A man and a woman register a relationship with the goal of forming a family. If there are grounds sufficient to confirm that the marriage took place contrary to the laws, morality and principles of the rule of law, it can be declared invalid. Such court cases are quite rare. And the main purpose of the appeal is to annul the legal consequences of the marriage union.
In what case can a marriage be considered invalid by court?
The grounds for declaring a marriage invalid are formulated and prescribed in the articles of the law. It may be canceled if:
- registration was carried out without the consent of at least one spouse;
- spouses (one of them) were under 18 years of age at the time of registration;
- before marriage, the spouse was in a legal relationship;
- the husband and wife are close relatives;
- a fictitious marriage was concluded;
- one of the spouses was declared incompetent by the court due to a mental disorder;
- there was a concealment of information about the presence of a sexually transmitted and (or) HIV disease in one of the spouses.
In order for the court to declare a relationship invalid, at least one of the listed circumstances is sufficient. Although in practice their combination is not uncommon.
What is a fictitious marriage? Invalidation of a fictitious marriage
How is a fictitious marriage different from a regular one? A fictitious marriage is a marriage entered into without the desire to start a family. Its goal is to use the acquired benefits and privileges of a property or other nature.
Fictitious marriage legal nature is compared with an imaginary transaction, since in both cases legal actions are concluded without the intention of causing proper legal consequences. Compared to the usual, he is registered for the sake of appearance, without the desire to start a family.
Any arguments can be used to prove fictitiousness, including witness's testimonies. These may include:
- duration of marriage;
- lack of common farming;
- lack of common children and the reasons for this;
- direct evidence of “falsity”, etc.
If at the time of filing the application for annulment of the marriage the minor is already 18 years old, then only he can submit documents on the specified basis to the court.
When entering into a forced marriage, the person whose rights were violated or the prosecutor must go to court.
If during the marriage there were obstacles to its registration, such as one of the spouses having an already registered relationship, incapacity due to a mental disorder, or the marriage of relatives, then the following have the right to demand annulment of it:
- a spouse who was unaware of the existence of circumstances prohibiting the conclusion of a union;
- guardian of an incapacitated spouse;
- family members of a previous unresolved marriage;
- guardianship and trusteeship authority;
- other persons whose rights were not respected;
- prosecutor.
If a fictitious marriage was concluded, then the deceived spouse or the prosecutor can file a claim for annulment.
If, before registration, information about the sexually transmitted or HIV disease of one of the spouses was hidden, then only the second one can sue.
If a claim to declare a marriage invalid is filed by a person who is not included in the list of those eligible for the relevant grounds, the court will refuse to accept the application.
A person who knowingly violates the requirements of the law, that is, is responsible for concluding a fraudulent relationship, has no right to submit an application for recognition of marriage as invalid.
How to disprove the validity of a marriage?
The procedure for recognizing a marriage as invalid is prescribed in the legislation of our country. This matter is decided only by higher authorities.
According to the Civil Procedure Code, the defendant and plaintiff must be notified of the place and time of the proceedings. If the court does not take measures to establish the whereabouts of the accused and considers the case in his absence, this will become grounds for canceling the decision.
In addition, the law obliges the involvement of the guardianship and surety authority in resolving the issue if it involves a person who has not reached the age of majority or has been declared incompetent by a court due to a mental disorder.
In what case can a marriage not be considered invalid?
The circumstances described above are not always a solid basis for declaring a marriage invalid. There are certain clauses that allow the court to reject a claim.
- if at the time of consideration of the claim the circumstances that previously prevented the conclusion of a family union have disappeared;
- if the marriage entered into by a minor was dictated by his interests;
- if, after concluding a “false” marriage, the spouses created real family or the marriage has already been dissolved by a court decision (exception: registration between close relatives or if at the time of the conclusion of the relationship there was a valid marriage union).
Only a valid marriage can be declared invalid. A termination by the court cannot be recognized as such, since there is an important procedural rule. A decision made by higher authorities can be changed or canceled only within the same proceedings. This cannot be done in any other process.
Consequences of declaring a marriage invalid
An alliance that is found to be false is considered completely annulled and never existed. The legal consequences of an invalid marriage are entirely determined by the civil code. Behind ex-spouses Obligations and rights arising from family relationships are not preserved.
For example, the recognition of a marriage as invalid provides grounds for one spouse not to pay alimony to the other. If any amount was previously paid, it will not be returned.
Compiled earlier marriage contract loses power. The previous surnames are returned to their owners.
The only ones who have the same privileges as in a legal marriage are the children. The court will protect their rights in any case.
