Private law proceedings in general and family law proceedings in particular can have significant levels of technical difficulty that can only be resolved by specialised lawyers.
The first difficulty that arises in international family proceedings is related to international jurisdiction.
This matter is regulated by rules of a very different legal nature such as European Union regulations, international conventions or domestic rules. Depending on the specific subject matter and other elements such as the residence or nationality of the parties, the location of the assets, etc., different rules apply. The purpose of this very special law is to indicate the correct place to bring the action.
The second major question that we specialist lawyers are obliged to address in international law proceedings in general, and international family law proceedings in particular, is the law applicable to the case in dispute. In international law situations, different laws come into play, such as the law of the nationality of the parties, the law of their residence, the law of the location of the assets. The rules of conflict will indicate which of all the legal systems involved is the applicable one.
In these international law proceedings, issues of enormous complexity may arise; for example, it may be the case that two lawsuits are brought before courts of different countries. In such cases, special rules governing international lis pendens will have to be applied.
International law proceedings can become very complicated if the parties raise issues of incompetence or if the judge declares himself incompetent ex officio.
The effectiveness of Spanish judgments abroad or of foreign judgments in Spain is another issue of relevant technical complexity that requires a great deal of specialisation and specific knowledge of the matter.
