The government's decision to opt out of EU proposals intended to bring greater certainty to cross-border divorce cases has been criticised as a 'missed opportunity' by leading family lawyers.

The legislation, known as Rome III, would enable couples to choose which EU country dealt with their divorce proceedings and which law governed the action.


James Copson, a partner at leading family law firm Withers, said: 'This is a missed opportunity to improve the law for many foreign couples who live in Britain. There is no reason why, with adequate safeguards, couples should not be able to choose where their divorce takes place and what law is applied.'


Supporters of the proposals said the plans could also have helped to stop divorce 'forum shopping' in the EU.



The Law Society's representation arm expressed disappointment. Chief executive Desmond Hudson said: 'The divorce courts in multi-cultural Britain should be sophisticated enough to offer choice to its own citizens and people from other European countries.'


However, Andrea Woelke, chairman of Resolution's international committee, welcomed the decision. 'To say people can choose to have a hearing in one country and apply another country's law is flawed,' he said. 'The EU should have looked at which country the couple has the closest connection to and apply the law of that jurisdiction.'


A spokeswoman for the Department for Constitutional Affairs said opting out would present difficulties of principle and practice in applying foreign law from other jurisdictions.