SPAIN Law and Practice Contributed by: Amparo Arbáizar, Arbáizar Abogados
1.2 Choice of Jurisdiction Spain is a party to Council Regulation (EU) No 2019/1111 of 25 June 2019 on the jurisdiction, the recognition and enforcement of decisions in matrimonial matters and the matters of parental responsibility, and on international child abduc - tion (recast). This Regulation currently rules the Spanish international private law concerning international jurisdiction on divorce, and the grounds of jurisdiction set out in Article 3 of the Regulation apply. The Spanish Law on Judicial Power was reformed in 2015 with regard to inter - national jurisdiction, and its Article 22 quáter (c) adopts the very same grounds for jurisdiction as Article 3 of the Regulation. Spain retains the residual jurisdiction on divorce when the following apply: • both parties are habitually resident in Spain at the time the proceedings are issued; • Spain was the last matrimonial habitual residence, and one of the spouses still lives there; • Spain is the respondent’s habitual residence; • in the case of uncontested divorce, when one of the spouses is habitually resident in Spain; • the petitioner is habitually resident in Spain at least one year before proceedings are issued; • the petitioner is Spanish and has been habitu - ally resident in Spain for at least six months before proceedings are issued; and • both spouses are of Spanish nationality. The same grounds apply to same-sex marriag - es. Civil partnership status is not regulated in the Spanish Civil Code or at a national level. Civil partners are not considered to be married, and therefore, they cannot apply for divorce. The main concept for determining jurisdiction is the habitual residence of the spouses. When
Judge ( Juzgado Decano ) of the Courts of First Instance within the judicial territory ( partido judi - cial ) where the document is to be served. This court office is competent for distributing the dif - ferent proceedings (including service of docu - ments) among the judicial authorities that fall under its jurisdiction. Although a different form of service is not pro - hibited in Spanish domestic law in principle, the Central Authority does not usually receive a special request by the applicant for service by a particular method. Between member states of the European Union, Regulation (EU) 2020/1784 of 25 November 2020 on the service in the member states of judicial and extrajudicial documents in civil or commer - cial matters (recast) is applicable. Religious marriages are recognised in Spain, as set out in Article 60 of the Civil Code. Catholic, Protestant, Jewish and Muslim marriages are recognised in Spain. Separation proceedings are treated like divorce proceedings, with the same effects, except the dissolution of the matrimonial bond. Nullity The grounds for nullity are different, and it is much more difficult to obtain an annulment than a divorce or separation. To obtain an annulment of the marriage, you have to prove the grounds of annulment of a contract, such as lack of free consent or goodwill or that the spouse entered into marriage because of fear, deceit, threats, etc. It is governed by Article 73 of the Civil Code. Other grounds for nullity are marriage with a minor, a close relative or polygamy.
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