Division of property upon annulment of marriage
If the marriage is declared invalid, then the property acquired over the years life together, is divided not according to the norms of the UK, but in accordance with the provisions of the Civil Code. Each spouse will receive the part that he purchased with his own money. If, for example, the TV was bought by the wife, then after the divorce she will get it. And if the goods were purchased in equal shares, then, by agreement of the parties, one of them will get a TV, and the other will be reimbursed for the money spent on the purchase. Upon receipt of compensation, he loses his share in the common property.
The rights of a spouse who did not know about the existence of barriers to marriage
The spouse whose rights were violated during the marriage is called “in good faith.” Protecting his legitimate interests, the state has provided exceptions to the legal consequences of declaring a marriage invalid.
Higher authorities reserve the privileges of the deceived spouse to receive alimony from the other and to divide property, according to the IC.
To protect his interests and rights, the court may recognize in whole or in part the marriage contract concluded between the registered persons.
The deceived spouse has the right to demand compensation for moral and material damage caused to him. In addition, he can keep his chosen surname.
Korzhavina Alexandra 03Yurd1910.
Recognition of marriage as invalid.
Article 27. Recognition of marriage as invalid
1. A marriage is recognized as invalid if the conditions established by Articles 12 - 14 and paragraph 3 of Article 15 of this Code are violated, as well as in the case of fictitious marriage, that is, if the spouses or one of them registered a marriage without the intention of starting a family.
2. A marriage is declared invalid by a court.
3. The court is obliged, within three days from the date of entry into legal force of the court decision to recognize the marriage as invalid, to send an extract from this court decision to the civil registry office at the place of state registration of the marriage.
4. A marriage is declared invalid from the date of its conclusion (Article 10 of this Code).
Recognition of marriage as invalid. Grounds for declaring a marriage invalid. The procedure for recognizing a marriage as invalid. Consequences of declaring a marriage invalid. The right to claim compensation for material damage and moral harm.
Article 27 of the RF IC establishes the grounds for recognizing a marriage as invalid, the procedure for such recognition, and also determines the moment from which the marriage is recognized as invalid.
The list of grounds for declaring a marriage invalid, specified in Article 27 of the RF IC, is exhaustive, and no other circumstances can be a basis for declaring a marriage invalid.
A marriage is declared invalid if the conditions and procedure for concluding a marriage established by the Family Code of the Russian Federation have been violated.
Marriages are declared invalid:
With persons (persons) who were forced into marriage without taking into account their disagreement;
With a person who has not reached marriageable age and has not received permission in accordance with the procedure established by law for early registration of marriage;
Availability of another registered marriage;
The presence of marriage between close relatives in a direct ascending and descending line: between parents and children, grandfather, grandmother and grandchildren, full and half (who have a common father or mother) brothers and sisters, between adoptive parents and adopted children;
Between persons, at least one of whom has been declared incompetent by a court due to a mental disorder;
If one of the married persons hid from the other the presence of a sexually transmitted disease or HIV infection;
When concluding a fictitious marriage, i.e. marriage without the intention of starting a family.
The procedure for recognizing a marriage as invalid.
A marriage is declared invalid by a court through a lawsuit. The law provides for cases when a court can recognize an invalid marriage as valid:
If by the time the case of declaring a marriage invalid is considered, those circumstances that, by force of law, prevented its conclusion have disappeared (for example, the grounds for declaring a citizen incompetent due to his recovery have disappeared);
If, when considering a claim for invalidation of a marriage concluded with a person under marriageable age, it was established that the preservation of the marriage is required by the interests of the minor spouse, and also if there is no consent to invalidate the marriage;
If the persons who entered into a fictitious marriage subsequently actually created a family before the case was considered by the court.
Consequences of declaring a marriage invalid.
If a marriage is declared invalid, it is considered invalid from the moment of its conclusion. Such a marriage does not give rise to the rights and obligations of the spouses. When entering into a new marriage, they have the right not to indicate that they were previously in a marriage that was declared invalid.
Property acquired jointly by persons during a marriage that has been declared invalid is considered their common shared property and can be divided by agreement between them.
If an agreement is not reached on the method and conditions for the division of common property or the allocation of the share of one participant in shared ownership, the right to demand in court the distribution in kind of his share from the common property or payment to him of the value of this share by another participant in shared ownership.
A marriage contract, in accordance with clause 2 of Article 30 of the RF IC, concluded by spouses who entered into a marriage that is declared invalid, is also declared invalid and, as a result, all the terms of such a contract become invalid from the moment of its conclusion.
