ARGENTINA Law and Practice Contributed by: Herberto Robinson, McEWAN
from it cease as of the same day. If bad faith is proven in one of the spouses, they will be obligated to com ‑ pensate the other for all damage caused. Separation of Assets Under the CCC, there is no judicial process under which spouses can obtain a separation sentence other than liquidation of marital assets. Separation of assets refers to a resolution by which the communal marital assets are divided between the spouses, who continue to be married under a different marital asset system (the separated patrimony system). However, a process of judicial separation of marital assets may be filed in case spouses intend to extin ‑ guish the marital assets and for some reason (ie, reli ‑ gious) they do not want to file for divorce. The judicial separation of assets may be requested by one of the spouses: • if the other spouse’s mismanagement threatens to cause the loss of their eventual rights over the community property; • if the other spouse is declared in a state of preven ‑ tive insolvency or bankruptcy; • if the spouses are living apart without the intention to reunite; or • if, due to incapacity or excuse of one spouse, a third party is appointed as the curator of the other. 1.2 Choice of Jurisdiction in Divorce Proceedings The law of the last marital domicile determines the applicable law and court jurisdiction in divorce cases and all matters concerning marriage nullity. Argentina adopted a federal system of government in which each of the 23 provinces (and the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires) has its own procedural law. Thus, the applicable law is always the CCC, and the court with jurisdiction is the provincial court where the last marriage residence was settled. The same grounds apply to same-sex marriages. A party to a divorce may contest jurisdiction if the last marriage domicile is not in Argentina. Marriage dissolution procedures are governed by the spouses’ last marital residence law. However, if
the last marital residence was in a foreign country, the parties may file for divorce in that country and then register the resolution at the local register. An Argentine judge’s intervention is needed to receive all foreign-certified divorce documents. Foreign divorces are recognised when the sentence is issued according to the last marital domicile princi ‑ ple. Therefore, if the last marital residence is located in a different jurisdiction, spouses must register the divorce resolution before the Argentine Civil Registry with the intervention of an Argentine judge who will have received all certified divorce documents filed by the interested party. Notably, if there are proceedings in another jurisdic ‑ tion, the proceedings filed in Argentina can be stayed until the jurisdictional dispute has been resolved. The CCC incorporates the international legal principle of avoiding contradictory rulings over the same matter passed by different courts. It is important to mention that the court’s role in divorce proceedings is limited to supervising that rules of public order ( normas de orden público ) have not been infringed and to ensure, upon petition, a fair res ‑ olution of the unresolved effects of the divorce (either patrimonial or not). Having said that, upon petition, financial orders to enforce child support and financial orders to liquidate and distribute marital assets can both be made on divorce. The choice of divorce orders and how to obtain them from the courts are ruled in the CCC and in each prov ‑ ince’s Civil and Commercial Procedure Codes. The divorce decree shall rule regarding the com ‑ munication regime when minors are involved (under 18 years old) and the attribution of the family home (according to the rules established in the CCC). If petitioned, the court will only order temporary and exceptional spousal maintenance or compensation obligations. 2. Financial Proceedings 2.1 Choice of Jurisdiction in Financial Proceedings
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