Foreign Marriages in Relation to Bigamy
| Date | 01 July 1949 |
| Published date | 01 July 1949 |
| DOI | 10.1177/002201834901300312 |
| Subject Matter | Article |
Foreign Marriages in Relation
to Bigamy
FOR
the
purposes of this article a foreign marriage will
be
taken
to mean amarriage celebrated elsewhere
than
in England
and
Wales,
while'
British
subject'
will
bear its ordinary meaning.
Aperson commits bigamy who, being married, marries
another person during
the
life of
the
former husband or
wife.
In
the
case of a British subject
it
matters
not
where
t{le second marriage takes place,
but
aperson who is
not
aBritish subject 'cannot be prosecuted for bigamy in
England in respect of a second marriage celebrated else-
where
than
in England or Wales.
It
is presumed
that
if a subject of Eire, who has
not
expressly retained British nationality, goes through a form
of marriage elsewhere
than
in England or Wales, or if
any
person,
not
aBritish subject, goes through a form of
ceremomy of marriage in Eire, he will not now thereby
render himself liable to prosecution for bigamy in this
country. .
On an indictment of bigamy
the
prosecution
must
prove a legally valid marriage entered into
by
the
defendant
followed
by
a second ceremony during
the
subsistence of
the
first marriage.
The validity of a foreign marriage must be strictly
proved. Proof of
the
due ceremonies
and
of
the
parties
is
not
sufficient,
the
validity of
the
marriage
by
the
law of
the
country
of celebration must be proved
by
expert
evidence (R. v. Naguib (1917) 1
K.B.
358).
In
the
case of a British subject
the
foreign marriage
may
be
the
bigamous ceremony. The validity of this
ceremony is immaterial,
it
is
the
going through of
the
ceremony which constitutes bigamy (R. v. Robinson, 26
Cr. App. R.
12,9).
Provided
the
defendant hasgone through
aceremony of marriage
it
matters
not
that
for some reason
v321
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