The Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Filiation Judgments in Arab Countries

Abstract

The purpose of this chapter is to provide a general overview of the recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments in matters relating to filiation. ‘Filiation’ is understood here in a broad sense. It covers in-wedlock, out-of-wedlock and adoptive filiations. The chapter reviews a number of cases relating to the recognition and enforcement of foreign filiation judgments reported in certain Arab countries, namely, Morocco, Tunisia and Lebanon. It discusses the likelihood of the reception of foreign filiation judgments in other Arab countries based on the general treatment of the matter in legal literature. The issue is also analysed in its general context of cross-border family dispute resolution in order to gain insight on the fate of foreign filiation judgments in Arab countries. The analysis reveals the existence of two opposing approaches to this issue. The first approach can be characterized as conservative as it remains faithful to the traditional domestic rules and religious values. It tends to be followed when foreign judgments are rendered in countries where the legal system is assumed to be fundamentally different from the national legal system. To this effect, it relies significantly on the public policy mechanism of PIL. The second approach relies more on a case-by-case approach that aims to accommodate family law regulation to modern needs.