About jurisdiction: letter to French court

I represent the interests of Mr. Shon in his divorce case in St. Petersburg.

Having received a Power of Attorney rights from Mr. Shon, I filed the court documents in the case seeking a divorce with the district court of city of St. Petersburg. The hearings in the case were scheduled on ______________, on _______________, and on ___________________. The hearings have been postponed several times due to the Mrs. Vasilieva’s claims that a similar divorce case is being heard in France. According to her, such a similar case is being handled by you.

However, an appropriate document proving such claims has not been presented in the court. From the legal stand point it would be reasonable to believe that the case can’t be handled by your court since it would be a violation of rules of judgment and be against the norms of international law. However, if it is indeed true that the case is being considered by your court, such fact would be the result of Vasilieva’s deceitful behavior:

1. Neither Mr. Shon nor Mrs. Vasilieva have permanent residency in France: Mr. Shon permanently lives in the USA, and Mrs. Kisseleva permanently lives in Russia.

2. Neither Mr. Shon nor Mrs. Vasilieva have French citizenship, and they never had it before.

3. The parties did not marry in France – they married in Finland.

The presence of property in France can be a ground for a case regarding division of that property. However Mrs. Vasilieva has not presented any claims in regards to property. There are no grounds in my view to seek the divorce and alimony payments due to the reasons listed above. As a lawyer, I believe that Mrs. Vasilieva’s references to the French law can no be accepted since neither Mr. Shon nor Mrs. Vasilieva can under no circumstances be under jurisdiction of the French Republic.

In my opinion, the case can’t be heard in France under any circumstance. Otherwise it would be a violation of rules of judgment and the norms of international law.

Based on the presented information, I am asking the respectful court to refuse Mrs. Vasilieva in considering her demands to dissolve the marriage and receive alimony payments.