Reading: The English courts have discretion to refuse recognition of a foreign divorce, whether or not it was obtained in proceedings. Thus, for example, the court may refuse to recognise a foreign divorce granted in proceedings where a party was not given notice of the proceedings, or not given an opportunity to take part in them, or recognition would be manifestly contrary to public policy (s.52). In Eroglu v. Eroglu [1994], a wife who wished to divorce in England argued that her Turkish divorce should not be recognised in England and Wales on the ground of public policy since it had been obtained by fraud (they had divorced in Turkey so that her husband could avoid Turkish national service). However, the English court held that the Turkish divorce was valid and dismissed the English petition.
Some divorces are 'transnational' - they take place in two different countries. The Jewish get and the Muslim talaq are examples. The English courts have refused to recognise transnational divorces even though this creates a 'limping marriage' (a marriage which is recognised as valid in one country but not in another). Thus, in R v. Secretary of State for the Home Department ex parte Ghulum Fatima [1986] the House of Lords refused to recognise a Muslim talaq (a unilateral foreign divorce pronounced by a husband which does not require the wife's consent).