To establish
that a marriage is void, one of the following grounds must be proved:
- that the parties are within prohibited degrees of relationship
- that one of the parties was under 16
- that the marriage is not valid by reason of non compliance with any
statutory provision or rule of law governing the formation of the marriage
- that at the time of the marriage, one of the parties was already
lawfully married
- that the parties are not respectively male and female
- that in the case of a polygamous marriage entered into outside Northern
Ireland that either party was at the time of the marriage domiciled in Northern
Ireland
A void marriage
is one which is so flawed that it may be regarded as never having taken place,
however a decree can be obtained to legally verify that fact.
A voidable
marriage is one which exists until such a time as the court grants a decree to
annul it, which distinguishes it from a void marriage. The grounds upon which a
marriage can be voidable are as follows:
- that the marriage has not been consummated owing to the incapacity of
either party
- that the marriage has not been consummated owing to wilful refusal of
the Respondent to do so
- that either party to the marriage did not validly consent to it, whether
by duress, mistake, unsoundness of mind, or otherwise
- that at the time of the marriage either party was suffering from a
mental health disorder of such kind so as to be unfit for marriage
- that at the time of the marriage the Respondent was suffering from a
communicable venereal disease
- that at the time of the marriage the Respondent was pregnant by some
person other than the Petitioner
- that an interim gender recognition certificate under the Gender
Recognition Act 2004 has, after the time of the marriage, been issued to either
party to the marriage
- that the Respondent is a person whose gender at the time of the marriage
had become the acquired gender under the Gender Recognition Act 2004
There are
certain bars to obtaining a decree of nullity on the ground that a marriage is
voidable, such as, that the Petitioner, with knowledge that it was open to him
or her to have the marriage avoided, conducted him or herself to lead the
Respondent to reasonably believe that he or she would not seek to do so.
Further such a decree can be refused on the grounds that it would be unjust to
the Respondent to grant it.
Additionally,
there is a time bar to obtaining a decree of nullity, insofar as proceedings
must be issued within 3 years of the date of the marriage, or alternatively the
leave of the court must be granted to apply outside that time period. Such
leave will only be granted in certain limited circumstances.
Should you
require any advice, assistance or more information in respect of any of the
issues raised in this article, you should contact a solicitor specialising in
matrimonial law.
