Based in a small entity along the frontier between Belgium and Germany, Yves Derwahl tells us his story, dealing with legal imbroglios of divorces in two nations at the same time and finding solutions for people with no borders.
Belgium always puzzles foreigners with its complex system of federal governance. As we are living in the aftermath of another election and lengthy negotiations to form a government that can balance the needs of Flemish and Walloon people, it is a fitting time to focus on another part of the country; one which is widely overlooked and very interesting: the small German-Speaking Community of Belgium.
A federated entity with its own parliament and government, the DG (for “Deutschsprachige Gemeinschaft”, as locals know it) only has 70,000 inhabitants. Local lawyer Yves Derwahl (EJ Belgium), tells us more about it: “Of the 27 judicial districts in Belgium, we are the only one in the German language. We can request a Francophone procedure but the basic rule is German. We are divided into two sub-districts, Eupen and Sankt-Vith. The judicial map of Belgium has been amended several times and once again recently but we managed to maintain our autonomy against all odds. It has been discussed several times to merge us with the districts of Liège, Huy, and Verviers, to create a single, big one. But the whole DG refused it and we managed to stay apart. We even have our own bar”.
Yves works mostly for clients based in the DG but he is often asked to take care of German cases. “Sometimes I even have to work with Austria”, he says. “Our community is a bridge between French-speaking Wallonia and the Federal Republic of Germany, so I also have a lot of cases coming from Walloon people”. Mostly active in family law, Yves has developed a peculiar talent for mixed marriages. “I have many cases of Belgo-German couples for example. And in legal terms it is even more complicated: what if they were married in Germany but now reside in Belgium and seek divorce? Shall I apply German or Belgian law? Shall we go to court in Eupen or in Germany?” Cases become even more tricky when there are children, with visitation rights, and if the couple own estates in one country or the other. “There are laws about all this in every country, but when it becomes international, things are different”.
According to Yves, a marriage contract can simplify things, even if it does not solve every issue. “The contract can define if a potential divorce will be made according to Belgian or German law, it can even define which court would be competent. But to be honest, when people get married, they rarely think about their future divorce! So it is not usual to find such things in a marriage contract”. In Belgium, the disappearance of fault in divorces is favoring amicable breakups and the couple then define rules together. However, Yves has had the occasion to experience every possibility: “Basically, the law and court should be the one from the last place of residence the spouses held together and the one where children are habitually staying. This is the standard rule but in practice it is always more complicated. I have a case in which the husband initiated the divorce procedure in Belgium, but the wife asked for a pension from the court in Germany. What to do then? I have to examine both systems of law”.
Yves has used the Eurojuris network more than often to help him deal with his situation as a border town lawyer. “I also used Jurismus a lot”, he says, “and with both networks I found a specialised lawyer in every city where I needed them.” Jumping over borders has never been so easy!
