{ "attribution": { "source": "legal.exploreworldai.com", "canonical": "https://legal.exploreworldai.com/api/public/v1/judgment-text?id=eu:c-190-25", "cite_as": "NovaCopilot, legal.exploreworldai.com (https://legal.exploreworldai.com/api/public/v1/judgment-text?id=eu:c-190-25)", "license": "https://legal.exploreworldai.com/revision", "version": "legal-2026-10-06", "fingerprint": "ewai:se:cbc925", "proof": "sha256:4f62f88f03b560dc0849db412baf469cac133aceacce4746d511dc07bd821a08", "jurisdiction": "se", "lang": "en", "publisher": "NovaCopilot by ExploreWorld Legal", "terms": "https://legal.exploreworldai.com/om" }, "brand_source": "Source: NovaCopilot", "brand": { "product": "NovaCopilot", "platform": "ExploreWorldAI", "infrastructure": "ExploreWorld Legal", "infrastructure_url": "legal.exploreworldai.com", "legal_entity": "Valkiv Ventures AB", "permanent_url": "https://legal.exploreworldai.com/novacopilot", "source": "Source: NovaCopilot", "powered_by": "Powered by NovaCopilot", "license": "https://legal.exploreworldai.com/licensvillkor", "contact": "stig@valkiv.com" }, "item": { "schema_version": "1.0.0", "id": "eu:c-190-25", "jurisdiction": "eu", "lang": "en", "brand_source": "Source: NovaCopilot", "brand": { "product": "NovaCopilot", "platform": "ExploreWorldAI", "infrastructure": "ExploreWorld Legal", "infrastructure_url": "legal.exploreworldai.com", "legal_entity": "Valkiv Ventures AB", "permanent_url": "https://legal.exploreworldai.com/novacopilot", "source": "Source: NovaCopilot", "powered_by": "Powered by NovaCopilot", "license": "https://legal.exploreworldai.com/licensvillkor", "contact": "stig@valkiv.com" }, "sections": [ { "title": "Provisional text", "paragraphs": [] }, { "title": "JUDGMENT OF THE COURT (Third Chamber)", "paragraphs": [] }, { "title": "24 September 2026 ( * )", "paragraphs": [ "para_4" ] }, { "title": "In Case C‑190/25 [Zelabrich], ( i )", "paragraphs": [ "para_6" ] }, { "title": "LS", "paragraphs": [ "para_8", "para_9", "para_10", "para_11", "para_12", "para_13", "para_14", "para_15", "para_16", "para_17", "para_18", "para_19", "para_20", "para_21" ] }, { "title": "Judgment", "paragraphs": [ "para_23", "para_24" ] }, { "title": "Legal framework", "paragraphs": [] }, { "title": "International law", "paragraphs": [ "para_27", "para_28", "para_29" ] }, { "title": "5         Article 8 of the Lateran Concordat, entitled ‘Marriage’, provides:", "paragraphs": [ "para_31", "para_32", "para_33", "para_34", "para_35", "para_36", "para_37", "para_38" ] }, { "title": "European Union law", "paragraphs": [] }, { "title": "6         Recital 8 of Regulation No 2201/2003 stated:", "paragraphs": [ "para_41" ] }, { "title": "7         Under Article 1 of that regulation, entitled ‘Scope’:", "paragraphs": [ "para_43" ] }, { "title": "(a)      divorce, legal separation or marriage annulment;", "paragraphs": [ "para_45" ] }, { "title": "3.      This Regulation shall not apply to:", "paragraphs": [ "para_47" ] }, { "title": "(e)      maintenance obligations;", "paragraphs": [ "para_49", "para_50", "para_51" ] }, { "title": "(a)      in whose territory:", "paragraphs": [ "para_53", "para_54", "para_55", "para_56", "para_57", "para_58", "para_59", "para_60", "para_61", "para_62", "para_63", "para_64", "para_65", "para_66", "para_67", "para_68", "para_69", "para_70", "para_71", "para_72" ] }, { "title": "The dispute in the main proceedings and the questions referred for a preliminary ruling", "paragraphs": [ "para_74", "para_75", "para_76", "para_77", "para_78", "para_79", "para_80", "para_81", "para_82", "para_83", "para_84", "para_85", "para_86" ] }, { "title": "The first question", "paragraphs": [ "para_88", "para_89", "para_90", "para_91", "para_92", "para_93", "para_94", "para_95", "para_96", "para_97", "para_98", "para_99", "para_100", "para_101", "para_102", "para_103", "para_104", "para_105", "para_106", "para_107", "para_108", "para_109", "para_110", "para_111" ] }, { "title": "The second question", "paragraphs": [ "para_113" ] }, { "title": "Costs", "paragraphs": [ "para_115" ] }, { "title": "On those grounds, the Court (Third Chamber) hereby rules:", "paragraphs": [ "para_117", "para_118", "para_119", "para_120", "para_121" ] } ], "paragraphs": [ { "text": "Provisional text", "paragraph_id": "para_1" }, { "text": "JUDGMENT OF THE COURT (Third Chamber)", "paragraph_id": "para_2" }, { "text": "24 September 2026 ( * )", "paragraph_id": "para_3" }, { "text": "( Reference for a preliminary ruling – Judicial cooperation in civil matters – Jurisdiction, recognition and enforcement of judgments in matrimonial matters – Regulation (EC) No 2201/2003 – Article 19 – Concept of ‘application for annulment of marriage’ – Article 63 – Treaty concluded between the Holy See and a Member State – Marriage solemnised in accordance with canon law – Civil court of a Member State before which an application for divorce has been brought – Civil court of another Member State hearing an application for recognition of the civil effects of a decision by an ecclesiastical court declaring that marriage null and void )", "paragraph_id": "para_4" }, { "text": "In Case C‑190/25 [Zelabrich], ( i )", "paragraph_id": "para_5" }, { "text": "REQUEST for a preliminary ruling under Article 267 TFEU from the Oberlandesgericht Stuttgart (Higher Regional Court, Stuttgart, Germany), made by decision of 4 March 2025, received at the Court on 10 March 2025, in the proceedings", "paragraph_id": "para_6" }, { "text": "LS", "paragraph_id": "para_7" }, { "text": "v", "paragraph_id": "para_8" }, { "text": "GT,", "paragraph_id": "para_9" }, { "text": "THE COURT (Third Chamber),", "paragraph_id": "para_10" }, { "text": "composed of C. Lycourgos, President of the Chamber, O. Spineanu-Matei (Rapporteur), S. Rodin, N. Piçarra and N. Fenger, Judges,", "paragraph_id": "para_11" }, { "text": "Advocate General: J. Richard de la Tour,", "paragraph_id": "para_12" }, { "text": "Registrar: E. Sartori, Administrator,", "paragraph_id": "para_13" }, { "text": "having regard to the written procedure and further to the hearing on 5 February 2026,", "paragraph_id": "para_14" }, { "text": "after considering the observations submitted on behalf of:", "paragraph_id": "para_15" }, { "text": "–        GT, by A. Groeneveld, Rechtsanwältin,", "paragraph_id": "para_16" }, { "text": "–        the Spanish Government, by A. Gavela Llopis, M. Acedo-Rico Montiel and   P. Pérez Zapico, acting as Agents,", "paragraph_id": "para_17" }, { "text": "–        the Italian Government, by S. Fiorentino, acting as Agent, and by F. Subrani, avvocato dello Stato,", "paragraph_id": "para_18" }, { "text": "–        the European Commission, by B. Ernst and S. Noë, acting as Agents,", "paragraph_id": "para_19" }, { "text": "after hearing the Opinion of the Advocate General at the sitting on 30 April 2026,", "paragraph_id": "para_20" }, { "text": "gives the following", "paragraph_id": "para_21" }, { "text": "Judgment", "paragraph_id": "para_22" }, { "text": "1         This request for a preliminary ruling concerns the interpretation of Article 19(1) of Council Regulation (EC) No 2201/2003 of 27 November 2003 concerning jurisdiction and the recognition and enforcement of judgments in matrimonial matters and the matters of parental responsibility, repealing Regulation (EC) No 1347/2000 (OJ 2003 L 338, p. 1), as amended by Council Regulation (EC) No 2116/2004 of 2 December 2004 (OJ 2004 L 367, p. 1) (‘Regulation No 2201/2003’).", "paragraph_id": "para_23" }, { "text": "2         The request has been made in the context of a dispute between LS, a Russian national, and GT, a German and Italian national, concerning divorce proceedings brought by the latter against LS.", "paragraph_id": "para_24" }, { "text": "Legal framework", "paragraph_id": "para_25" }, { "text": "International law", "paragraph_id": "para_26" }, { "text": "3         The Lateran Concordat, concluded on 11 February 1929 between the Holy See and the Italian Republic, was amended by an agreement between the two parties, signed in Rome on 18 February 1984 (in its amended form, ‘the Lateran Concordat’).", "paragraph_id": "para_27" }, { "text": "4         Article 2 of the Lateran Concordat, entitled ‘Pastoral freedom’, provides, in paragraph 1:", "paragraph_id": "para_28" }, { "text": "‘The Italian Republic recognises the Catholic Church’s full freedom to carry out its pastoral, educational and charitable mission, and to evangelise and sanctify. In particular, it guarantees the Church the freedom … to exercise its jurisdiction in ecclesiastical matters.’", "paragraph_id": "para_29" }, { "text": "5         Article 8 of the Lateran Concordat, entitled ‘Marriage’, provides:", "paragraph_id": "para_30" }, { "text": "‘(1)      The civil effects of marriages contracted in accordance with canon law shall be recognised, provided that the marriage deed is registered at the proper civil registry office, following publication at the town hall. Immediately after the ceremony, the priest or his delegate shall explain to the spouses the civil effects of marriage and shall read to them the relevant articles of the codice civile [(Civil Code)] concerning the rights and duties of the married couple. He shall thereupon draw up, in two original copies, the deed of marriage, which may bear the declarations of the spouses in accordance with civil law.", "paragraph_id": "para_31" }, { "text": "…", "paragraph_id": "para_32" }, { "text": "(2)      