Ethiopia - Obtain Divorce Decree

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Procedure

Apply In-Person:

1. The petition for obtaining a divorce decree is available in the Ministry of Justice, Ethiopia contact link
2. The petitioner wills be required to serve the petition and the notice to appear in court to the Respondent, either personally or through a post office.
3. The respondent may also file another petition to dissolve the marriage, and after the papers have been exchanged, the registrar of the court sets the date for the hearing.
4. If the court is satisfied with the petition, marriage dissolution is granted.
5. The dissolution takes full effect after six months, after which parties are allowed to remarry.
6. But the first priority of the family arbiters is to attempt to reunite the husband and wife.
7. If this is not possible, they will then negotiate agreements for property settlement and child custody.
8. The arbiters must present the agreement to the court for a final decision. Upon presentation of the court's ruling and a copy of the judgments signed by all parties involved, the municipality will issue a divorce certificate in the Amharic language only.
9. Most marriages in Ethiopia are religious in nature and the civil divorce procedures and laws are intertwined with the religious commitments regarding termination of marriages.
10. Fee for this procedure must be paid as prescribed by the court.
    

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Required Documents

• Marriage Certificate
• A filed petition
  

Office Locations & Contacts

Location: Addis Ababa
Address: Ministry of Justice, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Contact: +251115541868
Contact link

Eligibility

• The marriage must be registered legally.
• The marriage must have lasted at least three years.
  

Fees

Fee must be paid as prescribed by the court.

Validity

A divorce decree is valid forever.

Documents to Use

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Sample Documents

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Processing Time

The process time depends upon the divorce proceedings.

Related Videos

Videos explaining the procedure or to fill the applications.
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Please remove the '&' inside the tags during implementation.
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e.gIn the following url 'http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y0US7oR_t3M' Video ID is 'Y0US7oR_t3M'.

Instructions

• The Laws of Ethiopia requires that before you can embark on the process to obtain a divorce decree. Here are some grounds for divorce:
  • Adultery
  • Desertion
  • Cruelty
  • Incurable insanity (proof of failed treatment for at least five years)
  • Wife or husband found guilty of rape, sodomy, bestiality
• You can seek further advice from an advocate on what is required to successfully launch a divorce petition (Optional).
• You should have sufficient reasons to convince the court for a need to divorce, particularly if three years have not elapsed.
• You then present your case through a divorce petition which is supported by an affidavit.
  

The petition should show that parties have not colluded to obtain the divorce.

Required Information

• Proof of marriage
• A file petition, stating the grounds for the divorce.
  

Need for the Document

• Obtaining a divorce is a rather lengthy process in Ethiopia. There is only one ground for divorce in Ethiopia, if the marriage has broken down irretrievably which is adultery.
• Each party must have tried and failed to maintain the Marriage. Then they can appoint two family arbiters, which is acceptable to the court.
• The first priority of the family arbiters is to attempt to reunite the husband and wife.
  

Information which might help

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Other uses of the Document/Certificate

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e.g. Birth certificate can be used as a proof of identity.

External Links

External link

Others

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