Samenvatting

During a transnational divorce, spouses can get into contact with two different legal systems, each with its own procedures, courts and documents. This article focuses on transnational divorces between the Netherlands and Morocco. In these divorces Moroccan and Dutch family law interact in several ways. First of all, as determined by Dutch Private International Law, Moroccan family law can be applied in the Netherlands, by Dutch judges. Especially with regard to the division of property, the Dutch and Moroccan family law systems can produce significantly different outcomes. Moreover, a divorce from Morocco is not automatically valid in the Netherlands and vice versa. Using four examples of Dutch-Moroccan divorce cases the author shows how, in this complicated situation, spouses in transnational marriages make use of economic, social and cultural capital in both countries to obtain their divorce.