A judgment annulling a marriage, delivered by an ecclesiastical tribunal and certified as enforceable by the senior supervisory ecclesiastical body, shall, upon the application of the parties or one of them, be declared effective in the Italian Republic by decision of the competent Corte di appello [(Court of Appeal, Italy)], where it finds that:", "paragraph_id": "para_33" }, { "text": "(a)      the ecclesiastical tribunal had jurisdiction to hear the case, concerning a marriage celebrated in accordance with the conditions laid down in this article;", "paragraph_id": "para_34" }, { "text": "(b)      during the proceedings before the ecclesiastical tribunal, the parties were able to take legal steps and to respond to the same, in accordance with the fundamental principles of Italian law; and", "paragraph_id": "para_35" }, { "text": "(c)      the other conditions imposed by Italian law in order for effect to be given to a foreign judgment are met.", "paragraph_id": "para_36" }, { "text": "The Court of Appeal may, in its decision rendering a canonical judgment enforceable, draw up provisional financial measures in favour of one or other spouse whose marriage has been annulled and may refer the parties to the competent court or tribunal for a ruling on the matter.", "paragraph_id": "para_37" }, { "text": "…’", "paragraph_id": "para_38" }, { "text": "European Union law", "paragraph_id": "para_39" }, { "text": "6         Recital 8 of Regulation No 2201/2003 stated:", "paragraph_id": "para_40" }, { "text": "‘As regards judgments on divorce, legal separation or marriage annulment, this Regulation should apply only to the dissolution of matrimonial ties and should not deal with issues such as the grounds for divorce, property consequences of the marriage or any other ancillary measures.’", "paragraph_id": "para_41" }, { "text": "7         Under Article 1 of that regulation, entitled ‘Scope’:", "paragraph_id": "para_42" }, { "text": "‘1.      This Regulation shall apply, whatever the nature of the court or tribunal, in civil matters relating to:", "paragraph_id": "para_43" }, { "text": "(a)      divorce, legal separation or marriage annulment;", "paragraph_id": "para_44" }, { "text": "…", "paragraph_id": "para_45" }, { "text": "3.      This Regulation shall not apply to:", "paragraph_id": "para_46" }, { "text": "…", "paragraph_id": "para_47" }, { "text": "(e)      maintenance obligations;", "paragraph_id": "para_48" }, { "text": "…’", "paragraph_id": "para_49" }, { "text": "8         Article 3 of that regulation, entitled ‘General jurisdiction’, provided, in paragraph 1:", "paragraph_id": "para_50" }, { "text": "‘In matters relating to divorce, legal separation or marriage annulment, jurisdiction shall lie with the courts of the Member State", "paragraph_id": "para_51" }, { "text": "(a)      in whose territory:", "paragraph_id": "para_52" }, { "text": "–        the spouses are habitually resident, or", "paragraph_id": "para_53" }, { "text": "–        the spouses were last habitually resident, in so far as one of them still resides there, or", "paragraph_id": "para_54" }, { "text": "–        the respondent is habitually resident, or", "paragraph_id": "para_55" }, { "text": "–        in the event of a joint application, either of the spouses is habitually resident, or", "paragraph_id": "para_56" }, { "text": "–        the applicant is habitually resident if he or she resided there for at least a year immediately before the application was made, or", "paragraph_id": "para_57" }, { "text": "–        the applicant is habitually resident if he or she resided there for at least six months immediately before the application was made and is either a national of the Member State in question or, in the case of … Ireland, has his or her “domicile” there;", "paragraph_id": "para_58" }, { "text": "(b)      of the nationality of both spouses or, in the case of … Ireland, of the “domicile” of both spouses.’", "paragraph_id": "para_59" }, { "text": "9         Article 19 of that regulation, entitled ‘ Lis pendens and dependent actions’, provided, in paragraph 1:", "paragraph_id": "para_60" }, { "text": "‘Where proceedings relating to divorce, legal separation or marriage annulment between the same parties are brought before courts of different Member States, the court second seised shall of its own motion stay its proceedings until such time as the jurisdiction of the court first seised is established.’", "paragraph_id": "para_61" }, { "text": "10       Chapter III of Regulation No 2201/2003, entitled ‘Recognition and enforcement’, comprised several sections, including Section 1, entitled ‘Recognition’. That section comprised a set of provisions relating, in particular, to the recognition in other Member States of a judgment given in a Member State concerning divorce, legal separation or marriage annulment, as well as to the grounds for non-recognition of such a judgment.", "paragraph_id": "para_62" }, { "text": "11       Article 63 of that regulation, entitled ‘Treaties with the Holy See’, read as follows:", "paragraph_id": "para_63" }, { "text": "‘1.      