According to the general principles of state and international law, judgments and comparable acts of state have, in principle, direct legal effects only in the territory of the state in which they were issued. Each state is free to decide whether and, if so, under what conditions it recognises foreign sovereign acts, insofar as it is not bound by international treaties.
Foreign judgments by which a marriage has been annulled, annulled, divorced by virtue of or with the maintenance of the marriage bond or by which the existence or non-existence of a marriage between the parties has been established shall be subject to recognition. Foreign divorce decrees are particularly affected, but also comparable decisions by (e.g. Russian) administrative authorities or so-called private divorces before religious courts such as the Arab Sharia courts or the rabbinical courts in Israel, as well as divorce declarations before a Thai registry office.
A formal recognition procedure is not required if a body of the state to which both spouses belonged exclusively (i.e. no dual nationality) at the time of the decision was involved in the foreign decision (so-called home state decision).
A formal recognition procedure is not to be carried out for judgments in matrimonial matters from Member States of the European Union, with the exception of Denmark, if the procedure was initiated after 1 March 2001 or after the accession of the Member State at a later date.
The decision is made only on request. In addition to the spouses concerned, any person who can credibly demonstrate a legal interest in clarifying the status issue (e.g. fiancée, later spouses or heirs) is eligible to apply. The pension insurance institutions also have their own right to apply. Recognition is granted upon application. Only when this has been complied with by decision does the foreign decision also have effect for the German legal field.
The recognition as well as the non-recognition determination of the State Administration of Justice is binding on all courts and authorities in Germany, § 107 para. 9 FamFG. With recognition of the foreign divorce, the marriage is also considered dissolved for the German legal area retroactively to the date of the foreign divorce. The decision according to § 107 FamFG extends exclusively to the pronouncement of divorce (change of status from "married" to "divorced"). Any provisions made in the foreign decision on divorce matters (e.g. provisions on maintenance, custody and pension equalisation) are not affected.