Recognition of DivorceJudgments
Homologation in Ecuador is the recognition of a foreign judgment. It is the validation in Ecuador of a sentence issued outside the country. It is the nationalization of a foreign judgment.
Example: A sentence issued by judges in the United States, Spain, Italy, etc., and which must be recognized and executed by the Ecuadorian State, must first be homologated or what is equivalent to say recognized by the Judicial Function. Only in this way will the judgment have extraterritorial effect.
It is not admissible in International Law for a foreign judgment to produce its legal effects directly in another country, it is necessary to comply with the homologation process.
The first thing that must be done with the foreign judgment is to legalize it through the apostille, in order for it to have full legal effects in Ecuador.
This is the first step that must be taken, not only with court rulings, but with all public or private documents or instruments that are intended to be enforced extraterritorially in another State, Nation or Country.
Documents executed in foreign territory must be authenticated in accordance with the Hague Apostille Convention.
These issues, at present, are very important given the enormous migration of Ecuadorians abroad, there are real communities of Ecuadorians in Spain, Italy and the United States, who within their coexistence in foreign countries get married, get divorced, procreate children, as well as die.
The most common cases are divorces performed in foreign countries such as the United States and others. In such cases, whoever intends to enforce such divorce in Ecuador, must necessarily validate it or what is equivalent to say: homologate it. The homologation proceeds as long as all the requirements of legality are met and it is not contrary to Ecuadorian public law.
Ecuador has the power to recognize or not a divorce or remarriage of persons divorced abroad, in accordance with the Sánchez de Bustamante Code of Private International Law.
Finally, the evidentiary effects of a judgment have no effect in the Ecuadorian legal system if it is not previously homologated.
Several international conventions, treaties and the Code of Private International Law are applied in the homologation of foreign judgments in Ecuador.
It must be a highly qualified and experienced professional who sponsors the homologation of a foreign judgment in Ecuador.
In short, the homologation must comply with supranational, constitutional and legal requirements in order to be validated in Ecuador or any other country.
If you have any doubts or if your case is special, please write to us, and you will have at your disposal a team of proven professionals with experience in all areas of Family Law, together with a staff of attorneys that offers a service that distinguishes itself from what is commonly offered by other lawyers, notaries or non-professionals.
We have more than 30 years in Ecuador homologating judgments and more than 25 years in the tri-state area of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, serving the Ecuadorian and Latino community in general.