This Regulation shall apply without prejudice to the International Treaty (Concordat) between the Holy See and [the Republic of] Portugal, signed at the Vatican City on 7 May 1940.", "paragraph_id": "para_64" }, { "text": "2.      Any decision as to the invalidity of a marriage taken under the Treaty referred to in paragraph 1 shall be recognised in the Member States on the conditions laid down in Chapter III, Section 1.", "paragraph_id": "para_65" }, { "text": "3.      The provisions laid down in paragraphs 1 and 2 shall also apply to the following international treaties (Concordats) with the Holy See:", "paragraph_id": "para_66" }, { "text": "(a)      “Concordato lateranense” [Lateran Concordat] of 11 February 1929 between [the Republic of] Italy and the Holy See, modified by the agreement, with additional Protocol signed in Rome on 18 February 1984;", "paragraph_id": "para_67" }, { "text": "(b)      Agreement between the Holy See and [the Kingdom of] Spain on legal affairs of 3 January 1979;", "paragraph_id": "para_68" }, { "text": "(c)      Agreement between the Holy See and [the Republic of] Malta on the recognition of civil effects to canonical marriages and to decisions of ecclesiastical authorities and tribunals on those marriages of 3 February 1993, including the Protocol of application of the same date, with the second Additional Protocol of 6 January 1995.", "paragraph_id": "para_69" }, { "text": "4.      Recognition of the decisions provided for in paragraph 2 may, in Spain, Italy or Malta, be subject to the same procedures and the same checks as are applicable to decisions of the ecclesiastical courts handed down in accordance with the international treaties concluded with the Holy See referred to in paragraph 3.", "paragraph_id": "para_70" }, { "text": "…’", "paragraph_id": "para_71" }, { "text": "12       Regulation No 2201/2003 was repealed by Council Regulation (EU) 2019/1111 of 25 June 2019 on jurisdiction, the recognition and enforcement of decisions in matrimonial matters and the matters of parental responsibility, and on international child abduction (OJ 2019 L 178, p. 1), which applies from 1 August 2022. However, given the date of the facts giving rise to the dispute in the main proceedings, the request for a preliminary ruling must be examined in the light of Regulation No 2201/2003.", "paragraph_id": "para_72" }, { "text": "The dispute in the main proceedings and the questions referred for a preliminary ruling", "paragraph_id": "para_73" }, { "text": "13       GT, a German and Italian national, and LS, a Russian national, both of whom are habitually resident in Germany, were married on 16 June 2017 in a church in Naples (Italy) (‘the concordat marriage’). On the same day, the marriage was registered with the civil registry office in that city.", "paragraph_id": "para_74" }, { "text": "14       On 25 January 2022, GT filed an application for divorce with the Amtsgericht Stuttgart (Local Court, Stuttgart, Germany). As part of those proceedings, that court is also required to rule, of its own motion, on the compensatory division of pension rights and, upon application by LS, on the award of any post-marital maintenance.", "paragraph_id": "para_75" }, { "text": "15       On 22 July 2022, GT filed an application with the Tribunale Ecclesiastico Interdiocesano Partenopeo di Napoli (Neapolitan Interdiocesan Ecclesiastical Tribunal, Naples, Italy) seeking a declaration of the nullity of the concordat marriage. By a decision of 28 February 2024, that court granted the application. On 27 May 2024, that final decision was declared enforceable by the Supremo Tribunale della Segnatura Apostolica (Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura, Italy).", "paragraph_id": "para_76" }, { "text": "16       On 31 July 2024, an application was lodged with the Corte di appello di Napoli (Court of Appeal, Naples, Italy) – which has not yet ruled on that application – for recognition of the civil effects of the final and enforceable decision declaring the nullity of the concordat marriage, handed down by the Tribunale Ecclesiastico Interdiocesano Partenopeo di Napoli (Neapolitan Interdiocesan Ecclesiastical Tribunal, Naples).", "paragraph_id": "para_77" }, { "text": "17       