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26 March 2010 / Gary Yan
Issue: 7410 / Categories: Features , Family
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Jockeying for position

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Gary Yan considers Agbaje’s influence on the jurisdictional race

English divorce lawyers are familiar with the phrase “jurisdictional race”, ie securing the jurisdiction which is most favourable to one’s client in a divorce. In a lot of cases, this means a rush to secure the jurisdiction of the English Court in a divorce, given its reputation for being a particularly generous jurisdiction for wives. However, what happens when after a divorce overseas (particularly where there has been a jurisdictional race), a spouse feels that the overseas court has not made any, or has made inadequate, financial provision for them? 

Part III of the Matrimonial and Family Proceedings Act 1994 (MFPA 1994)
Part III of MFPA 1994 might be the answer. It was enacted to give the English Court the power to grant financial relief after a marriage had been dissolved or annulled overseas.

On 10 March 2010, the UK Supreme Court handed down its judgment in the case of Agbaje v Akinnoye-Agbaje [2010] UKSC 13 (Agbaje).
It was a significant judgment not only because it

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