A centralized repository of authenticated foreign divorce and marriage laws will be established to help reduce evidentiary burdens, costs, and delays for litigants seeking recognition of foreign divorce and marriage-related judgments in Philippine courts.

The Supreme Court (SC), through its Committee on Family Courts and Juvenile Concerns (CFCJC), will coordinate with the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) and Office of the Court Administrator (OCA) to establish the repository under a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) signed on October 21, 2026.

Under the MOA, the OCA will serve as the central repository of updated and authenticated foreign laws on divorce and the nullity or annulment of marriage.

It will develop a system to organize, secure, and make these materials accessible to courts, litigants, and legal counsel.

The DFA, meanwhile, may coordinate with Philippine Foreign Service Posts to obtain authenticated copies of foreign laws governing marriage, divorce, annulment, and legal separation, which it will transmit to the OCA along with updates on significant changes to foreign family and marriage laws.

For its part, the CFCJC will oversee coordination among the institutions, monitor implementation, facilitate information-sharing, and convene consultations when necessary.

The agreement complements recent amendments to the Rules of Court under A.M. No. 25-03-14-SC, which establish a disputable presumption concerning the foreign spouse’s legal capacity to remarry following a foreign divorce.

Under the amendments, a foreign divorce between a Filipino and a foreign spouse is presumed to allow the foreign spouse to remarry under the applicable foreign law, unless the divorce decree itself states that the divorce is limited.

Parties challenging the presumption may submit certified copies of applicable foreign divorce laws, including English translations, obtained from the OCA repository to support their objections.

The amendments retain the requirement for judicial recognition of foreign divorces and do not change the substantive requirements under Article 26(2) of the Family Code.

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