By order of 20 November 2024, the Amtsgericht Stuttgart (Local Court, Stuttgart) decided to stay the proceedings on the application for divorce and on the ancillary claims relating to the property consequences of the divorce. That court considered that, should the Corte di appello di Napoli (Court of Appeal, Naples) grant the application for recognition of the civil effects of the ecclesiastical decision declaring the concordat marriage null and void, the divorce proceedings pending before it would become devoid of purpose.", "paragraph_id": "para_78" }, { "text": "18       On 4 December 2024, LS lodged an appeal against that order with the Oberlandesgericht Stuttgart (Higher Regional Court, Stuttgart, Germany), which is the referring court, arguing that, under Regulation No 2201/2003, the obligation to stay proceedings rests not with the Amtsgericht Stuttgart (Local Court, Stuttgart), but with the Italian court before which the application for recognition of the civil effects of the ecclesiastical decision declaring the concordat marriage null and void has been brought.", "paragraph_id": "para_79" }, { "text": "19       The referring court seeks to ascertain whether the proceedings pending before the Corte di appello di Napoli (Court of Appeal, Naples) seeking recognition of the civil effects of that ecclesiastical decision constitute an ‘application for annulment of marriage’, capable of giving rise to a situation of lis pendens , pursuant to Article 19(1) of Regulation No 2201/2003. If so, it seeks to ascertain what the consequences are of such lis pendens .", "paragraph_id": "para_80" }, { "text": "20       According to that court, such proceedings constitute an ‘application for annulment of marriage’ within the meaning of that provision, so that the Italian court, before which the case was subsequently brought, would, in principle, be required to stay proceedings, in accordance with that provision.", "paragraph_id": "para_81" }, { "text": "21       It observes, however, that such an obligation could give rise to difficulties, given that, in such a scenario, the German court would be required, where necessary, to assess, as a matter incidental to the main proceedings, the Italian Republic’s recognition of the nullity of the concordat marriage pronounced by an ecclesiastical court, even though there is, in that regard, no agreement between the Holy See and the Federal Republic of Germany capable of governing the recognition of an ecclesiastical decision.", "paragraph_id": "para_82" }, { "text": "22       The referring court therefore wonders whether, having regard also to the property consequences that may arise from the annulment of a marriage – which differ from those associated with divorce proceedings, such that there is a risk of conflicting decisions – German courts may nevertheless decide to stay proceedings, even though they have priority international jurisdiction under Regulation No 2201/2003.", "paragraph_id": "para_83" }, { "text": "23       In those circumstances, the Oberlandesgericht Stuttgart (Higher Regional Court, Stuttgart) decided to stay the proceedings and to refer the following questions to the Court of Justice for a preliminary ruling:", "paragraph_id": "para_84" }, { "text": "‘(1)      Do Italian proceedings on the recognition of civil effects before [an Italian court] under Article 8(2) of the [Lateran Concordat] constitute proceedings relating to marriage annulment within the meaning of Article 19(1) of [Regulation No 2201/2003]?", "paragraph_id": "para_85" }, { "text": "(2)      If the answer to [the first question] is in the affirmative: [i]s a court first seised in [another Member State] concerning a divorce to be decreed permitted, contrary to Article 19(1) of [Regulation No 2201/2003], to stay its proceedings under national rules in favour of the court second seised which has to rule on recognition of civil effects proceedings?’", "paragraph_id": "para_86" }, { "text": "The first question", "paragraph_id": "para_87" }, { "text": "24       By its first question, the referring court asks, in essence, whether Article 19(1) of Regulation No 2201/2003 must be interpreted as meaning that proceedings brought before a court of a Member State with a view to the recognition of the civil effects of an enforceable decision declaring a concordat marriage null and void, where that decision was given by an ecclesiastical court pursuant to an international treaty – referred to in Article 63 of that regulation – concluded between the Holy See and that Member State, fall with the scope of the concept of ‘application for annulment of marriage’, within the meaning of Article 19(1) thereof.", "paragraph_id": "para_88" }, { "text": "25       