Read about the difference between void and voidable marriages and then decide which marriage
   is void and which voidable.

   

   A void marriage is one that is considered never to have taken place, whatever procedure may
   have been followed by the people concerned. They are simply not married.

   A voidable marriage is one that is not void from the outset, as may be the case with a
   marriage conducted illegally, but may be declared void in course of time.

   

   Children born in a void marriage are technically illegitimate, as the marriage is considered
   never to have happened. In contrast, children of a voidable marriage are considered legitimate
   if born before the annullment.

   If a marriage is though to be void, either partner can apply to the High Court for a
   `declaration of nullity', indicating that the marriage effectively never took place. If a
   marriage is voidable, but not void, either party can apply to a competent court for an
   annullment. Annullment is technically different from divorce, because it rests on the state
   present at the time of marriage, not events that happened after marriage.

   

   Void or voidable?

   l        either partner does not, or can not, consumate the marriage

   l        either partner was under 16 years of age

   l        either partner did not consent to the marriage (marriages made under duress)

   l        either partner was not mentally competent to consent to the marriage (eg. under the
   influence of drugs)

   l        the partners are related in a forbidden degree (eg. incestuous or bigamous)

   l        either partner was suffering from a sexually-transmitted disease

   l        the formal procedures of marriage were not correctly followed; for example, the
   wedding may not have been in a registered building, or open to the public

   l        the partners were of the same gender at birth

   l        the woman was pregnant by another man

   l        either partner is tricked by some fraudulent representation of the other (such as
   concerning impotency or
   sterility)                                                                                                                                                                   
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