Marriage law
Marriage law is the body of legal specifications and requirements and other laws that regulate the initiation, continuation, and validity of marriages, an aspect of family law, that determine the validity of a marriage, and which vary considerably among countries in terms of what can and cannot be legally recognized by the state.
Summary table
Rights and obligations
A marriage, by definition, bestows rights and obligations on the married parties, and sometimes on relatives as well, being the sole mechanism for the creation of affinal ties. Historically, many societies have given sets of rights and obligations to husbands that have been very different from the sets of rights and obligations given to wives. In particular, the control of marital property, inheritance rights, and the right to dictate the activities of children of the marriage have typically been given to male marital partners. However, these practices were curtailed to a great deal in many countries, especially Western countries, in the twentieth century, and more modern statutes tend to define the rights and duties of a spouse without reference to gender. In various marriage laws around the world, however, the husband continues to have authority; for instance, the Civil Code of Iran states at Article 1105: "In relations between husband and wife; the position of the head of the family is the exclusive right of the husband".These rights and obligations vary considerably among legal systems, societies, and groups within a society, and may include:
- Giving a husband/wife or their family control over a portion of a spouse's labor or property.
- Giving a husband/wife responsibility for a portion of a spouse's debts.
- Giving a husband/wife visitation rights when his/her spouse is incarcerated or hospitalized.
- Giving a husband/wife control over their spouse's affairs when the spouse is incapacitated.
- Establishing the second legal guardian of a parent's child.
- Establishing a joint fund of property for the benefit of children.
- Establishing a relationship between the families of the spouses.
- Making a secure place and establishing social dignity of the spouses.
Common law marriage
The Catholic Church forbade clandestine marriage at the Fourth Lateran Council, which required all marriages to be announced in a church by a priest. The Council of Trent introduced more specific requirements, ruling that future marriages would be valid only if witnessed by the pastor of the parish or the local ordinary or by the delegate of one of the said witnesses, the marriage being invalid otherwise, even if witnessed by a Catholic priest. This ruling was not accepted in the newly Protestant nations of Europe, nor by Protestants who lived in Roman Catholic countries or their colonies, nor by Eastern Orthodox Christians.
It is sometimes mistakenly claimed that before the Marriage Act 1753 cohabiting couples would enjoy the protection of a "common-law marriage". In fact, neither the name nor the concept of "common-law marriage" was known at this time. Far from being treated as if they were married, couples known to be cohabiting risked prosecution by the church courts for fornication.
The Marriage Act 1753 also did not apply to Britain's overseas colonies of the time, so common-law marriages continued to be recognized in what became the United States and Canada. Although it is claimed that common-law marriage in the US originated in English common-law, this institution in the United States appears to have originated in the primitive conditions of colonial America where the presence of relatively few clerics or civil officials necessitated a substitute for ceremonial marriage, and the need expanded as the settlers moved into the sparsely populated regions of the West. In the United States, common-law marriages are still recognized in Alabama, Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Montana, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Texas, Utah, and the District of Columbia.
All countries in Europe have now abolished "marriage by habit and repute", with Scotland being the last to do so in 2006.
Australia has recognized de facto relationships since the Family Law Act of 2009.
In the United States by the second half of the 20th century, common-law marriages were valid in about one-third of the states, absolutely or conditionally.
Israel has common law marriages and are an alternative for couples not wishing to get married via a religious institution or go abroad as Israel has no formal civil marriage. Israeli Common Law Marriages have most rights of that of a traditional married couple.
Marriage restrictions
Marriage is an institution that is historically filled with restrictions. From age to gender, to social status, various restrictions are placed on marriage by communities, religious institutions, legal traditions, and states.Marriage age
The minimum age at which a person is able to lawfully marry, and whether parental or other consents are required, vary from country to country. In the U.S. the minimum age for marriage without parental and/or judicial approval is 18 except for Nebraska and Mississippi ; but most states allow exceptions to the general minimum age in some circumstances. In England and Wales the general age at which a person may marry is 18, but 16- or 17-year-olds may get married with their parents' or guardians' consent. If they are unable to obtain this, they can gain consent from the courts, which may be granted by the Magistrates' Courts, or the county or High Court family divisions. In Nigeria, because most marriages are religious ones, there is no strict minimum age for marriage. The issues of age is in most cases determined by respective religious bodies coordinating the marriage as well as the parent's consent. In Sierra Leone, the president has banned marriages for children ages 18 and under and imposed steep fines on adult spouses. In the Philippines, the minimum legal age for marriage is 18, but individuals who are 16 or 17 can marry with parental consent. However, the country has specific provisions for Muslim marriages, which may differ from civil marriage regulations.Gender restrictions
, social, and religious restrictions apply in all countries on the genders of the couple.In response to changing social and political attitudes, some jurisdictions and religious denomination now recognize marriages between people of the same sex. Other jurisdictions have instead "civil unions" or "domestic partnerships", while additional others explicitly prohibit same-sex marriages.
In 1989, Denmark became the first country to legally recognize a relationship for same-sex couples, establishing registered partnerships, which gave those in same-sex relationships "most rights of married heterosexuals, but not the right to adopt or obtain joint custody of a child". In 2001, the Netherlands became the first country in the world to legalize same-sex marriage. As of January 2025, marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 39 countries- the Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, Canada, South Africa, Norway, Sweden, Portugal, Iceland, Argentina, Denmark, Brazil, France, Uruguay, New Zealand, Luxembourg, the United States, Ireland, Colombia, Finland, Malta, Germany, Australia, Austria, Taiwan, Ecuador, the United Kingdom, Costa Rica, Chile, Switzerland, Slovenia, Cuba, Mexico, Andorra, Estonia, Greece, Liechtenstein, and Thailand. As of January 2025, Nepal has recognized same-sex marriage. Marriage equality in Liechtenstein came into effect on January 1, 2025. The equal marriage bill in Thailand was passed with an overwhelming majority on March 27, 2024.
In 2019, Taiwan became the first country in Asia to legalize same-sex marriage. Thailand is expected to become the first country in Southeast Asia to recognize same-sex marriage after a marriage equality bill passed both the House of Representatives and the Senate.
Civil union, civil partnership, domestic partnership, and registered partnership statuses offer varying legal benefits of marriage. As of, countries that have an alternative form of legal recognition other than marriage on a national level are: Bolivia, Croatia, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Monaco, Montenegro, and San Marino.
Further religious conflicts
These developments have created a political and religious reaction in some countries, including in England, where the Church of England, after long debate, officially banned blessings of gay couples by Church of England clergy, and in the United States, which continues to experience conflicts, based upon religious grounds.Kinship restrictions
is two people that are related by blood or adoption, such as brother, sister, mother, father, aunt, uncle etc. The U.S. is the only western country with cousin marriage restrictions, no European country prohibits marriage between first cousins. Societies have often placed restrictions on marriage to relatives, though the degree of prohibited relationship varies widely. In most societies, marriage between brothers and sisters has been forbidden, with ancient Egyptian, Hawaiian, and Inca royalty being prominent exceptions. In many societies, marriage between first cousins is preferred, while at the other extreme, the medieval Catholic Church prohibited marriage even between distant cousins.In the United Kingdom, the Deceased Wife's Sister's Marriage Act 1907 removed the previous prohibition for a man to marry the sister of his deceased wife. In Australia, marriage with an ancestor or descendant is prohibited, as is a marriage between a brother and a sister, whether of whole blood or half-blood and even if the brother or sister has been adopted.
All mainstream religions prohibit some marriages on the basis of the consanguinity and affinity of the prospective marriage partners, though the standards vary.