Divorce and Maintenance in Jordan with a Spouse Living in the USA or Canada: Jurisdiction and Judgments in Absentia
A spouse living in America or Canada may assume that distance freezes any marital dispute with the spouse who stayed in Jordan, but in fact the Jordanian Sharia court can hear a judicial separation (tafriq) or maintenance (nafaqa) case and decide it even if the spouse living abroad never attends a single hearing. The Jordanian Personal Status Law No. 15 of 2019 governs divorce, judicial separation and maintenance, and the Sharia Procedure Law No. 31 of 1959 and its amendments determines when the Sharia courts have jurisdiction over a case in which one party lives outside the Kingdom, how that party is served, and when judgment is given in his or her absence. What is decided in such a case is enforced against property located in Jordan, and it may be waiting for its owner on the first visit. That is why having a lawyer who specializes in Sharia cases follow the file in Jordan, before the judgment and not after it, is what determines whether the spouse living abroad is a party defending his or her rights or a party against whom judgment was given and who learned of it too late.
This article covers divorce and maintenance cases in Jordan from the side of the husband or wife living in the USA or Canada, whether one of them wants to file a case in Jordan or has been surprised by a case filed against him or her there. It is limited to the Sharia-court regime for Muslims; the family matters of non-Muslims are heard by their own religious community councils, and this article does not cover them.
1. Jurisdiction of the Jordanian Sharia Court When One Spouse Lives Abroad
The Sharia Procedure Law, as amended up to 2016, contains a chapter on international jurisdiction and the applicable law. Under it, the Sharia courts in the Kingdom have jurisdiction over cases brought by or against a Jordanian citizen, and the text does not tie this to the citizen's residence in Jordan. A case against a foreigner who has no domicile in the Kingdom is heard in circumstances the text specifies, including where the plaintiff resides in the Kingdom or where the case concerns property located there.
The same chapter determines the law the judge applies. The legislation in force in the Jordanian Sharia courts applies to Jordanian citizens; if one of the spouses was Jordanian at the time the marriage was concluded, Jordanian law alone applies, except for the condition of capacity; and the obligation to pay maintenance is governed by the law of the person who owes it. Jordanian law is also the applicable law where one person holds more than one nationality, so a husband who holds US or Canadian citizenship alongside his Jordanian nationality does not, by that fact, leave the scope of Jordanian law before the Sharia court.
As for territorial jurisdiction, the general rule is that a case is filed in the court of the place where the defendant resides within the Kingdom; if the defendant has no residence there, it is filed before the court in whose area the plaintiff resides; and if neither has a residence in the Kingdom, jurisdiction lies with the Amman court. Maintenance cases are heard by the court in whose district the plaintiff or the defendant resides, so the husband living abroad may be sued before the Sharia court in whose district the other party lives.
A defendant living abroad has procedural defenses relating to jurisdiction and to the validity of the proceedings, but the law does not keep them open at every stage of the case. Which of them suit a particular file, and when each is raised, is a matter the lawyer settles from the first review of the file.
2. Service in the USA or Canada and Judgment in the Spouse's Absence
Court papers for a person who lives outside the Kingdom are served through the competent official authorities, and if the court is satisfied that service by that route is impossible, it may serve the person by publication in a local newspaper. The law allows a person who has no domicile in the Kingdom to choose a domicile there for service; if he or she cancels that chosen domicile without informing the opposing party, service by publication is permitted. This means a husband living in Toronto or Houston may be deemed served by a notice in a Jordanian newspaper he never read.
If the defendant has been duly served and does not attend, the court decides, at the plaintiff's request, to proceed with the case against him or her in absentia. The law distinguishes three descriptions of a judgment: a judgment in the presence of the parties, issued with both parties before the court; a judgment in absentia deemed to be in the presence of the parties, where the defendant attended one or more hearings and then stopped attending; and a judgment in absentia in all other cases. Each description has its own route of challenge and its own time limit, which runs from the date the judgment was pronounced to the party or the date it was served, and these time limits are short. A person against whom judgment was given in absentia may file an objection to it, but filing the objection does not stop enforcement if the judgment is enforceable immediately or is a judgment for maintenance.
Judgments of judicial separation given in absentia are subject to an additional review: the Sharia courts of first instance refer them to the Sharia Court of Appeal for review on the papers if the parties have not appealed them. Whether service carried out abroad or by publication was valid, and whether the judgment is in absentia or in absentia deemed to be in the presence of the parties, depends on the papers of each file, which is itself a legal point that merits consultation, because the available challenge depends on it.
