Discussing a proposition that ‘The general tendency of the law as it has been developed has been to preserve marriages where the ceremonial aspects were in order’, Ormrod J held that: ‘The control of the formation of marriage in this country has a long statutory history, much of it intended to prevent clandestine marriages. The general tendency has been to preserve marriages where the ceremonial aspects were in order rather than to invalidate them for failure to comply with the statutory provisions leading up to the ceremony. . . In my judgment, the principle which emerges from the corpus of legislation regulating the formation of marriages in England and from the reported cases arising therefrom, is that if a ceremony of marriage has actually taken place which, as a ceremony, would be sufficient to constitute a valid marriage, the courts will hold the marriage valid unless constrained by express statutory enactment to hold otherwise. This is consistent with the traditional concept both of the common law and of the canon law that the essence of marriage is the formal exchange of voluntary consents to take one another for husband and wife.’
Judges:
Ormrod J
Citations:
[1968] P 482
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
Cited by:
Cited – MA v JA (Attorney General intervening) FD 27-Jul-2012
The parties had gone through a marriage ceremony, but not having given the required notice to the registrar, no marriage certificate had been issued. They now sought a declaration that the marriage was valid.
Held: The declaration was granted. . .
Cited – Her Majesty’s Attorney General v Akhter and Another CA 14-Feb-2020
Islamic Nikah Ceremony did not create a marriage
The parties had undertaken, in 1998, an Islamic marriage ceremony, a Nikah. They both knew at the time that to be effective in UK law, there would need to be a civil ceremony, and intended but did not achieve one. The parties having settled their . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Family
Updated: 16 October 2022; Ref: scu.632729