Recognition of islamic repudiation decisions: the “ordre public procédural” as a refrain to impose forum’s values?

The paper explores the recognition of Islamic repudiation (talaq) decisions in French and Italian case law, investigating the role that the notion of ordre public procédural, as elaborated at the European and domestic levels, has played in the recognition or misrecognition of Islamic forms of marital dissolution. Adopting a value-oriented approach in favor of legal pluralism, the analysis compares the different outcomes reached when Courts assessed the exequatur proceeding in the light of substantive public policy, namely the principle of equality between the spouses, and when the evaluation concerns procedural safeguards. As the use of an abstract approach leads to a systematic refusal to recognize Islamic repudiations, the paper evaluates favorably some recent decisions of the Italian Supreme Court which valorized a case-by-case approach.