As a preliminary point, it should be noted, in the first place, that, as is apparent from Article 1(3)(e) of Regulation No 2201/2003, read in the light of recital 8 thereof, matters relating to the property consequences of marriage, in particular maintenance obligations, are excluded from the scope of that regulation.", "paragraph_id": "para_89" }, { "text": "26       By contrast, those matters may fall within the scope of other instruments of EU law, namely Council Regulation (EU) 2016/1103 of 24 June 2016 implementing enhanced cooperation in the area of jurisdiction, applicable law and the recognition and enforcement of decisions in matters of matrimonial property regimes (OJ 2016 L 183, p. 1) or Council Regulation (EC) No 4/2009 of 18 December 2008 on jurisdiction, applicable law, recognition and enforcement of decisions and cooperation in matters relating to maintenance obligations (OJ 2009 L 7, p. 1).", "paragraph_id": "para_90" }, { "text": "27       Admittedly, the referring court mentions, in its request for a preliminary ruling, the differences that may exist between the property consequences attached to a divorce and those arising from the annulment of a marriage. However, those considerations are raised solely for the purposes of interpreting Article 19(1) of Regulation No 2201/2003 and cannot, in the absence of further clarification in that regard from that court, justify an interpretation of instruments of EU law other than that regulation.", "paragraph_id": "para_91" }, { "text": "28       In the second place, it should be noted that, in accordance with Article 63 of Regulation No 2201/2003, the application of that regulation in relations between Member States is without prejudice to the treaties concluded between the Holy See, on the one hand, and certain Member States, namely the Kingdom of Spain, the Italian Republic, the Republic of Malta and the Portuguese Republic, on the other hand, including the Lateran Concordat.", "paragraph_id": "para_92" }, { "text": "29       The Lateran Concordat governs relations between the Holy See and the Italian Republic. Under Article 2(1) of that concordat, that Member State recognises and guarantees the Catholic Church, in particular, the freedom to exercise its jurisdiction in ecclesiastical matters.", "paragraph_id": "para_93" }, { "text": "30       In accordance with Article 8(1) of that concordat, marriages contracted in accordance with the provisions of canon law are recognised as having civil effects, provided that the marriage, following publication at the town hall, is entered in the civil register.", "paragraph_id": "para_94" }, { "text": "31       Article 8(2) of that concordat provides that, upon the application of both parties or one of them, a judgment annulling a marriage, delivered by an ecclesiastical tribunal and certified as enforceable by the senior ecclesiastical body, shall have civil effect in Italy by virtue of a decision of the competent Court of Appeal, provided that, first, the ecclesiastical tribunal had jurisdiction to pronounce the annulment; secondly, the parties’ rights to appear and defend themselves during the proceedings before the ecclesiastical tribunal have been respected in accordance with the fundamental principles of the Italian legal system; and, thirdly, the conditions imposed by Italian law in order for effect to be given to a foreign judgment are met.", "paragraph_id": "para_95" }, { "text": "32       Subject to those preliminary observations, for the purposes of interpreting Article 19(1) of Regulation No 2201/2003, in accordance with settled case-law, it is necessary to consider not only its wording but also its context and the objectives of the legislation of which it forms part (see, to that effect, judgments of 17 November 1983, Merck , 292/82, EU:C:1983:335, paragraph 12, and of 27 November 2025, Manuel Costa Filhos , C‑643/24, EU:C:2025:923, paragraph 37 and the case-law cited).", "paragraph_id": "para_96" }, { "text": "33       As regards the wording of Article 19(1) of Regulation No 2201/2003, it should be noted that that provision refers to applications for divorce, legal separation or marriage annulment brought between the same parties before the courts of different Member States.", "paragraph_id": "para_97" }, { "text": "34       As the Court has held, under the terms of that provision, whilst it is necessary for such applications to concern the same parties, they may have a different cause of action, provided that they concern judicial separation, divorce or marriage annulment (see, to that effect, judgment of 16 January 2019, Liberato , C‑386/17, EU:C:2019:24, paragraph 35 and the case-law