Child maintenance order by foreign Court
I was married to a Tanzanian who was living in Europe and we lived for 10 years before we divorced. We are blessed with one child who is under ten years. Two years back I petitioned the Court for divorce in the country where we were living and I got a divorce decree and order for maintenance of the child. My former husband relocated to Tanzania and is no longer paying maintenance costs as ordered by the Court. Can you guide me how to execute the child’s maintenance order against my former husband who is currently working in Tanzania?
TT, Dar
Section 141 of the Law of Marriage Act [Cap. 29 R.E 2019] allows execution of a foreign maintenance order of a child, wife or husband if the country whose Court issued the order has a reciprocal arrangement for enforcement of foreign maintenance order with Tanzania. In view of the Law of Marriage (Reciprocal Enforcement of Maintenance Orders) Order, countries with reciprocal arrangement for enforcement of foreign maintenance orders with Tanzania are the Republic of Malawi, England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. If your child maintenance order was issued by a Court of one of the above mentioned countries, it can be executed in Tanzania by following the procedure explained below.
The transmission of the foreign maintenance order has to follow the diplomatic channel up to the Minister for Foreign Affairs who shall send a copy of the order to the Court for registration. If the foreign maintenance order was made by a superior Court of the foreign country, the order shall be registered by the High Court but if it was issued by a lower Court, the order shall be registered by a resident magistrate Court in Tanzania. Once a foreign maintenance order is registered by a local Court it becomes enforceable like an order of a local Court.