We specialise in international divorce and family law. We are therefore perfectly placed to provide you with the advice you need to guide you through your divorce if you or your spouse have connections to another country. This includes individuals with links to Burkina Faso. You may be based in the UK but were born in Burkina Faso or you may have been married there, or your spouse is from there and you live in the UK. The legal systems of sub-Saharan countries like Burkina Faso differ markedly from English law so if you live in the UK and have some connection to the region and wish to divorce you should get advice from an experienced international family lawyer. By way of background, below we summarise some of the aspects of the Burkinabe legal system.
Getting Divorced In Burkina Faso
The Burkinabe legal system is based on the French civil law system. However custom and traditional marriages – outside the scope of the civil law regulations – account for a large percentage of marriages in the country. When such marriages break down the rights afforded to spouses under the civil system are not always protected. For civil marriages the Code of Persons and Family sets out the rules to be applied when a marriage breaks down. We set the regulations out in brief below.
Grounds For Divorce
Proceedings may be brought:
- By mutual agreement of the spouses
- By either spouse on the grounds of adultery, ‘excess’ or serious injury
- If family life or the security of children is at risk
- Where one spouse has abandoned the family home
- If there has been three years’ separation
- If one party is impotent
The Code provides women with the same rights as men to petition for divorce on any of the above grounds.
Children And Divorce In Burkino Faso
Article 401 of the Code grants each parent has the same rights and obligations towards their children following divorce. Judges will decide matters of custody and any contact rights in the best interests of the children. The father’s family, under customary law, sometimes seeks custody of children ahead of the mother.
How Is Property Divided In A Burkinabe Divorce?
When it comes to property division on divorce, Article 349 of the Code gives women and men the same rights after divorce or separation to own, use, make decisions and use property as collateral. However some reports suggest that the husband often holds onto property acquired during marriage.
Advice On Divorce
At Brookman we work with British nationals going through divorce who are based in locations all over the world. We have the ability therefore to represent you when there is an international aspect to your divorce. Whilst we may not have directly dealt with cases involving Burkina Faso at the time of writing, our expertise in dealing with a variety of international legal systems gives us the ability to advise you effectively on the relevant rules and legislation should you decide to divorce under English law.
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