Andrzej Bojarski KC and Hannah Jones of 36 Family successfully represented the respondent wife in the Court of Appeal decision of Ferrara v Ferrara [2026] EWCA Civ 512 instructed by Melissa Lesson, David Hickmott and Ciara Moore of Mills and Reeve.
The Court agreed with their arguments that the first instance High Court Judge correctly determined that Mrs Ferrrara should be permitted to proceed with her divorce and financial remedy proceedings in England notwithstanding the fact that the whole family had ceased to live in England in 2019.
The case provided a rare opportunity for the Court of Appeal to grapple with issues of domicile and forum non conveniens in a financial remedies context. In particular the Court of Appeal accepted the arguments made by Andrzej and Hannah that the fact that a marital agreement would be given full force in another jurisdiction but limited or no weight in England could be a critical factor in the court deeming England to be the more appropriate forum for the proceedings, as was the prospect of any order made in another jurisdiction being subject to a second round of litigation in England pursuant to Part III of the Matrimonial and Family Proceedings Act 1984. The judgment also raises an interesting and important debate, albeit not critical to the decision in this particular case, as to whether English family law correctly applies the forum non conveniens principles, there being a marked difference between the way such issues are dealt with by the commercial courts compared to the Family Court.
The judgment can be viewed here.
The comprehensive judgment handed down in this landmark case is likely to become a ‘go-to’ for any practitioner seeking guidance or clarity in this area of international family law.
Further information
For more information from the family team, contact clerks@36family.co.uk
