1. The courts of the State shall be competent to consider cases related to Personal Status issues filed against citizens and foreigners who have a domicile, place of residence, or place of work in the State. 2. The court, within whose jurisdiction falls the respondent’s domicile, place of residence or place of work, shall be competent. In case of multiple respondents, competence shall be granted to the court within whose jurisdiction falls the domicile, place of residence or place of work of one of them. 3. The court, within whose jurisdiction the plaintiff’s or respondent’s domicile, residence, or place of work or marital home falls, shall be competent to hear cases filed by the children, the wife, the parents, or the custodian, as the case may be, in the following matters: a. Alimonies, wages, and the like. b. Custody, visitation, and related issues. c. Dowry, trousseau, gifts, and the like. d. Divorce, Khula’, acquittal, revocation, and separation between spouses in all their forms. 4. The court within whose jurisdiction in the State falls the most recent domicile, residence, or place of work of the deceased, shall be competent to verify the proof of inheritance, wills, and liquidation of estates. If the deceased did not have a domicile, residence or place of work in the State, competence shall be attributed to the court within whose jurisdiction falls one of the assets of the estate. 5. Local jurisdiction in matters of guardianship is determined as follows: a. In matters of guardianship (Wilayah) , at the domicile or place of residence of the guardian or minor, and in matters of tutorship (Wisaya) , at the most recent domicile or place of residence of the deceased or minor. b. In matters of interdiction, at the domicile or place of residence of the person to be interdicted. c. In matters of absence, at the most recent domicile, place of residence, or location of the absent person. d. If none of those mentioned in paragraphs (a), (b), and (c) has a domicile or place of residence in the State, competence shall be vested in the court within whose jurisdiction the domicile or place of residence of the applicant is located, or the court within whose jurisdiction the property of the person whose protection is sought is located. e. The court, that issued a ruling of interdiction or ordered the withdrawal or suspension of guardianship, shall refer the case to the court within whose jurisdiction the domicile or place of residence of the Minor is located to appoint someone to supervise him/her, whether a guardian (Wali) or tutor (Wasi) . 6. If the respondent has no domicile, place of residence or place of work in the State, and it is not possible to designate the competent court by the provisions of the previous paragraphs, competence shall be to the court within whose jurisdiction the domicile, place of residence or place of work of the plaintiff is located, otherwise competence shall be vested to the court of the capital.
Interpretation and application must be checked against the official text and current version.