Judgment of the Court (Grand Chamber) of 15 November 2022 (request for a preliminary ruling from the Bundesgerichtshof – Germany) – Senatsverwaltung für Inneres und Sport, Standesamtsaufsicht v TB

(Case C-646/20) ¹

(Reference for a preliminary ruling – Judicial cooperation in civil matters – Jurisdiction and the recognition and enforcement of decisions in matrimonial matters and the matters of parental responsibility – Divorce – Regulation (EC) No 2201/2003 – Article 2(4) and Article 21 – Concept of ‘judgment’ – Recognition, in a Member State, of the dissolution of a marriage agreed in an agreement between spouses and pronounced by a civil registrar of another Member State – Criterion for determining the existence of a ‘judgment’)

Language of the case: German

Referring court

Bundesgerichtshof

Parties to the main proceedings

Applicant: Senatsverwaltung für Inneres und Sport, Standesamtsaufsicht

Defendant: TB

Intervening parties: Standesamt Mitte von Berlin, RD

Operative part of the judgment

Article 2(4) of Council Regulation (EC) No 2201/2003 of 27 November 2003 concerning jurisdiction and the recognition and enforcement of judgments in matrimonial matters and the matters of parental responsibility, repealing Regulation (EC) No 1347/2000,

must be interpreted, in particular for the purpose of the application of Article 21(1) of that regulation, as meaning that a divorce decree drawn up by a civil registrar of the Member State of origin, containing a divorce agreement concluded by the spouses and confirmed by them before that registrar in accordance with the conditions laid down by the legislation of that Member State, constitutes a ‘judgment’ within the meaning of Article 2(4).

____________

¹ OJ C 44, 8.2.2021.