cited). It follows that for a situation of lis pendens to exist, the proceedings pending before courts in different Member States must have as their subject matter the dissolution or loosening of marriage ties.", "paragraph_id": "para_98" }, { "text": "35       Proceedings brought before a court of a Member State with a view to recognising the civil effects of an enforceable decision declaring the nullity of a concordat marriage, made by an ecclesiastical tribunal pursuant to an international treaty concluded with the Holy See and referred to in Article 63 of Regulation No 2201/2003, such as the proceedings currently pending before the Corte di appello di Napoli (Court of Appeal, Naples), do not, in themselves, have as their object the dissolution or loosening of marriage ties.", "paragraph_id": "para_99" }, { "text": "36       First, as the Italian and Spanish Governments emphasised at the hearing, by the time such proceedings are brought, the marriage has already been dissolved, having been declared null and void by the final and enforceable decision handed down by the ecclesiastical court. The proceedings before the court of the Member State concerned, in the present case the Italian Republic, are aimed solely at securing recognition, within the legal system of that Member State, of the civil effects of the ecclesiastical decision.", "paragraph_id": "para_100" }, { "text": "37       Secondly, the scope of the review carried out by the State court in the context of those proceedings is limited to the aspects expressly referred to in Article 8(2) of the Lateran Concordat, namely the jurisdiction of the ecclesiastical tribunal, the rights of the parties to appear and defend themselves during proceedings before that court, and the conditions under which Italian law makes the recognition of foreign decisions subject to certain requirements. As the Italian Government has pointed out, the State court may not examine the merits of the ecclesiastical decision.", "paragraph_id": "para_101" }, { "text": "38       Consequently, proceedings brought before a State court seeking recognition of the civil effects of an enforceable decision declaring a concordat marriage null and void, handed down by an ecclesiastical tribunal pursuant to the Lateran Concordat, do not fall within the concept of ‘application for annulment of marriage’, within the meaning of Article 19(1) of Regulation No 2201/2003.", "paragraph_id": "para_102" }, { "text": "39       That interpretation is supported by the context in which that provision is set.", "paragraph_id": "para_103" }, { "text": "40       In that regard, it should be noted that Article 19 of Regulation No 2201/2003 forms part of Chapter II of that regulation, entitled ‘Jurisdiction’, which sets out, in Article 3 thereof, the criteria for determining the jurisdiction of the courts of the Member States to rule on matters relating to divorce, legal separation and marriage annulment.", "paragraph_id": "para_104" }, { "text": "41       It should also be noted that the system for sharing jurisdiction established by Regulation No 2201/2003 concerning the dissolution of matrimonial ties is not intended to preclude the courts of several States having jurisdiction. Rather, the coexistence of several courts having jurisdiction is expressly provided for, without any hierarchy being established between them (judgment of 13 October 2016, Mikołajczyk , C‑294/15, EU:C:2016:772, paragraph 47 and the case-law cited).", "paragraph_id": "para_105" }, { "text": "42       It is in that context that Article 19(1) of Regulation No 2201/2003 governs the handling of situations in which two courts in different Member States are seised of applications for divorce, legal separation or marriage annulment brought by the same parties, and provides, for that purpose, that the court second seised must, of its own motion, stay proceedings until the jurisdiction of the court first seised has been established, in accordance with the criteria laid down in that regard in Article 3 of that regulation.", "paragraph_id": "para_106" }, { "text": "43       The jurisdiction of an Italian court before which an application has been brought seeking recognition of the civil effects of an enforceable decision declaring the nullity of a concordat marriage, made by an ecclesiastical tribunal pursuant to the Lateran Concordat, is not determined on the basis of the criteria laid down in Article 3 of Regulation No 2201/2003, but on the basis of the specific rules laid down by that treaty concluded between the Holy See and the Italian Republic. In those circumstances, as the Advocate General observed in points 44 and 45 of his Opinion, the proceedings in