Cross-Border Divorce Regime in Bangladesh

Divorce Procedure for Non-resident Bangladeshi Muslims

For applicants of Talaq or divorce who are living outside Bangladesh, the procedure for divorce
is similar. They can pronounce Talaq in the country they are living in and sign the divorce notice
and post it to the spouse and relevant local government institutions. For the registration in the
office of a Muslim Marriage and Divorce Registrar, a power of attorney has to be executed by
the applicant of divorce in favour of any relative staying in Bangladesh. The Power of Attorney
Act 2012 and the Power of Attorney Rules 2015 specified the required procedure for executing a
power of attorney outside Bangladesh, which is to be used

•inside Bangladesh. While it is not mentioned in the statutes related to divorce or power of
attorney that an applicant of divorce can register a divorce in Bangladesh through a duly
appointed attorney by executing a POA from outside Bangladesh, it has not been explicitly
prohibited or barred. The implementation of POA executed abroad is a protracted process
involving the notarisation in the native country, attestation by Bangladesh Embassy or High
Commission, re-attestation of Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Dhaka Bangladesh, stamping of
special Revenue stamp by the Government Treasury Office.

•POA is, however, not required if the applicant for divorce would wish to travel to Bangladesh
to serve the divorce notice. It is not necessary for the applicant to be present in Bangladesh for
the subsequent 3 months statutory waiting period. While there is no legislation or judicial
opinion on divorce executed through a POA, it is accepted by Muslim Marriage and Divorce
Registrars. Where the spouses are either living or domiciled outside Bangladesh, the divorce
notice is to be served at the last known address of the spouse or the parental home of the spouse.
Such address could also be the address outside Bangladesh, where the spouse was living at the
time of the notice.

•There are very few reported case law references regarding cross-border divorce in
Bangladesh. The rule regarding choice of the law that governed the divorce of non-resident
Bangladeshis stated that the personal law of the husband would determine the applicable law. In
an old case Emperor v Maha Ram, involving the marriage of a Bangladeshi Muslim male to a
Christian female solemnised according to Muslim rituals celebrated in Muslim form, the Court
held that the applicable law with regard to a divorce application would be the lex loci
celebrationis and the personal law of the husband, for the marriage as well for the dissolution of
the marriage.

•There has been an increasing incidence of non-residents Bangladeshis opting to file divorce
proceedings in their country of residence in foreign jurisdictions. Such divorce proceedings
could result in a formal divorce decree or ancillary relief relating to transfer of properties in
Bangladesh from one spouse to another, sale of property and distribution of sales proceeds etc.
Under Bangladeshi Law, the provisions of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 govern execution
of decrees, foreign as well as domestic. •Under the Code there are two ways of enforcing a
foreign judgment.

1. Through an execution petition u/s 44A •According to section 44A of the CPC, judgments
of foreign courts can directly be executed in Bangladesh, where the judgment has been
pronounced by a court in a country with which Bangladesh has a reciprocal agreement.
The section provides that decrees of any of the Superior Courts of any reciprocating
territory are executed as a decree passed by the domestic Court.

2. Enforcement through a suit application •Currently Bangladesh does not have a

reciprocal agreement with any country. Therefore, in case the decree does not pertain to a
reciprocating territory or a Superior Court of a reciprocating territory as notified by the
Government in the Official Gazette, the decree is not directly executable in Bangladesh.
In that case a fresh suit will have to be filed on the basis of such a decree. In the fresh
suit, the said decree will be treated as another piece of evidence against the defendant