header-logo header-logo

Home Login E-newsletter About us
08 December 2023 / Harriet Errington
Issue: 8052 / Categories: Features , Family , Divorce
printer mail-detail

London courts: a home from home?

© Copyright LexisNexis 2026. All Rights Reserved.
150649
Divorce in the Supreme Court—Harriet Errington highlights the power of Pt III applications
  • The wide-ranging powers of the English court to intervene following foreign divorce proceedings.

The long-running case of Potanina v Potanin [2021] EWCA Civ 702, [2021] All ER (D) 47 (Jun) has recently been heard by the Supreme Court, on the issue of whether the wife should be granted permission to apply for financial relief in England following an overseas divorce. This case has once more brought into focus the wide-ranging powers of the English court to intervene following foreign divorce proceedings.

Part III of the Matrimonial and Family Proceedings Act 1984 enables family courts in England and Wales to make orders for financial provision after a divorce has already been obtained in another jurisdiction, if insufficient provision (or indeed no provision at all) has been made to the financially weaker spouse overseas. The legislation was intended to protect vulnerable parties to a divorce who had strong connections to England, in circumstances where the other party

If you are not a subscriber, subscribe now to read this content
If you are already a subscriber sign in
...or Register for two weeks' free access to subscriber content

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Read All
Sponsored by
London Solicitors Litigation Association—John McElroy

London Solicitors Litigation Association—John McElroy

Fieldfisher partner appointed president as LSLA marks milestone year

Kingsley Napley—Kirsty Churm & Olivia Stiles

Kingsley Napley—Kirsty Churm & Olivia Stiles

Firm promotes two lawyers to partnership across employment and family

Foot Anstey—five promotions

Foot Anstey—five promotions

Firm promotes five lawyers to partnership across key growth areas

NEWS
Read All
NLJ this week: Divorce ‘nuclear weapon’ freezes assets but entangles outsiders
Freezing orders in divorce proceedings can unexpectedly ensnare third parties and disrupt businesses. In NLJ this week, Lucy James of Trowers & Hamlins explains how these orders—dubbed a ‘nuclear weapon’—preserve assets but can extend far beyond spouses to companies and business partners 
NLJ this week: What counts as ‘rent’? Court says labour alone won’t do
A Court of Appeal ruling has clarified that ‘rent’ must be monetary—excluding tenants paid in labour from statutory protection. In this week's NLJ, James Naylor explains Garraway v Phillips, where a tenant worked two days a week instead of paying rent
Your magistrates’ court needs you!
Thousands more magistrates are to be recruited, under a major shake-up to speed up and expand the hiring process
NLJ this week: Freed but failed—justice system leaves the innocent empty-handed
Three men wrongly imprisoned for a combined 77 years have been released—yet received ‘not a penny’ in compensation, exposing deep flaws in the justice system. Writing in NLJ this week, Dr Jon Robins reports on Justin Plummer, Oliver Campbell and Peter Sullivan, whose convictions collapsed amid discredited forensics, ‘oppressive’ police interviews and unreliable ‘cell confessions’
NLJ this week: Clarity on whistleblowing, settlements and tribunal limits
A quiet month for employment cases still delivers key legal clarifications. In his latest Employment Law Brief for NLJ, Ian Smith reports that whistleblowing protection remains intact even where disclosures are partly self-serving, provided the worker reasonably believes they serve the ‘public interest’ 
Copyright © 2026 LexisNexis
back-to-top-scroll