Key facts of the case - A Moroccan widow with Moroccan residence asked for a widow’s pension in Belgium after the death of her Moroccan husband who was living in Belgium with a Belgian wife, whose marriage was celebrated in Belgium earlier than that of the Moroccan wife.

Main reasoning of the court - Due to the Belgian international ordre public a polygamous marriage validly contracted abroad is deprived of any direct effects in Belgium when one spouse was at the time of the marriage, already bound in a not yet dissolved marriage with a person whose national law does not allow polygamy. The application of Article 24 § 2 of the Convention between Belgium and Morocco on 24 June 1968 is therefore rejected.