Radmacher (formerly Granatino) v Granatino (pre-nuptual contract)
Supreme Court, Lord Phillips P, Lord Hope (DP), Lord Rodger, Lord Walker, Lady Hale, Lord Brown, Lord Mance, Lord Collins and Lord Kerr, 20 Oct 2010
The court should give effect to a nuptial agreement that is freely entered into by each party with a full appreciation of its implications unless in the circumstances prevailing it would not be fair to hold the parties to their agreement.
Nicholas Mostyn QC and Deepak Nagpal (instructed by Payne Hicks Beach) for the husband. Richard Todd QC, Geoffrey Kingscote and Jonathan Harris (instructed by Farrer & Co) for the wife.
The husband was French and the wife German. They signed an ante-nuptial agreement in Germany in August 1998. It was drawn up by a notary and provided for German law to apply. The effect of the agreement was that neither party was to derive any interest in or benefit from the property of the other during the marriage or on its termination. No provision was made in the event of them having children. The agreement was made at the insistence
