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June 4, 2002
The Iranian
Send us your questions
and comments
* Divorce: Legal consequences
In the case of a couple who got
married in Iran and immigrated to US, I wonder if you could reply to me
if the divorce happens in the US, what will be the divorce consequences in Iran?
Do they have to go through the two different processes of divorce in US and Iran?
Or one of them may help the other one?
Regards,
K
 Reply
Abjee Fotti and Abjee Pari write:
Dear K,
While the abjeez are not Iranian legal experts, it seems to us that the fundamental
difficulty regarding recognition of marriage/divorce between Iran and foreign countries
is that the law in Iran is steeped in religion that is, the law of the Koran as interpreted
by Iranian clerics. On the other hand, in a country like the U.S. for example, a
civil marriage is just a secular union recognized by the government and usually a
separate religious ceremony is performed but one has nothing to do with each other.
For example, if two catholics marry in the U.S., they could LEGALLY obtain a divorce
whereas they could not obtain a RELIGIOUS divorce unless the Pope gave his consent
to annulment. But in Iran a couple may not be considered divorced unless they are
granted a divorce under the religious law.
So, marriages between citizens of Iran and non-Islamic nations may encounter problems
as the couple attempts to have one government recognize the marriage and/or divorce
granted by the other.
A marriage and/or divorce legal in one country but not recognized in another is referred
to as a "limping marriage/divorce".
Among marital conditions acceptable under Islamic law but which result in a "limping
marriage" in some non-Islamic states are polygamy, "temporary marriages",
and several others. Conditions which might cause a marriage performed in a non-Islamic
state to not be recognized in an Islamic state include the woman not obtaining her
father's permission to marry and a Muslim woman marrying a non-Muslim. Similarly,
a divorce performed outside Iran is under the possibility of not being recognized
in Iran if it did not follow whatever Islamic edicts are required by an Iranian cleric.
While several European countries have reached compromises with Islamic nations which
allow a more tolerant recognition of marriages and/or divorces, the U.S. has been
reluctant to do so.
We suggest that you contact an expert on Iranian family law or research the issue
on your own in your local law library (which might have an extensive collection on
foreign law). For example, there is a useful recent article by Kristen Z. Cherry
in Volume 9 of the TULSA Journal of Comparative and international law (2001),
page 319 entitled MARRIAGE AND DIVORCE LAW IN PAKISTAN AND IRAN: THE PROBLEM OF
RECOGNITION" which might be useful in answering your questions.
Take care and come back for a shirnee and chayee with your abjeez real soon.
Ghorbanetoon,
Abjee Pari and Abjee Fotti
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