Hamish Dunlop writes for Family Law about Part III of the Matrimonial and Family Proceedings Act 1984 (MFPA)

20th September 2024

3PB Barrister’s Hamish DunlopHamish DunlopCall: 1991 writes for Family Law Week about Financial remedy after a foreign divorce: Is Part III MFPA still true to its purpose? (familylaw.co.uk)

Part III of the Matrimonial and Family Proceedings Act 1984 (MFPA) was enacted just over 40 years ago. The legislation empowered English Courts to provide financial relief to parties who had a substantial connection with England & Wales but had divorced abroad.

Its clear and admirable intention was to alleviate financial hardship in appropriate cases; that limited purpose being clear from the early authorities.

Since then, the Courts have faced repeated attempts to extend that purpose. Applicants have instead applied under Part III in a thinly veiled attempt to obtain a more generous financial outcome than that offered by their foreign divorce court. Often their links with England are limited and recent. The milestone authorities have tended to concern the international super-rich; lending support to the criticism that Part III of the MFPA has abandoned its admirable intention.

This article looks at the developing case law and asks whether that criticism is justified.

To instruct Hamish please contact Rob Leonard on [email protected] or telephone 01202 292 102