3. Ending the Marriage When One Spouse Lives Abroad
Pronouncing a divorce (talaq) or requesting a judicial separation does not depend on the person coming to Jordan, but the route taken from abroad determines how the end of the marriage is described and the rights that follow from it. The Personal Status Law entrusts the Kingdom's Muslim consuls abroad with hearing and registering the divorce declarations of Jordanian nationals who are outside the Kingdom (Article 36(g)), and Article 97 requires the husband to register his divorce and any revocation of it before the judge. Which route suits the husband living abroad, and what follows from it in dower (mahr) and 'idda maintenance, is a matter the lawyer settles after reviewing the file.
A wife living abroad who wants to end the marriage does so through a case before the Jordanian Sharia court. The law provides more than one kind of case, and their financial consequences differ greatly; one of them rests on the wife's express admission in which she gives up all her marital rights (Article 114(b)). That is why the lawyer weighs with the client abroad, before any admission, what she will give up against what another case might preserve for her.
The Sharia Procedure Law allows a lawyer appointed under a duly executed power of attorney to do everything a party may do before the court, and a power of attorney for litigation authorizes the lawyer to file the case, follow it, defend it, and receive and effect service until judgment is given at the level of court for which the lawyer was appointed. Any steps that may require the client's personal attendance or personal admission are identified by the lawyer, in light of the type of case, before the file begins.
A power of attorney or other document made in the United States or Canada needs authentication before the Sharia court or any Jordanian body accepts it, and the lawyer checks it against the instructions in force at the time it is used; the article Power of Attorney from the USA and Canada for Use in Jordan covers the power of attorney itself.
4. Judicial Separation Cases Filed against a Husband Living Abroad
A husband living abroad faces a kind of case that rests on nothing but his absence. The Personal Status Law allows the wife to request judicial separation on the ground of the husband's absence or of non-payment of maintenance (Articles 117, 119, 120 and 121), and in some cases the spouses may be separated even if the husband has property. The way these cases are heard differs depending on whether the husband's place of residence is known and letters can reach him, and in some forms the case is decided without a formal warning to the husband. The marriage may therefore end by a judgment the husband learns of only late.
On the other side, the law places obligations on the spouses regarding the marital home and following the husband, and attaches consequences for maintenance to refusing them without justification (Article 72), and it gives effect to conditions recorded in the marriage contract. The arguments available to the husband living abroad, or to the wife living abroad when the other party is in Jordan, therefore differ with the facts of each file and with what was written in the marriage contract, and the lawyer assesses them after reading the contract and the case papers.
5. Maintenance When One Spouse Lives in the USA or Canada
What changes in a maintenance case when the husband lives abroad is that his absence does not prevent judgment against him. The law allows maintenance for an absent husband's wife to be awarded from the day of the request, and to be imposed on his property, or on his debtor, or on the person holding his deposit, or on anyone in a similar position (Articles 68 and 69). The judgment is thus enforced against what the husband owns in Jordan, such as a bank account, real property, or money owed to him by a relative or a partner, without waiting for his return. The types of spousal maintenance and the basis of its assessment are set out in the article Spousal Maintenance under Jordanian Law.
Practical note: The position of a husband living abroad changes greatly depending on the date he was served and the description of the judgment given against him, because an objection to a judgment in absentia does not stop its enforcement if it is a maintenance judgment, and the accumulated amount grows as time passes without the matter being dealt with. The lawyer reviews the service papers, their date and the description of the judgment before identifying the available challenge, a question settled by reviewing the file at the court or by consulting a specialist lawyer.
6. What Awaits the Absent Husband on His Return to Jordan
A husband living abroad may not learn of the case filed against him until he arrives in Jordan. The Sharia Procedure Law requires the court, if it is satisfied on the evidence that the defendant is about to leave the Kingdom or intends to dispose of his property or smuggle it abroad in order to delay the case, avoid the court's proceedings or obstruct enforcement of whatever may be decided against him, to issue a warrant to bring him before the court and to ban him from travel until he provides a guarantee securing payment of whatever may be awarded against him or securing that he will not leave the Kingdom.
After judgment, the Sharia Enforcement Law No. 10 of 2013 places within the jurisdiction of the Sharia Head of Enforcement a ban on the person against whom judgment was given from travel unless he provides a guarantor who secures payment of the adjudged amount, alongside attaching and selling his property and imprisoning him (Article 5). Imprisonment for a maintenance debt has conditions and limits, which are set out in the article The Penalty for Not Paying Maintenance in Jordan.
A husband who arrives in Jordan owing accumulated maintenance or an adjudged dower may therefore be banned from leaving unless he provides a guarantor or settles his position. One of the first things the lawyer examines in the file of a husband living abroad is whether cases or judgments are registered in his name before any visit, and what of them can be settled or challenged.
