Case-study in British Family Law: Religious Beliefs and Divorce
Cuthbert is seeking a remedy in the law of nullity for two reasons. Firstly, his religious beliefs may not permit divorce and secondly, he can petition immediately whereas divorce proceedings cannot be commenced until the parties have been married for one year (s.3 MCA 1973).
On what grounds can Cuthbert base a petition?
1. s.12(c) MCA 1973 - that he did not validly consent to the marriage ... in consequence of duress. Cuthbert was frightened of losing his job in embarrassing circumstances. Is this sufficient to have the marriage annulled? According to the test in Szechter , such social and economic pressure would be insufficient, as there must be threats of immediate danger to 'life, limb or liberty'. However, in Hirani the Court of Appeal took a more expansive view and formulated the test as being whether the threat was such as to destroy the reality of consent, and overbear the will of the......
Join Now or Login to view the rest of this paper.
Approximate Word Count: 907
Approximate Pages: 4 (260 words per double-spaced page) |