Public Policy in Families and Successions Regulations: The Case of “Talaq”

According to EU Regulations on transnational families and successions, a foreign rule remains without effect if it is deemed contrary to the so-called public policy (ordre public) of the forum’s legal system. As a consequence, judges have to evaluate whether the application of foreign law is incompatible with fundamental principles of the domestic law, especially whether it would constitute a violation against human rights. An outstanding controversial issue is today represented by Islamic repudiation (talaq): two contrasting Italian judicial decisions of August 2020 may illustrate how difficult it could be to determine what public policy is.