Divorce
离婚问题
For richer and poorer
离婚指南 （陈继龙 译）
Mar 1st 2007
From The Economist print edition
Rich people with wobbly marriages need to think hard about where they live
婚姻不稳定的有钱人要慎重考虑自己的居住地
MARRIAGE may be about love, but divorce is a business. （1）For global couples—born in different countries, married in a third, now working somewhere else and with children, pensions and other assets sprinkled over the world—a contested divorce is bliss for lawyers and a nightmare for others.
结婚也许与爱情有关，但离婚则是一个行业。就生于不同国家、结合于第三国、目前在别国工作且子女、养老金和其他资产又散布于世界各地的跨国夫妇来说，他们的离婚大战在律师看来是福音，在其他人看来却是梦魇。
Divorce laws vary wildly, from countries (such as Malta) that still forbid it to Islamic states where—for the husband, at least—it may be obtained in minutes. Rules on the division of property and future financial obligations vary hugely too. France expects the poorer party, usually the wife, to start fending for herself almost immediately; England and some American states insist on lifelong support. Some systems look only at the “acquest” (assets built during the marriage); others count the lot. A few, like Austria, still link cash to blame (eg, for adultery[1]). Japan offers a temptingly quick cheap break, but—for foreigners—little or no enforceable contact with the kids thereafter, notes Jeremy Morley, a New York-based “international divorce strategist”. Other places may be mum-friendly when it comes to money but dad-friendly on child custody.
各国离婚法律大相径庭，有的国家（如马耳他）仍禁止离婚，而在一些伊斯兰国家却可以说离就离（至少对男方是这样）。各国关于财产分割和未来赡养义务的规定也差异甚巨。法国规定经济实力较弱的一方（通常是女方）离婚后必须立即自立；英格兰和美国一些州则要求终生赡养。有的国家仅要求对“婚后财产”（即婚后创建的资产）进行分割，有的却要分割所有财产。少数国家如奥地利在分割财产时还要考虑过错在哪一方（比如婚外情）的问题。在日本，离婚手续很快就可办妥，但来自纽约的“跨国婚姻离婚战略家”杰里米•莫雷（Jeremy Morley）指出，对于外国人而言，离婚就几乎意味着要断绝与子女的联系。有的国家在财产问题上会顾及女方的利益，但在子女抚养问题上则要照顾男方。
The European Union (home to 875,000 divorces a year, of which a fifth are “international”) is trying to tidy up its divorce laws. （2）A reform in 2001 called Brussels II tried to stop forum shopping, in which each party sought the most favourable jurisdiction, by ruling that the first court to be approached decides the divorce. That worked—but at the cost of encouraging trigger-happy spouses to kill troubled marriages quickly, rather than trying to patch them up. This, says David Hodson, a specialist in international divorce law, favours the “wealthier, more agGREssive, more unscrupulous[2] party”. It goes against the general trend towards counselling, mediation and out-of-court settlement.
欧盟每年有87.5万对夫妇离婚，其中1/5属“跨国婚姻”，目前它正设法完善其离婚法律。2001年一次名为“布鲁塞尔二号（Brussels II）”的改革规定离婚必须由诉讼送达的首个法院来判决，以防止“选购法院（forum shopping）”行为，亦即离婚当事人选择向最有利于自己的法院提起诉讼。改革是有效的，但代价却是争吵不休的夫妇早早劳燕分飞，而不是让他们破镜重圆。跨国离婚法律专家大卫•霍德森（David Hodson）说，这正是“比较富裕、更为好斗、寡廉鲜耻的一方”想要的结果。处理离婚问题时，一般都倾向于劝告、调停和庭外和解，这种做法显然有悖于此。
An EU measure called Rome III, now under negotiation and pencilled in[3] to come into force in 2008, tries to ensure that the marriage is ended by the law that has governed it most closely.（3） It may be easy for a Dutch court to apply Belgian law when dealing with the uncontested divorce of a Belgian couple, but less so for a Spanish court to apply Polish rules, let alone Iranian or Indonesian, and especially not when the divorce is contested.