which such an application is made are not capable of giving rise to a situation of lis pendens within the meaning of Article 19(1) of that regulation, read in the light of Article 3 thereof.", "paragraph_id": "para_107" }, { "text": "44       The interpretation derived from the wording of Article 19(1) of Regulation No 2201/2003, supported by the context in which that provision is set, is not called into question by the objectives pursued by that regulation.", "paragraph_id": "para_108" }, { "text": "45       In that regard, it should be noted that Regulation No 2201/2003 is intended, amongst other things, on the basis of the principle of mutual trust as the cornerstone of the creation of a genuine judicial area at EU level, to facilitate the recognition of judgments delivered in the Member States in matters of divorce, legal separation or marriage annulment (see, to that effect, judgment of 15 November 2022, Senatsverwaltung für Inneres und Sport , C‑646/20, EU:C:2022:879, paragraph 44 and the case-law cited).", "paragraph_id": "para_109" }, { "text": "46       In the specific context of the treaties concluded between the Holy See and certain Member States, Article 63 of Regulation No 2201/2003 forms part of the general objective pursued by that regulation, which is to facilitate the recognition and simplified enforcement of decisions on the nullity of marriage made pursuant to those treaties. As the Advocate General noted, in essence, in paragraphs 49 and 50 of his Opinion, the purpose of that article is to extend the recognition regime provided for by that regulation to decisions on the annulment of marriage made pursuant to the concordats concluded between the Holy See and certain Member States, in order to ensure that those treaties are given full effect. By contrast, the purpose of that article is not to subject those decisions to all the harmonised rules laid down by Regulation No 2201/2003, and in particular to those relating to jurisdiction, including Article 19 thereof.", "paragraph_id": "para_110" }, { "text": "47       In the light of all the foregoing considerations, the answer to the first question is that Article 19(1) of Regulation No 2201/2003 must be interpreted as meaning that proceedings brought before a court of a Member State with a view to the recognition of the civil effects of an enforceable decision declaring a concordat marriage null and void, where that decision was given by an ecclesiastical court pursuant to an international treaty – referred to in Article 63 of that regulation – concluded between the Holy See and that Member State, do not fall within the scope of the concept of ‘application for annulment of marriage’, within the meaning of Article 19(1) thereof.", "paragraph_id": "para_111" }, { "text": "The second question", "paragraph_id": "para_112" }, { "text": "48       In view of the answer given to the first question, there is no need to answer the second question.", "paragraph_id": "para_113" }, { "text": "Costs", "paragraph_id": "para_114" }, { "text": "49       Since these proceedings are, for the parties to the main proceedings, a step in the action pending before the referring court, the decision on costs is a matter for that court. Costs incurred in submitting observations to the Court, other than the costs of those parties, are not recoverable.", "paragraph_id": "para_115" }, { "text": "On those grounds, the Court (Third Chamber) hereby rules:", "paragraph_id": "para_116" }, { "text": "Article 19(1) of Council Regulation (EC) No 2201/2003 of 27 November 2003 concerning jurisdiction and the recognition and enforcement of judgments in matrimonial matters and the matters of parental responsibility, repealing Regulation (EC) No 1347/2000, as amended by Council Regulation (EC) No 2116/2004 of 2 December 2004,", "paragraph_id": "para_117" }, { "text": "must be interpreted as meaning that proceedings brought before a court of a Member State with a view to the recognition of the civil effects of an enforceable decision declaring a concordat marriage null and void, where that decision was given by an ecclesiastical court pursuant to an international treaty – referred to in Article 63 of Regulation No 2201/2003, as amended – concluded between the Holy See and that Member State, do not fall within the scope of the concept of ‘application for annulment of marriage’, within the meaning of Article 19(1) thereof.", "paragraph_id": "para_118" }, { "text": "[Signatures]", "paragraph_id": "para_119" }, { "text": "*       Language of the case: German.", "paragraph_id": "para_120" }, { "text": "i       The name of the present case is a fictitious name. 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