The court was asked whether parties to a polygamous marriage recognised in Nigeria could be exempt thereby from a charge as co-conspirators because of s2 of the 1977 Act. The judge had held the marriage invalid after finding that the defendant was domiciled in the UK.
Held: The appeal failed. The word ‘spouse’ in the 1977 Act clearly referred only to somebody within a marriage recognised under UK law. There had been ample evidence that the defendant was UK domiciled at the time of the offence, and that the judge had been correct not to leave that issue to the jury.
Davis LJ, Gilbart J
[2016] EWCA Crim 560, [2016] WLR(D) 253
Bailii, WLRD
Criminal Law Act 1977 1 2, Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 42 11
England and Wales
Citing:
Cited – Hyde v Hyde 1860
Parties to a polygamous marriage are not entitled as between themselves to any matrimonial relief under English law. . .
Cited – Hussain v Hussain CA 1983
A marriage celebrated outside England under a system of law permitting polygamy is not to be regarded as polygamous for the purpose of s.11(d) (or presumably for other purposes) if neither spouse had capacity to enter into a second marriage, such . .
Cited – Bellinger v Bellinger HL 10-Apr-2003
Transgendered Male/Female not to marry as Female
The parties had gone through a form of marriage, but Mrs B had previously undergone gender re-assignment surgery. Section 11(c) of the 1973 Act required a marriage to be between a male and a female. It was argued that the section was incompatible . .
Cited – Laila Jhina Mawji and Another v The Queen PC 4-Dec-1956
Eastern Africa – The two defendants, parties to a valid polygamous marriage, appealed against a conviction of conspiracy to obstruct, prevent, pervert or defeat the course of justice by hiding a wall clock they knew was required for the purpose of . .
Cited – Regina v Junaid Khan CACD 1987
The court was asked whether a wife under an (actually) polygamous marriage, entered into under the rites of the Moslem religion, was competent to give evidence against her husband. It was conceded that ‘in English law generally’ the lady was not the . .
Cited – Regina v Pearce CACD 11-Dec-2001
The defendant appealed against his conviction for murder. He said that the court had not allowed his alcoholism as a characteristic for the purposes of testing the defence of provocation, and that the evidence of his long standing partner should be . .
Cited – Regina v Pearce CACD 2002
An unmarried partner in a long-term relationship with the accused was a compellable witness against him even though, had they been married, she would not have been. The statutory provisions applied to husband and wife and no one else. . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Crime
Updated: 31 October 2021; Ref: scu.564455