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EU laws do not cover Sharia divorce, holds ECJ

The European Court of Justice has held that the question of whether ‘private divorces’ under the Sharia law should be recognised has to be decided by each member state of the EU. In this case, the husband had divorced his wife under sharia in Syria before moving to Germany. The question of whether this divorce can be recognised under German law was referred to the ECJ. The ECJ held that Rome III Regulations, also known as the EU divorce law pact, do not by themselves apply to recognition of a divorce decision in a country not part of the EU.

Soha Sahyouni v. Raja Mamisch (C‑372/16)