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Marriage Definition Requirements for a valid marriage Bars to marriage Void and voidable marriage Marriage as a contract. Marriage in the past . historically the English Common Law required nothing for the celebration of a marriage beyond the declared agreement of the parties .
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MarriageDefinitionRequirements for a valid marriageBars to marriageVoid and voidable marriageMarriage as a contract
Marriage in the past historically the English Common Law required nothing for the celebration of a marriage beyond the declared agreement of the parties
Common-law marriage A marriage that takes legal effect without licence or ceremony; “marriage by habit and repute” traces its roots to the English ecclesiastical courts, which until 1753 recognized a kind of informal marriage known as sponsalia per verba de praesenti, which was entered into without ceremony Authorized in 11 states in the US as the full equivalent of a ceremonial marriage Also: consensual marriage, informal marriage
The formalities today A marriage must be celebrated in the presence of a clergyman of the Church of England, or (since 1836) of a Registrar of Marriages, or (since 1898) of an ‘authorized person’ Two persons must be present as witnesses
Definitions a voluntary union for life of one man and one woman to the exclusion of all others a contract based upon a voluntary private agreement by a man and a woman to become husband and wife act or state of being joined as husband and wife
Requirements for a valid marriage Monogamous (not necessarily one man and one woman – same-sex marriage made legal in 2002 in the Netherlands) For life (the intention of both parties must be a union for life, regardless of the availability of divorce) Voluntary (as any other contract, it must be entered into voluntarily, without coercion)
Conditions for a valid marriage 1) parties legally capable of contracting to marry 2) mutual consent or agreement 3) an actual contract in the form prescribed by law
Bars to marriage Youth (the age of consent; now 18, before 1969 it was 21) Consanguinity (close blood relation)
Void marriage If either party is under sixteen If parties are related by blood: 1. Ascendants and descendants, e.g. parent and child, grandparent and grandchild 2.Brother and sister, uncle and niece, nephew and aunt 3. Persons who, by reason of the previous marriage of one of them, are related – changed by the Marriage Act of 1986
Marriage Act, 1986 A man may marry his stepmother, or a woman her stepfather, provided that the younger person is aged at least 21 and has not at any time before reaching the age of 18 lived as a child of the family of the older person Marriage between in-laws also permitted
Bigamy A marriage celebrated between two persons, one of whom is at the time validly married, is void The person who knowingly enters into such a marriage is guilty of bigamy
Other types of void marriages Marriages between parties who are not male and female A polygamous marriage entered into outside England and Wales, if either party was at the time domiciled in England and Wales
Voidable marriage Valid initially, but may be set aside because of: Lack of due consent Duress (coercion) Mistake as to identity Mental incapacity (unsound mind)
Marriage as a contract Marriage is a contract, but it is not like other contracts because: The parties cannot agree on the rules governing marriage The parties cannot agree what is to be regarded as a breach of contract (because it must be for life), nor what compensation should be paid in case of such a breach (a different type of contract regulates this: prenuptial agreement)
Vocabulary Ecclesiastical courts – crkveni sudovi Registrar – matičar Coercion (duress) – prisila, prinuda Consent – pristanak, privola Bars to marriage – zapreke braku Consanguinity – krvno srodstvo Dissolution of marriage – razvrgnuće braka
Vocabulary II Valid marriage – važeći brak Void marriage – ništavan brak Voidable marriage – poništiv (pobojan) brak Breach of contract – raskid ugovora Prenuptial agreement – predbračni ugovor
Comprehension check Complete the following sentences: A mariage entered into under duress is ________________. Bars to marriage are youth and ________________. A valid English marriage must be monogamous, for life and _____________.