A Maltese couple married in Malta but later acquired a domicile in France. When the husband died, he owned land in France. The widow filed a claim on the land in France. Under French private international law, this was considered an inheritance case governed by the law of the property's location. However, under Maltese private international law, it concerned matrimonial rights. The French court decided to apply Maltese matrimonial law instead of French law, recognizing the marriage was formed under Maltese law.
A Maltese couple married in Malta but later acquired a domicile in France. When the husband died, he owned land in France. The widow filed a claim on the land in France. Under French private international law, this was considered an inheritance case governed by the law of the property's location. However, under Maltese private international law, it concerned matrimonial rights. The French court decided to apply Maltese matrimonial law instead of French law, recognizing the marriage was formed under Maltese law.
A Maltese couple married in Malta but later acquired a domicile in France. When the husband died, he owned land in France. The widow filed a claim on the land in France. Under French private international law, this was considered an inheritance case governed by the law of the property's location. However, under Maltese private international law, it concerned matrimonial rights. The French court decided to apply Maltese matrimonial law instead of French law, recognizing the marriage was formed under Maltese law.
A Maltese couple married in Malta but later acquired a domicile in France. When the husband died, he owned land in France. The widow filed a claim on the land in France. Under French private international law, this was considered an inheritance case governed by the law of the property's location. However, under Maltese private international law, it concerned matrimonial rights. The French court decided to apply Maltese matrimonial law instead of French law, recognizing the marriage was formed under Maltese law.
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
Download as docx, pdf, or txt
You are on page 1of 1
Anton v.
Bartolo (Maltese Marriage Case)
(1891) CLUNET 1171 Facts a Maltese couple who married while being domiciled in Malta, acquired new domicile in France. Husband purchased land in France. After the death of the husband, the widow filled an action in France placing a claim on the land of her now deceased husband. There was no issue with determining the rules of the choice of law as the rules both in Maltese and French Private International Law were the same on this issue; law of the situs applied in cases of succession to immovables. Issues Whether this was a case about matrimonial rights or inheritance rights? Law Private International Law Maltese Matrimonial Law Analysis French Private International Law classified this as a case about inheritance in conflict with Maltese Private International Law, which saw this as a question on matrimonial rights. When we have a situation like this, depending on where the case is brought, the decision will be different as the court will apply lex fori. In this case, if the action was filled in France, it would fail, while if this was done in Malta, the widow would have won. Conclusion The French court, however, decided to apply Maltese matrimonial law and displayed judicial statesmanship.