Key facts of the case - The husband is a Jewish Moroccan national and the wife a Catholic French national. They married in Morocco and then moved to France. After their divorce, the husband argues that their matrimonial regime is the regime of separation as to property. To grant the husband’s application, the court of appeal of Aix-en-Provence refers to Moroccan law which designates the personal statute of the husband, that is Hebrew law in the case at hand.

Main reasoning of the court - The court of cassation upholds the ruling of the court of appeal of Aix-en-Provence. Indeed, given that without designation of the applicable law by the spouses, they are presumed to intend to submit their marital regime to the law of the State where they established their first habitual residence after marriage. In the case at hand, both spouses used to work in Morocco just after their marriage. It follows that the Moroccan law applies to their matrimonial regime.

See the decision: 1991-12-03 - Court of cassation, Siboni, n. 89-21.898.