MacLean Law’s Canadian Iranian Divorce Family Lawyers act across Canada with offices in Vancouver and across BC, Calgary, and Toronto Ontario. Rana Yavari is Iranian, fluent in Persian, and familiar with the cultural and legal complexities of the Canadian Persian community. Rana Yavari works with Lorne MacLean, QC on high net worth international Iranian Canadian divorces across Canada.
MacLean Law is an award-winning law firm and Lorne MacLean,QC was just named as one of Canada’s Top 25 Lawyers for his high net worth international family law wins where his clients received millions.
Canadian Iranian Divorce Family Lawyers 1 877 602 9900
Persian women and men with connections to Iran are often surprised by Canadian family and divorce laws. Under Iranian divorce laws, only men have the right to file for divorce. The wife may require the husband’s permission to travel to and from Iran or the husband may impose a travel ban on the wife once she arrives in Iran.
The Iranian courts do not recognize divorces granted in Canada. There are various cases where Iranian women have legally divorced in Canada but feel trapped in their Iranian marriage because of the ex-husband’s refusal to co-operate with the divorce proceeding in Iran.
The support and property laws of Canada are far more generous to women than are those of Iran. Issues over jurisdiction and Iranian marriage contracts crop up repeatedly in Canada and our Canadian Iranian divorce family lawyers help our clients navigate this tricky area.
Canadian Court’s Jurisdiction 1 877 602 9900
Canadian courts have jurisdiction to consider applications brought by Iranian women to have the husband complete certain forms so that an Iranian divorce can be obtained.
In the recent decision of Kariminia v Nasser, 2018 BCSC 695, the couple were legally divorced in Canada but the husband refused to consent to an Iranian divorce:
[46] …..religious freedoms are subject to limitations when they disproportionately collide with other significant public rights and interests and that conduct which would potentially cause harm to or interfere with the rights of others would not automatically be protected
[47] I accept that if the respondent chooses to travel to Iran, she will put herself at risk of not being able to return to Canada under her own volition. This dilemma has caused substantial harm to the respondent as, up to this point, she has chosen not to visit her elderly mother and disabled sister. In addition, it has potentially harmed the Children’s interests, as they have not had the opportunity to travel to Iran and visit their grandmother and aunt either.
[48] The cause of this situation is the claimant’s refusal to consent to an Islamic Iranian divorce, which normally would be his religious right. However, as the claimant’s conduct has resulted in direct, substantial harm to the respondent, and the claimant has failed to respond to this application, appear at this hearing, or put his religious rights under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms [Charter] in issue, I find that the right is not protected in the circumstances.
[50] Pursuant to s. 15 of the Charter, “[t]he promotion of equality entails the promotion of a society in which all are secure in the knowledge that they are recognized at law as human beings equally deserving of concern, respect and consideration”: R. v. Kapp, 2008 SCC 41 at para. 15, citing Andrews v. Law Society of British Columbia, 1989 CanLII 2 (SCC), [1989] 1 S.C.R. 143, at 171. Discrimination, on the other hand, perpetuates or promotes “the view that the individual is less capable or worthy of recognition or value as a human being or as a member of Canadian society, equally deserving of concern, respect, and consideration”: Quebec (Attorney General) v. A, 2013 SCC 5 at para. 417, McLachlin C.J.C.
[51] With these principles in mind, I find that it is against Canadian public policy to recognize that the right to the parties’ Islamic Iranian divorce is exclusively the claimant’s, as a man. As discussed, such a finding would effectively restrict the respondent from visiting her aging mother and disabled sister in Iran. This is unwarranted in light of Canadian views and jurisprudence on the equality of sexes, and the harm to the respondent is an injustice that offends Canadian morality.
[52] The parties are divorced by order of this Court, and there is no basis for the claimant’s failure to grant the Islamic Iranian divorce.
[53] I accordingly order that the claimant shall execute the necessary documents required for an Islamic Iranian divorce, and immediately send them to the Embassy of Pakistan, Interests Section of the Islamic Republic of Iran, 1250 23rd St. N.W. Suite #200 Washington, DC 20037, along with all costs associated with obtaining this divorce. The claimant will takes these steps within 14 days of this order being personally served upon him.
[54] The claimant will provide a copy of the executed documents to the respondent within seven days of executing the documents.
Canadian Iranian Divorce Family Lawyers-Public Policy 1 877 602 9900
The Supreme Court of Canada in Bruker v. Marcovitz, 2007 SCC 54 dealt with a similar issue where the ex-husband failed to provide his wife with a Jewish divorce:
[5] For an observant Jewish woman in Canada, this presents a dichotomous scenario: under Canadian law, she is free to divorce her husband regardless of his consent; under Jewish law, however, she remains married to him unless he gives his consent. This means that while she can remarry under Canadian law, she is prevented from remarrying in accordance with her religion. The inability to do so, for many Jewish women, results in the loss of their ability to remarry at all.
[81] Section 21.1 of the Divorce Act, which gives a court discretionary authority to rebuff a spouse in civil proceedings who obstructs religious remarriage, is a clear indication that it is public policy in this country that such barriers are to be discouraged. As the comments of the then Ministers of Justice show, these amendments received overwhelming support from the Jewish community, including its more religious elements, reflecting a consensus that the refusal to provide a get was an unwarranted indignity imposed on Jewish women and, to the extent possible, one that should not be countenanced by Canada’s legal system.
If you have an international divorce issue involving Iran and Canada reach out to our national Canadian Iranian divorce family lawyers.
