The New EU Maintenance Regulation: A Different Outcome in Radmacher v Granatino?

Daniel Eames

Partner Clarke Willmott LLP

On 18 June 2011 a new EU Maintenance Regulation (Council Regulation (EC) No 4/2009) (‘the Regulation') will come into force. Until now the majority of practitioners will have avoided any detailed knowledge of Brussels I (Council Regulation (EC) No 44/2001) and/or the European Enforcement Order (Council Regulation (EC) No 805/2004). Until Radmacher (Formerly Granatino) v Granatino [2010] UKSC 42 [2010] 2 FLR 1900 we may even have questioned the relevance of a foreign prenuptial agreement when looking at the powers of the English Court to make financial orders on divorce. However while Radmacher has given considerably more weight to a foreign prenuptial agreement there was no discussion by the Supreme Court of the upcoming Regulation and on the limits this places on the English court's ability to make a maintenance order in the future for example:

(1)        The parties can agree in advance as to which court has jurisdiction to deal with maintenance (this is wider than just a periodical payments order see below). The courts which can be given jurisdiction by agreement is much wider than it was...

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