You never forget your wedding day...
Rarely does a reported case "have it all” in terms of twists, turns, drama and scandal. The judgment of Mr Justice Bodey in El Gamal v Al Maktoum has it in spades.
The parties were the chairman of Emirates Group (also the uncle of the current ruler of Dubai) and his former lover, Nivin El Gamal. There are already court proceedings in respect of child maintenance for their three-year-old child. However, in December 2011 the court was asked to decide whether the parties had gone through an Islamic marriage ceremony, and, if they had, whether this ceremony was sufficient to enable Ms El Gamal to apply for the full range of financial settlements available to wives, husbands and civil partners as opposed to their unmarried counterparts.
Judgment has now been handed down. Despite huge question marks over the mother's credibility and psychological state, the father's failure to turn up at the hearing had a massive impact on the first question and the judge found that a ceremony had taken place. Crucially though, the lack of formality of the ceremony was such that Ms El Gamal was entitled neither to a divorce or annulment, either of which would have opened the door to a much wider range of financial settlements. Instead she will be limited to receiving provision for the child, which will be considerable, given the father's wealth.
This is a very unusual case in terms of both the fact pattern and the colossal amounts of money involved. Nevertheless, there are still some useful reminders:
1. Great damage can be done if you don't turn up to court to give evidence in support of your case.
2. Marriage and civil partnership ceremonies may not be all they seem and if there are queries, expert advice from divorce solicitors is needed at the earliest opportunity.
3. There is a world of difference between the financial settlements available to married couples and civil partners, and those available to unmarried partners.
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