Can You Relitigate a Foreign Divorce?
No, generally, you are prohibited
from relitigating a foreign divorce case here in Georgia because the courts in
Georgia will generally recognize divorce decrees from outside the U.S., just as
the courts here would recognize a divorce decree, from, for example, Alaska or
New York.
What is Res Judicata?
Res judicata generally bars relitigation of the issues
between the same parties that were brought up in the prior litigation or that could
have been brought up in the prior litigation. Simply put, res judicata
prevents litigants from getting a second bite at the same apple. See
generally O.C.G.A. § 9-12-40. For example, if you were divorced in California
and were not happy with the results of your divorce in California, you cannot
refile a divorce lawsuit in Georgia to try the case again.
Does Res Judicata Apply to Divorce Decrees from Abroad?
If there is no international treaty between the U.S. and a
foreign state, then the courts in the U.S. cannot be compelled to recognize
final judgments from other countries. Nonetheless, the courts in the U.S. tend
to recognize foreign judgments as a matter of courtesy. In re Arbitration Between Int'l Bechtel
Co., Ltd. & Dep't of Civil Aviation of Gov't of Dubai, 300 F. Supp. 2d
112, 118 (D.D.C. 2004); see also O.C.G.A. § 19-9-44 ("Except as otherwise
provided …., a child custody determination made in a foreign country under
factual circumstances in substantial conformity with the jurisdictional
standards of this article must be recognized and enforced…. A court of this state
need not apply this article if the child custody law of a foreign country
violates fundamental principles of human rights."); but see Enforcement
of International Foreign Judgments, Is that Even a Thing? Journal of the
American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers, Vol. 33, 2021 ("It is important in the
discussion of enforcement of foreign judgments to recognize that while the
United States is a signatory to multiple Hague conventions that can be utilized
in the effective management of a family law case, like the Hague Service Convention
and the Hague Convention on International Child Abduction, the United States is
not a signatory to the 1970 Hague Convention on the Recognition of Divorces and
Legal Separations.").
Therefore, if there is nothing to indicate that there was a violation
of the rights and values that the courts here in the U.S. deem fundamental in
the process of obtaining the foreign divorce decree, such as due process and
the right to a fair trial, then the courts in the U.S. will recognize the
foreign divorce decree, which in turn means that res judicata will apply
and the foreign divorce decree will stand valid. Further, Georgia law provides
ways to prove the genuineness of a foreign divorce decree (the document
itself). See generally O.C.G.A. § 24-9-902.
If you were divorced abroad and are involved in or
contemplating a post-judgment litigation here in Georgia regarding the foreign
divorce decree, it may be helpful to seek advice from a Georgia Divorce Lawyer
or Atlanta Divorce Lawyer.