Recognition of Russian Divorce in the United States

1. I, Karina Duvall, am a licensed attorney in Russia. My registration number is 78/857. I am furthermore registered as a legal consultant by the Appellate Division, 2nd Judicial Department of the Supreme Court of the State of New York Russia pursuant to Section 53(6) of the Judiciary Law of the State of New York, as limited by Part 521 of the Rules of the Court of Appeals, and in accordance with the rules of the Court. NYS registration is #4665086. I submit this affirmation as my expert’s opinion on the divorce of the Parties of this case.

2. I am specializing on multijurisdictional cases, and handle many divorces which involved citizens of Russia, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, and many other countries, former republics of the decayed USSR.

3. Kindly be assured that the “Decision in the name of the Russian Federation” between the Parties, which was made on November 2014 and became into force on December 2014, is the final divorce. It is not a Divorce Nisi, but a final, absolute divorce.

4. I have seen many American divorce decrees in my work. I am aware that a decree in America looks different from a decree in the Russian Federation. However, the divorce from the Russian Federation has the same effect as a Divorce Decree in the United States.

5. According to the Article 28 of Civil Procedural Code of the Russian Federation, any claims supposed to be filed to the court to which the defendant's place of residence belongs. The husband filed his divorce case in Russia, because his former wife is a resident of Moscow. She also was a resident of Moscow and citizen of the Russian Federation on the date of filing the divorce.

6. At the time of their divorce, both parties were Russian citizens: the Husband became US citizen 3 years later, on January 2018.

7. After having reviewed this case, I ascertained that Russian Court had jurisdiction over his matter because of these circumstances and because his Wife continuing to maintain a residence in Moscow, the Russian Federation. Russia has jurisdiction over their marriage and over all matters pertaining to their marriage. I established that Defendant appeared to the court and fully agreed with a divorce.

8. According to Russian Civil Procedural and Family Law, the Court considers legal actions arising from family relations and the marriage may be terminated due to divorce. The judge shall grant a divorce if the court finds that common life of spouses become impossible. Divorce order was made and came into legal force. Also, this divorce was registered with civil authority.

9. I affirm and give an official opinion that the divorce which was obtained in the Russian Federation is a final and valid decree. Nothing else is required. It is not a Divorce Nisi. This divorce is final and complete.

10. According to the principles of international law, no one can be deprived of the liberty to consider his or her case in the competent court and competent judge, to whose jurisdiction it is assigned by law. The same principles enshrined in Article 8 part 1 of the American Convention on Human Rights on November 22, 1969 (Right to a Fair Trail) which said that every person has the right to a hearing, with due guarantees and within a reasonable time, by a competent, independent, and impartial tribunal, previously established by law, in the substantiation for the determination of his rights and obligations of a civil or any other nature. Moreover, due to the doctrine of comity, if Russia recognizes a marriage and divorce in New York, then New York must recognize a divorce in Russia too.