AI v MT [2013] EWHC 100 (Fam)
Family Division, Baker J, 30 January 2013
The High Court has approved a consent order based on a Beth Din procedure in divorce proceedings.
Henry Setright QC and Edward Devereux (instructed by Dawson Cornwell) for the applicant. Marcus Scott-Manderson QC and Teertha Gupta QC (instructed by Manches LLP) for the respondent.
Both parties to a divorce proceeding were observant orthodox Jews. The father was Canadian and the mother was British. They married in London in August 2006 in a Jewish religious ceremony, followed by a civil ceremony in Toronto in October 2006. There were two children. Tensions arose and the mother applied for a prohibitive steps order against the father, to stop him removing one of the children from her care. After negotiations, the parties agreed to consider alternative dispute resolution by means of a Beth Din hearing in New York. They signed an agreement providing for all disputes arising out of the marriage to be determined by the Beth Din. The judge indicated
