Key facts of the case - The husband is Franco-Moroccan and her wife is a Moroccan national and both live in France.
The husband had lodged an appeal with the court of Agadir (Morocco) to divorce. The court granted the divorce in May 2005 and its decision was transcribed in the French register of births, marriages and deaths in June 2008. The wife’s claim aims at having this transcription cancelled.
She argues that this divorce consists in a unilateral repudiation and is accordingly against the international ordre public and could not be transcribed in this register.

Main reasoning of the court - The Court of cassation overturns her appeal. It holds that on the one hand, both spouses being Moroccan nationals, and pursuant to the Franco-Moroccan convention of August 10th, 1981, the husband was entitled to apply for divorce before a Moroccan Court. On the other hand, the divorce was a divorce for discord under article 97 of the Moroccan civil code and the spouses had been living separately for three years. The Agadir Court judgment did not recognize a unilateral repudiation and could then be transcript in the register of births, marriages and deaths.

See the decision: 2011-02-23 - Court of cassation, n. 10-14.760.