Prenuptial Agreements in Spanish Private International Law

Abstract

Prenuptial agreements are common nowadays in an international context. The idea that it is a legal business relegated to rich people and movie stars has been ruled out. Currently, due to the mobility of people, marriages in which the spouses do not share nationality are quite frequent. However, just as the frequency in their celebration is also usual to end in divorce. With this motive, many of them decide to regulate through a prenuptial agreement the effects of a possible rupture. The object of our paper is the analysis of these pacts from an international privatist point of view. As a result of the different foreign elements that can present these pacts, it is necessary to determine which law is applicable to know if they are valid. To reach such a law, it is necessary to take into account the rules of private international law. In particular, we will focus the study on article 9.3 of the Spanish Civil Code.