Moroccan divorce judgment, recognition and res judicata. Commentary on the Order of the Barcelona Provincial Court of July 1, 2020

Abstract

The object of this study is to analyze the Order of the Provincial Court of Barcelona of July 1, 2019 that resolves on a recurring question in Private International Law: the relationship between foreign judicial decisions and the institution of res judicata in the Spanish legal system. A Spanish court of first instance filed a divorce claim filed by one of the spouses on understanding that the exception of res judicata was present, as there was a prior divorce judgment by the Court of Appeal of Tangier (Morocco). In its order of July 1, 2019, the Provincial Court of Barcelona rightly revokes the court decision of first instance considering that there is no res judicata since the Moroccan judgment has not gained its prior recognition in Spain through the normative instruments of Private International Law in force for Spain.