欧盟又推出了“罗马三号（Rome III）”措施，目前还在协商修改中，将于2008年正式生效。该措施旨在确保婚姻由与其关系最为密切的法律来终结。倘若是荷兰法庭受理一对比利时夫妇离婚案时运用比利时法律，也许很容易；可要是让西班牙法庭执行波兰（更不用说伊朗或者印度尼西亚）的规定，就不太容易了，并且如果离婚存在争议时就更难了。
Such snags[4] make Rome III “laughably idiotic—a recipe for increasing costs”, according to John Cornwell, a London lawyer. Britain and Ireland say they will opt out. That, says Mr Hodson, will give a further edge to London. Since a judgment in 2000 entrenched the principle of “equality” in division of marital assets, England, home to hundreds of thousands of expatriates, has become a “Mecca for wives”, says Louise Spitz of Manches, a London law firm. David Truex, who runs a specialist international divorce outfit, reckons that at least a fifth of divorce cases registered in London's higher courts now have an international element.
伦敦律师约翰•康韦尔（John Cornwell）认为，这些问题使得“罗马三号”“就像痴人说梦，可笑至极”，“要想多花冤枉钱，这倒是个好办法。”英国和爱尔兰称其将不会采取这一措施。霍德森说，如此一来，伦敦对离婚人士的吸引力就更大了。伦敦法律咨询公司Manches的路易斯•斯皮茨说，2000年一次判决巩固了婚姻财产分割中的“平等”原则，自此作为无数流亡人士避难所的英格兰就逐渐成为“妇人心目中的麦加（Mecca，：沙特阿拉伯西部城市，位于红海沿岸。它是伊斯兰教创始人穆罕默德的诞生地，是伊斯兰教最神圣之地，也是笃信伊斯兰教的虔诚教徒的朝拜中心——译者注）”。据一家跨国婚姻专家组织的负责人大卫•特鲁克斯（David Truex）估计，在伦敦较高级别法庭登记的离婚案例中，至少有1/5属于跨国婚姻。
That trend is accelerating as more and more foreign professionals move to Britain: the latest bunch of customers, says Ms Spitz, are from the former Soviet Union: hugely wealthy and based in London for political reasons. That may protect their assets from being grabbed by the Kremlin; but it does not shield them from their wives. （4）English courts are slowly edging towards the principle (already entrenched in some American states) that the wife's efforts during the marriage to boost her husband's earning power must be compensated, meaning that future income, as well as current assets, must be shared.
随着移居英国的外国职业人士日益增多，这一趋势还在加速发展：斯皮茨说，最新一拨“客户”都来自前苏联。他们腰缠万贯，因为政治原因而定居伦敦。这么做他们的资产也许能躲过克里姆林宫的抢夺，却躲不过妻子的争夺。英国法院正逐步采用这样一个原则（在美国一些州已得到确立），即婚后妻子为增强丈夫财富创造能力所付出的努力必须给予补偿，也就是说现有资产以及丈夫未来的收入都必须与妻子分享。
Compared with most other jurisdictions, English courts are not just wife-friendly but sharp-toothed and clear-sighted. A case to be heard next week by the Court of Appeal will determine the fate of the huge offshore fortune of John Charman, a financier. A lower court ruled that his wife was entitled to her share of the assets held in a Bermuda trust. （5）Rich couples with troubled marriages and a London connection are watching with a mixture of glee[5] and foreboding.
相比其他大多数法院，英国法院不光照顾女方，而且对当事人财产状况了如指掌。地区法院（Court of Appeal）下周要听证的一个案例将决定金融家约翰•查尔曼（John Charman）海外巨额财产的命运。某下级法院曾判决其妻有权拥有部分存于百慕大某信托公司的资产。婚姻纠纷不断、与伦敦有一定联系的有钱夫妇看到这个，也许有点幸灾乐祸，抑或还有点不寒而栗。
For the typical global couple, such high-profile, big-money cases matter less than the three basic (and deeply unromantic factors) in marriage planning. According to Mr Truex, a rich man should choose his bride from a country with a stingy divorce law, such as Sweden or France, and marry her there. Second, he should draw up a pre-nuptial aGREement. These are binding in many countries and have begun to count even in England. Third, once divorce looms, a wife may want to move to England or America (but should avoid no-alimony states such as Florida); for husbands, staying in continental Europe is wise.
