Sohrab v Khan
| Jurisdiction | Scotland |
| Judgment Date | 23 April 2002 |
| Docket Number | No 31 |
| Date | 23 April 2002 |
| Court | Court of Session (Outer House) |
OUTER HOUSE
Lord McEwan
Husband and wife—Marriage—Nullity—Arranged marriage—Whether consent vitiated by duress
Husband and wife—Marriage—Nullity—No marriage schedule—Registration—Marriage (Scotland) Act 1977 (cap 15), secs 13(1), 23A(1)1
Section 13(1)(a) of the Marriage (Scotland) Act 1977 provides that a marriage shall not be solemnised by an approved celebrant unless the parties produce to him before the marriage ceremony a marriage schedule in respect of the marriage issued in accordance with the Act. Section 23A(1) of the Act provides that subject to secs 1 and 2 of, and without prejudice to sec 24(1) of the Act, where the particulars of any marriage at the ceremony in respect of which both parties were present are entered in a register of marriages by or at the behest of an appropriate registrar, the validity of that marriage shall not be questioned, in any legal proceedings whatsoever, on the ground of failure to comply with a requirement or restriction imposed by, under or by virtue of the Act. Section 1 prescribes a minimum age for marriage, sec 2 specifies forbidden degrees of relationship between the parties, and sec 24(1) specifies various criminal offences.
The parties took part in a Muslim wedding ceremony on 13 December 1998. The marriage was arranged by the parties' parents. The parties had met each other on only one occasion prior to the ceremony. The pursuer sought declarator of nullity of the marriage on the grounds that her consent to the marriage was vitiated by duress. The pursuer was aged 16 at the time of the ceremony. Her parents had only told her of the marriage one week before the ceremony. Her mother had threatened to commit suicide if the pursuer refused to marry the defender. Her parents told her she would be a disgrace to the family, and that she would be sent to Pakistan to be married. There had been two short periods of cohabitation following the marriage in February and April 1999. The pursuer also sought declarator of nullity on the grounds that there was no marriage schedule relative to the ceremony which took place, and no proper registration. The notices of intention to marry were signed on 14 December 1998, specifying 30 December 1998 as the date of the proposed marriage. The marriage schedule gave the date of the marriage as 30 December 1998. The defender argued that the pursuer was willing and happy to go through with the ceremony, but became unhappy for other reasons.
Held (1)...
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In Re: Ms A - Validity of Marriage
...not identical to ours, Mr McQuitty relied on authorities which emphasised the absolute need to have a marriage schedule – Sohrab v Khan [2002] SC 382 and Saleh v Saleh [1987] SLT 633. As Lord McEwan said at paragraph [84] of Sohrab: “However, I am unable and unwilling to conclude that the v......
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SH v KH
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City of Edinburgh Council v S. Forced Marriage in Scotland: The Legal Response
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