Conflict of marriage laws

Conflict of marriage laws is the conflict of laws with respect to marriage in different jurisdictions. When marriage-related issues arise between couples with diverse backgrounds, questions as to which legal systems and norms should be applied to the relationship naturally follow with various potentially applicable systems frequently conflicting with one another. The standard choice of law rules for adjudicating on issues relating to marriage represent a balance between the various public policies of the laws involved: Status and capacity are defined by the personal laws of the parties, namely: the lex domicilii or law of the domicile in common law states, and either the lex patriae or law of nationality, or law of habitual residence in civil law states). The personal laws will usually define status in rem so that it is recognised wherever the individual may travel subject only to significant public policy limits. Hence, for example, as an aspect of parens patriae, a state will define the age at which a person may marry. If such a limitation could simply be evaded by the young person traveling abroad on a holiday to a country with a lower age limit, this would clearly breach the policy of the "parental" state. The same principle would apply to an adult who wished to create a polygamous marriage or to evade a restriction on consanguinity. In Family Law as opposed to the Law of Contract, there is also a strong case for legal capacity to be universally enforced to limit to ability of individuals to evade normally mandatory rules. The claims of the lex loci celebrationis to apply are weak given that the significance of the location may be no more than the convenience of their laws to those wishing to marry. The form of the marriage is governed by the lex loci celebrationis or the law of the place where the marriage was celebrated or occurred, and is usually considered definitive on whether the ceremony or legal recognition has been effective to create the relationship of marriage and marital rights (see nullity).