Although the distinction is clear conceptually, the boaderline between forced and arranged marriages can be hard to draw.
“Although the distinction is clear conceptually, the borderline between forced and arranged marriages can be hard to draw.”
In this essay I will attempt to define the law on forced marriages and portray the courts view on the issue. I will include articles and judgments, which will attempt to make the distinction between a forced marriage and an arranged marriage.
I contend there is inevitably a thin line between the two, however the main element that separates both a forced and an arranged marriage, is consent. I will first explore the legal domain of marriage in order to distinguish it from that of a forced marriage.
In English law, marriage is an agreement by which a man and a woman enter into a legal relationship by becoming husband and wife and such relationship imposes mutual rights and duties. This vague summary of marriage can be applicable to both an arranged and forced marriage, in fact, it summaries the general meaning of any marriage. What differentiates a ‘traditional’ English marriage to that of a forced marriage can be illustrated in the early case of Hyde v Hyde. In this case Lord Penzance defined marriage as “the voluntary union for life of one man and one woman to the exclusion of others". The crucial aspect of this definition is the word voluntary. Moreover, the first condition of marriage is that it must be voluntary and the parties must consent to such marriage. The legal definition of consent provides “a voluntary agreement to another's proposition”; the prominence of voluntary is something that the definition of forced marriage lacks. Article 12 of the European Convention on Human Rights protects the right not to be forced into a marriage against your will. The minimum age of consent to marriage is sixteen. A person between sixteen and eighteen years of age cannot marry without the consent of their parents unless they are a widow or widower. Although there isn't a criminal offence of 'forcing someone to marry'
In this essay I will attempt to define the law on forced marriages and portray the courts view on the issue. I will include articles and judgments, which will attempt to make the distinction between a forced marriage and an arranged marriage.
I contend there is inevitably a thin line between the two, however the main element that separates both a forced and an arranged marriage, is consent. I will first explore the legal domain of marriage in order to distinguish it from that of a forced marriage.
In English law, marriage is an agreement by which a man and a woman enter into a legal relationship by becoming husband and wife and such relationship imposes mutual rights and duties. This vague summary of marriage can be applicable to both an arranged and forced marriage, in fact, it summaries the general meaning of any marriage. What differentiates a ‘traditional’ English marriage to that of a forced marriage can be illustrated in the early case of Hyde v Hyde. In this case Lord Penzance defined marriage as “the voluntary union for life of one man and one woman to the exclusion of others". The crucial aspect of this definition is the word voluntary. Moreover, the first condition of marriage is that it must be voluntary and the parties must consent to such marriage. The legal definition of consent provides “a voluntary agreement to another's proposition”; the prominence of voluntary is something that the definition of forced marriage lacks. Article 12 of the European Convention on Human Rights protects the right not to be forced into a marriage against your will. The minimum age of consent to marriage is sixteen. A person between sixteen and eighteen years of age cannot marry without the consent of their parents unless they are a widow or widower. Although there isn't a criminal offence of 'forcing someone to marry'