[...]... wife petitioned on the ground of nonconsummation of the marriage Held: the question of the marriage was to be determined according to French law, ie, the law of the country in which the parties intended to make the matrimonial home Lord Greene considered the essential distinction between void and voidable marriage: The substance [of the distinction] may be expressed thus A void marriage is one that will... refused because English matrimonial law concerned Christian marriage only Per Lord Penzance: I conceive that marriage, as understood in Christendom, may be defined as the voluntary union for life of one man and one woman to the exclusion of all others Rignell v Andrews (1991) X had cohabited with Y for some 11 years Y had taken X’s surname X claimed that Y was his ‘common -law wife’ and that he could claim... wife was living with him Held: the term ‘wife’ applied only to a woman who had entered into the relationship of marriage with a man Mere cohabitation did not give rise to marriage, and the phrase ‘common -law marriage’ was inaccurate 1 BRIEFCASE on Family Law 1.2 The legal capacity to marry Note A person domiciled in England has capacity to marry if: one party is male and the other female, neither party.. .BRIEFCASE on Family Law B, Re [1967] 3 All ER 629 215 B (Abduction: Acquiescence), Re [1999] 2 FLR 818 234 B (Adoption Order: Jurisdiction to Set Aside), Re [1995] 3 All ER 333 223 B (A Minor) (Adoption Application), Re [1995] 1 FLR 895 213 B (A Minor) (Adoption Order: Nationality), Re [1999]... to consummate the marriage, he was satisfied that this was sufficient to demonstrate that, for the purposes of the marriage, W was a woman 3 BRIEFCASE on Family Law Bellinger v Bellinger (2000) W petitioned for a declaration that she was validly married to H within the terms of s 11 MCA 1973 Supported by H, W contended that she was female at the time of the marriage in 1981, and that the decision in... unmarried the parents of [Z] who is unquestionably legitimate in the eyes of the law (Re Bischoffsheim (1948)) In my judgment, injustice would be perpetrated and conscience would be affronted if the English court were not to recognise and give effect to the law of the domicile in this case 5 BRIEFCASE on Family Law 1.3 The significance of formalities Note Where persons have married in breach of certain specified... petitioner, an Englishman, took up residence in Utah, where he became a Mormon and married R, who was also a Mormon, in accordance with the marriage rites of the Mormon Church which, at that time, allowed polygamy P later returned to England, having renounced the Mormon faith R continued to reside in Utah and married a second husband P sought to divorce R on the ground of her adultery Held: P’s petition... Corbett v Corbett (1971) ought to be reconsidered in the light of medical advances and changed social conditions The Attorney-General, intervening, argued that W’s biological characteristics at birth were congruent, and she was male, despite having undergone medical treatment and an operation for gender reassignment Held: W’s application for a declaration was refused Johnson J stated that, while accepting... 85 Jones v Jones [1997] 1 FLR 27 83 xv BRIEFCASE on Family Law K (Abduction: Psychological Harm), Re [1995] 2 FLR 550 231 K (A Child), Re (2000) 150 NLJ 1538 203 K (A Minor), Re [1995] 2 CLY 1061 159 KT (A Minor) (Adoption), Re [1993] Fam Law 567 ... 5 Marriage (Prohibited Degrees of Relationship) Act 1986 5 Married Women’s Property Act 1882 s 17 112 Matrimonial and Family Proceedings Act 1984 s 368 72 s 13 76 Matrimonial Causes Act 1937 s 4(2) 30 xxv BRIEFCASE on Family Law Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 s 1(1) . w0 h1" alt="" Briefcase on Family Law Second Edition LB Curzon Barrister Cavendish Publishing Limited C P London • Sydney Second edition first published. Road, London W1P 9HE, UK, without the permission in writing of the publisher. Curzon, LB (Leslie Basil) Briefcase on family law – 2nd ed 1 Domestic relations