7. What the Jordanian Sharia Judiciary Can Decide, by Where Each Spouse Lives
| Where the spouses live | What the Jordanian Sharia judiciary can decide | What the party living abroad faces |
|---|---|---|
| The husband in the USA or Canada, the wife in Jordan | The wife's maintenance even if the husband is absent (Articles 68 and 69), judicial separation cases based on his absence or non-payment of maintenance (Article 117, and Articles 119 to 121), and other judicial separation cases | A judgment given in absentia after service abroad or by publication, its enforcement against his property in Jordan, and a travel ban when he is present unless he provides a guarantor (Sharia Enforcement Law, Article 5) |
| The wife in the USA or Canada, the husband in Jordan | The wife's case is in principle filed in the court of the husband's residence, and the husband may file his own case against her before the Sharia court | A judgment given in her absence after she is served, and consequences for maintenance that the law attaches to the spouses' obligations regarding the marital home and following the husband (Article 72) |
| Both spouses abroad | Jurisdiction lies with the Amman court if neither has a residence in the Kingdom, and Jordanian law alone applies if one of them was Jordanian at the time of the marriage, except for the condition of capacity | Enforcement of the judgment against property located in Jordan, and precautionary measures such as a travel ban on arrival |
The table sets out the general framework; the competent court, the description of the judgment and the available defense are determined by the facts and papers of the file, and the lawyer assesses them after reviewing them.
8. Frequently Asked Questions
Can a divorce or maintenance case be filed in Jordan while the husband lives in America?
Yes. The Sharia courts in the Kingdom have jurisdiction over cases filed against a Jordanian citizen, a person living abroad is served through the competent official authorities, or by publication in a local newspaper if that is impossible, and the case may proceed in absentia if he does not attend after being duly served.
Can a judgment be given against a husband living in Canada without his knowledge?
It may be given after service that the court considers proper, including service by publication where service through the official authorities is impossible. The validity of that service is one of the first things the lawyer examines when studying the route of challenge.
Does an objection to a maintenance judgment given in absentia stop its enforcement?
No. Filing an objection stops enforcement of a judgment in absentia unless it is enforceable immediately or is a judgment for maintenance, so enforcement continues while the objection is heard.
Can a husband living abroad divorce without traveling to Jordan?
The Personal Status Law entrusts the Kingdom's Muslim consuls abroad with hearing and registering the divorce declarations of Jordanians living outside the Kingdom (Article 36(g)), and Article 97 requires the husband to register his divorce and any revocation of it before the judge. The suitable route, the description of the divorce and the rights that follow from it are settled by the lawyer after reviewing the file.
Can a judicial separation be ordered while the husband lives abroad?
Yes. The Personal Status Law allows the wife to request judicial separation on the ground of the husband's absence or of non-payment of maintenance, and the way the case is heard differs depending on whether letters can reach him. Judgments of judicial separation given in absentia are referred to the Sharia Court of Appeal for review if the parties have not appealed them.
Can a husband be banned from travel because of maintenance when he visits Jordan?
That can happen. The court bans the defendant from travel until he provides a guarantee if it is satisfied that he is about to leave the Kingdom to delay the case or obstruct enforcement, and after judgment the Sharia Head of Enforcement may ban the person against whom judgment was given from travel unless he provides a guarantor who secures payment of the adjudged amount (Sharia Enforcement Law, Article 5).
Does US or Canadian citizenship change the law the Sharia court applies to a Jordanian?
No. The legislation in force in the Jordanian Sharia courts applies to Jordanian citizens, Jordanian law is the applicable law where one person holds more than one nationality, and it applies alone if one of the spouses was Jordanian at the time the marriage was concluded, except for the condition of capacity.
Legal Consultation
A marital dispute that stretches between Jordan and North America is sensitive on both sides: for the husband living abroad, a judgment of judicial separation or maintenance may be given and enforced against his property in Jordan before he learns of the case, and for the wife living abroad, her rights to dower and maintenance depend on a case conducted in Jordan and on choosing the right route from the start. Time limits for challenge and opportunities for defense that the absent party misses are hard to recover from abroad. The articles Legal Matters in Jordan for People Living in the USA and Canada and Khula (khul') under Jordanian Law and Its Effect on the Wife's Rights cover what changes in a file when its owner lives abroad and what the wife gives up through the wife's compensation (iftida'), while legal consultation in divorce and maintenance cases before the Sharia courts can be requested by contacting Alabwini Law Firm & Legal Consultancy.
