Validity Of Marriage

According to the Blacks Law Dictionary, marriage as distinguish from the act of becoming married, is the civil status of one man and one woman untied in law for life, for the discharge of each other and the community of the duties legally incumbent on those whose association is founded on the distinction of sex. Marriage under the act is simply defined as the union of one man and one woman to the exclusion of all others. The Marriage Act recognizes two types of marriages, and these are – Customary and Statutory marriage.
The parties to a marriage under the Act must possess the necessary capacity: Neither party must be married that is, a party to a subsisting statutory or customary law marriage has no capacity to enter into another statutory marriage with another. Also, a voluntary consent of the parties is prerequisite for the celebration of a statutory marriage. The granting of such consent under duress violates the agreement. Parental consent is required for a marriage to be valid. Where either party to a statutory marriage, not being a widow or a widower, is under 21 years of age, he or she must obtain a written consent of the father. But if the father is dead or of unsound mind or absent from Nigeria, the mother may give the necessary consent. Where both parents are dead or are of unsound mind or out of Nigeria, the guardian can give the consent.
The Marriage Act did not lay down any mandatory age for marriage. This vacuum in such an important matter is a serious omission, which requires remedial action. But Section 3(i) (e) of the Matrimonial Causes Act, makes a marriage void when either of the parties is not of a marriageable age. It is important to notes that there is nowhere in the statute that the term marriageable age is defined. In the absence of a statutory definition some school of thought are of the opinion that, recourse should be made to the common law of England which is part of the received English law in Nigeria. Under the common law, a valid marriage may be contracted by the parties who have attained the age of puberty, 14 yrs in the case of boys and 12 yrs for girls. How practicable is this?
The parties to a statutory marriage must not be related by blood in any way (consanguinity). Also, the Act is against marriage between parties who are related by marriage (affinity). For instance a step father and a step daughter or a brother in-law and a sister in-law. However the consent of the court may be given on request stating that something have transpired that makes it impossible for both to stay apart. It is also necessary that parties to a statutory marriage are sane. If one of the parties is insane, and therefore mentally incapable of understanding the nature of the marriage contract, the marriage is void abinitio.

Nkechi Bright Ewere