegalese Family Code (article 853) gives jurisdiction to the Senegalese courts:
- where one of the spouses holds Senegalese nationality on the day proceedings are brought;
- in disputes between foreign nationals, where the defendant is domiciled in Senegal, or where the connecting factor provided by the Code of Civil Procedure is located in Senegal.
An expatriate couple living in Dakar can therefore, in principle, divorce before the Senegalese court.
Which law will apply?
Being judged in Senegal does not always mean being judged under Senegalese law. Article 843 of the Family Code provides that divorce is governed:
- by the spouses’ common national law if they share the same nationality: two French spouses divorcing in Dakar will in principle have French law applied;
- by the law of the country of their domicile at the time of the application if they have different nationalities: a Franco-Lebanese couple domiciled in Dakar then falls under Senegalese law.
Having the divorce recognised in your country
A divorce granted in Senegal takes effect abroad according to each country’s rules. In France, a divorce granted outside the European Union must be checked by the public prosecutor before being recorded on French civil status records: see our article Divorced in Senegal: having your divorce recorded in the French civil status.
Divorce in Senegal or in your home country?
Depending on your nationality, the courts of your home country may also have jurisdiction. For two French spouses, for example, the French court has jurisdiction on the sole basis of their common nationality (EU Regulation “Brussels II ter”, article 3). The choice depends on the applicable law, the assets to be divided, the children’s residence and the future recognition of the judgment. A French mutual consent divorce without a judge (by lawyers’ deed), for example, may be difficult to have recognised outside Europe.
How we help
Legal Field Avocats in Dakar reviews your situation, chooses the court and the procedure with you, represents you before the court and prepares the recognition of the judgment abroad. In France, FB AVOCAT, our correspondent law firm, acts before the French courts.
Expatriate in Senegal and separating? Call us on +221 33 844 29 16.
Sources: Senegalese Family Code, articles 843, 853 and 854; Regulation (EU) 2019/1111, article 3.
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LEGAL FIELD AVOCATS
14 rue Woro Fila, Fann Hock, Dakar, Senegal
Phone: +221 33 844 29 16
Email: contact@fbavocat-sn.com
Our correspondent law firm in France:
FB AVOCAT
11 rue Galin, 33100 Bordeaux, France
Phone: +33 9 85 40 18 64
Email: contact@legalfb-avocat.fr