[...]... disgust, Jafar returned to Ruritania to visit relatives Ruritanian law allows polygamy, and Jafar married Asha, a 14 year old Ruritanian girl, who returned to England with him Jafar’s drug addiction has rendered him impotent and so after two years he and Asha adopt a child Jafar now wishes to end his relationship with Asha Advise Jasmine and Jafar on the validity of their various marriages Answer plan First,... voidable marriage under s 12 for nonconsummation and the bar of statutory approbation • if the marriage to Jasmine is void, then the marriage to Asha is valid, and the only possibility is a s 12 voidable marriage Answer The first marriage between Jasmine and Jafar is of crucial importance in determining the validity of the subsequent marriages The capacity of Jasmine and Jafar to contract a valid marriage... marriage Therefore, Jane should seek a nullity decree in respect of her marriage to Tarzan 7 Q & A ON FAMILY LAW Question 2 Jasmine’s parents settled in England from Ruritania, and Jasmine was born and grew up in England She was introduced on her 16th birthday to Jafar, a Ruritanian domiciliary, who had come to England to go through an arranged marriage with Jasmine Two weeks later, Jasmine reluctantly... was valid and then, alternatively, that the first marriage was void If the first marriage was valid then it is necessary to examine Jafar ’s and Asha’s capacity to enter into their marriage by reference to the law of their ante-nuptial domiciles Asha is clearly domiciled in Ruritania at the time of the wedding and has capacity to enter into a polygamous union However, it is not clear what Ruritanian... that for a short while Tarzan was married to Jane’s mother There would be an absolute prohibition on Jane marrying Tarzan if he were her natural or adoptive father; likewise if she had at any stage been a child of the family whilst Tarzan was married to her mother: Sched 1 Marriage Act 1949 However, if Jane had never been treated by Tarzan as a child of the family and Tarzan’s relationship with Jane’s... non-consummation (incapacity or wilful refusal?) Answer In advising Jane on the validity of her marriages, it will be necessary to examine the first marriage to Fred, which took place in Ruritania For this marriage to be valid, both parties must have had capacity to marry and the relevant formalities must have been complied with 3 Q & A ON FAMILY LAW Turning to the issue of capacity, English case law has determined... since it affects a person’s capacity to marry, and with the lex loci which governs the formalities, or formal requirements, of marriage that must be complied with Void marriages under s 11 MCA are fundamentally flawed from the outset and students must be able to identify the appropriate part of s 11: 1 Q & A ON FAMILY LAW • s 11 (a) deals with marriages that are invalid under the Marriage Acts 1949 and 1970... Act In the instant case the marriage is not actually polygamous, but it has the potential, given Fred’s domicile, to become polygamous In Hussain v Hussain (1982) a marriage between a man and a woman in Pakistan which permitted polygamy was nevertheless held to be valid, as the woman had the Pakistani domicile and could not take a second husband, and the man had an English domicile and could not take... (1910) Jafar has come here to marry Jasmine and he has remained after the marriage, but if this is merely the result of indifference and apathy it may be that he has retained his Ruritanian domicile: Ramsay v Liverpool Royal Infirmary (1930) If Jafar has an English domicile at the time of the marriage then it would seem that both he and Jasmine have capacity to marry Lord Penzance’s definition of marriage... (1866) as ‘the voluntary union of a man and a woman for life to the exclusion of all others’ forms the basis of the English rules on capacity If a party lacks capacity then the marriage would be void under s 11 MCA 1973 Here both Jasmine and Jafar are over 16, 9 Q & A ON FAMILY LAW man and woman, single, and not within the prohibited degrees Since Jafar has an English domicile the marriage is not polygamous . LIBERTIES AND HUMAN RIGHTS COMMERCIAL LAW COMPANY LAW CONFLICT OF LAWS CONSTITUTIONAL & ADMINISTRATIVE LAW CONTRACT LAW CRIMINAL LAW EMPLOYMENT LAW ENGLISH. LAW ENGLISH LEGAL SYSTEM EQUITY & TRUSTS EUROPEAN UNION LAW EVIDENCE FAMILY LAW INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY LAW INTERNATIONAL TRADE LAW JURISPRUDENCE LAND LAW PUBLIC