Description of the legal term Nullity of Marriage:
Nullity of marriage is a legal declaration by a court that, notwithstanding the fact a marriage ceremony may have taken place, the marriage never legally existed. In the United Kingdom, this concept is differentiated from divorce in that while divorce dissolves a legal marriage, a decree of nullity states there was no valid marriage in the first place. This could be either ‘void’ or ‘voidable’.
A void marriage is considered invalid from the outset. It is never legal due to factors such as one party already being married to someone else (bigamy), the parties being closely related (within prohibited degrees of kinship), one or both of the parties being under the legal age for marriage, or the marriage not being properly solemnized according to the legal requirements. In the eyes of the law, a void marriage is treated as if it had never taken place.
In contrast, a voidable marriage is regarded as valid until it is annulled. Grounds for a voidable marriage include lack of consent, where one of the parties was suffering from a mental disorder or was forced into the marriage; if the marriage has not been consummated (in the case of heterosexual couples); one party having a sexually transmitted disease at the time of marriage, or if a woman was pregnant by another man at the time of marriage. Unlike a void marriage, a voidable marriage requires legal action in the form of annulling to declare it null.
It is important to acknowledge the concept of nullity in relation to the family property and financial settlement. Upon granting a decree of nullity, parties might still need to settle financial and property claims, akin to proceedings after a divorce. The court will consider various factors to ensure fair arrangements between the parties, looking closely at the contributions made by each spouse during the time they lived as ‘husband and wife’.
Nullity proceedings can also have implications for immigration status if, for example, a party’s right to stay in the UK is contingent upon their marriage.
Legal context in which the term Nullity of Marriage may be used:
Consider a situation where John, a British national, marries Jane, who is from a non-EU country. They have a wedding ceremony in the UK, and shortly afterwards, Jane’s permanent right to stay in the UK is granted based on her marriage to John. It then comes to light that Jane was still legally married to someone else in her home country at the time she married John. John seeks legal advice and is informed that his marriage to Jane is null and void; it’s not a case for divorce because the marriage was never valid under UK law. John applies for a decree of nullity, which once granted, means that in the eyes of UK law, the marriage to Jane never existed. This would have a significant impact on Jane’s immigration status, as her right to remain in the UK was predicated on a marriage that is now deemed legally non-existent.
In another example, Amy and Tom get married, but soon after the wedding, Amy discovers that Tom has been unfaithful to her and also has a sexually transmitted disease which he did not disclose before the marriage. Feeling shocked and betrayed, Amy seeks to separate from Tom. After obtaining advice, she realizes that instead of filing for divorce, she has the grounds to have their marriage annulled. This is because the marriage is considered valid until an annulment is granted, thus making it voidable rather than void. She proceeds with the annulment proceedings on the basis that Tom’s withholding of information about his health was a vital fact she was unaware of at the time of their marriage. As a result, the marriage could be treated as though it never legally existed once the decree of nullity is issued.
The term nullity of marriage underlines that not all relationships that resemble marriage in ceremonial form are recognized by law. It upholds the legal standards set forth to ensure that marriages are entered into freely, with full consent, by parties who legitimately meet the criteria of a lawful union. The existence of this legal provision ensures protection for individuals against invalid marital bonds and maintains the integrity of matrimonial law in the British legal system.
