The High Court recognised a Libyan divorce between a doctor and her husband, then ordered financial relief under Ireland’s post-foreign-divorce laws, including monthly payments, property and pension transfers, and a €75,000 lump sum.
In a judgment delivered on 25 January 2017, Ms Justice Bronagh O’Hanlon held that the Libyan court had granted the divorce in proceedings and that one or both spouses retained a Libyan domicile. She declared the divorce valid and entitled to recognition in Ireland. The court rejected the applicant’s request to have it treated as invalid, while finding that she had suffered a lack of autonomy and could not prevent the Libyan proceedings from going ahead.
The couple, identified in the judgment as M.Y. and A.A., married in Libya in 1996 and moved to Ireland in 1998. They have five children. Three younger children live with their mother in Ireland; the two older children attend school or university in England, with the respondent paying their education costs. The parties had separated by 2009.
The applicant said she faced pressure and threats in Libya and that she did not freely agree to the divorce arrangements. The respondent denied coercion and said she had legal representation and an opportunity to challenge the Libyan court’s jurisdiction. The Irish court concluded that the divorce should nevertheless be recognised, because the available Irish relief process could address any resulting injustice.
The High Court found that the applicant had been the children’s main caregiver and had made career sacrifices. It also found that the respondent had not fully disclosed his income and had concealed the sale proceeds from a London apartment. The court placed his net monthly income at about €13,720 and the applicant’s at about €3,500, including child allowance.
As relief, the court ordered €1,700 a month for the applicant’s maintenance for up to five years, or until she obtained a consultant post, whichever came first. It ordered a further €2,100 a month for the three younger children, subject to the stated conditions concerning their minority and education, as well as private healthcare and school and college fees for them.
The respondent was ordered to pay a €75,000 lump sum. The court also made his consent to transfer his interest in the Libyan family home to the applicant a rule of court, and ordered transfer of one personal pension plan at a stated transfer value of €172,872.30. The judgment describes the lump sum as payable within six months in one passage and within eight months in its final conclusions.