在典型的跨国夫妻看来，婚姻生活筹划的“基本三要素”（还有无关于浪漫的因素）要比这种姿态明确、涉及巨额财产的案例更为重要。特鲁克斯认为，富人娶媳妇要到离婚法令比较吝啬的国家去找，比如瑞典或法国，并且就在那里成婚。其次，他应当起草一份婚前协议。这些协议在很多国家都具有法律约束力，甚至在英格兰也开始产生一定的法律效力。第三，一旦离婚迫在眉睫，女方也许想移居英格兰或者美国（但应避免到佛罗里达之类“无赡养费”的州）；此时，男方宜留在欧洲大陆不动。
Outside Europe, the country—or American state—deemed the most “appropriate” in terms of the couple's family and business connections will normally get to hear the case. But here too unilateral action may be decisive. When Earl Spencer, brother of Princess Diana, divorced his first wife he surprised her by issuing proceedings in South Africa where they were then living. In England, where they had been domiciled[6], she might have got a better deal. She ended up suing her lawyers.
在欧洲之外，从夫妻在家庭和事务上的联系来看最“合适的”国家（或美国的州），一般都会关注这一案例。但下面这个例子说明，单方行动也可决定一切。戴安娜王妃的弟弟厄尔•斯宾塞（Earl Spencer）同其第一任妻子离婚时，是在他们当时的居住地南非提起离婚诉讼的，这着实让他的妻子吃惊不小。如果放在他们曾定居过的英格兰，她也许就能得到更好的待遇。最后她只好请律师帮忙。
The lesson for couples? How you live may determine the length and happiness of your marriage. Where you live is likely to determine how it ends.
夫妻对此要吸取怎样的教训呢？那就是，你的生活水平将决定你婚姻的长短和幸福与否，而你的生活地点则有可能决定这段婚姻将如何画上句号。
[QUIZ]
英译汉（请将划线部分英文翻译成中文）：
[NOTES](OXFORD)
1. adultery n. [U] voluntary sexual intercourse between a married person and sb who is not that person's husband or wife 通奸: commit adultery 犯通奸.
2. unscrupulous adj. without moral principles 无道德原则的; 不讲道德的: unscrupulous methods, behaviour 不道德的方法、 行为 * He was utterly unscrupulous in his dealings with rival firms. 他与对立公司竞争完全不讲道德.
3. pencil sth in write (a suggested date, arrangement, etc) provisionally in a diary 在日志中临时记下（建议的日期、 安排等）: Let's pencil in 3 May for the meeting. 我们把会议日期暂定为5月3日吧./
4. snag n. small difficulty or obstacle, usu hidden, unknown or unexpected 小的困难或障碍（通常指潜在的、 未知的或未料到的）: come across a snag 碰到点困难 * We hit (ie encountered) several snags while still at the planning stage. 我们在计画阶段就遇到了几个困难. * There must be a snag in it somewhere. 一定是在某处出了个小故障. * The only snag is that I have no money. 唯一的困难是我没钱.
5. glee n. [U] ~ (at sth) feeling of GREat delight which makes one (want to) laugh, caused by sth good experienced by oneself, or sth bad that happens to sb else 欣喜; 幸灾乐祸: The children laughed with glee at the clown's antics. 孩子们让小丑的滑稽动作逗得哈哈大笑. * He rubbed his hands with glee at the prospect of their defeat. 他眼看著他们行将失败, 快乐得直搓手. * She couldn't disguise her glee at their discomfiture. 他们受挫, 她不禁喜形於色.
6. domiciled adj. [pred 作表语] having one's domicile in a place 有固定住所: be domiciled in Britain, London, etc 在英国、 伦敦等有固定住所.