Recognition of a marriage as invalid does not affect the rights of children born in a marriage declared invalid, as well as children born within 300 days from the date of recognition of the marriage as invalid. In these cases, the father of the child is recorded in the child's birth certificate as the spouse of the mother of the child born in this marriage; the child's surname is determined according to the general rules.
The right to claim compensation for material damage and moral harm.
The right to claim compensation for material damage and moral harm, Article 30 Family Code The Russian Federation considers a conscientious spouse whose rights were violated by the conclusion of a marriage declared invalid by the court.
Thus, a conscientious spouse retains the right to:
To receive maintenance (alimony) from the other spouse in accordance with Articles 90 and 91 of the RF IC;
To use the rules on joint property of spouses and its division when dividing property;
To demand from the ex-spouse compensation for material and moral damage caused to him.
Material damage is understood primarily as damage of a property nature, i.e. determined and reimbursed in money (the cost of treatment expenses, the cost of a damaged item, etc.).
Moral injury, i.e. physical or moral suffering suffered by a person as a result of the unlawful guilty behavior of another person is determined by the court, and its amount does not directly depend on the amount of property damage suffered by the victim. Damage caused is subject to compensation if the following conditions are met: the presence of harm; unlawful culpable conduct of the other spouse in a marriage declared null and void; the presence of a causal relationship between harm and unlawful guilty behavior;
To preserve the surname chosen during state registration marriage;
For the confession of a prisoner in accordance with Art. 40 of the RF IC of the marriage contract is valid in whole or in part.
A marriage is declared invalid from the date of its conclusion only in court if the established conditions of its conclusion are violated, as well as in the case of a fictitious marriage (Article 27 of the RF IC).
Grounds for invalidating a marriage
A marriage can be declared invalid in court on the following grounds (Article 12, paragraph 3, Article 15, paragraphs 1, 2, Article 27 of the RF IC):
1) lack of mutual voluntary consent of a man and a woman;
2) not reaching marriageable age (by general rule 18 years);
3) spouses are close relatives - parent and child, grandfather (grandmother) and grandson (granddaughter), brother and sister, adoptive parent and adopted child;
4) recognition of one of the persons entering into marriage as incompetent due to a mental disorder before marriage;
5) fictitious marriage (without the intention of the spouses or one of them to start a family);
6) at least one of the spouses is already in another registered marriage;
7) concealment by one of the spouses from the other of the presence of sexually transmitted diseases or HIV infection.
The list of grounds for declaring a marriage invalid is exhaustive and is not subject to broad interpretation. Taking this into account, violation of the established requirements for the procedure for concluding a marriage (for example, registering a marriage before the expiration of month period from the date of filing the application with the civil registry office) cannot be a basis for declaring a marriage invalid (clause 23 of the Resolution of the Plenum of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation dated November 5, 1998 N 15).
The procedure for recognizing a marriage as invalid
Step 1: Determine whether there are grounds for invalidating the marriage and gather evidence
For example, in order to invalidate a marriage due to its fictitiousness, it is necessary to prove the absence of intention to create a family, which is understood as persons related by kinship or affinity, living together, leading a joint household, and bound by mutual rights and obligations. Evidence may include testimony from witnesses about separation after marriage, the absence of any communication between spouses, refusals to provide financial assistance and content. At the same time, there must be actions of the spouse or both spouses aimed at obtaining any benefit (Article 1 of the Law of October 24, 1997 N 134-FZ).
Step 2. Draw up a statement of claim to declare the marriage invalid and submit it to court
Interested parties, at any time after the conclusion of a marriage, can apply to the court with a claim to declare it invalid, since the statute of limitations does not apply to these cases. An exception is cases where a marriage is declared invalid when one of the parties to the marriage concealed the presence of a sexually transmitted disease or HIV infection from the other person. Term limitation period is one year (clause 4 of article 169 of the RF IC; article 181 of the RF Civil Code).
The procedure for declaring a marriage invalid begins with the filing of a claim in court by the interested party. In this case, a state duty of 300 rubles is paid. (Clause 3, Clause 1, Article 333.19 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation; Article 28 of the Code of Civil Procedure of the Russian Federation).
In the statement of claim, please note that you are demanding not only that the marriage be declared invalid, but also that the registry office’s record of the marriage be annulled. It is also necessary to set out the circumstances that indicate the invalidity of the marriage.
The following have the right to demand recognition of a marriage as invalid (Article 28 of the RF IC):
1) a minor spouse, his parents (persons replacing them), the guardianship and trusteeship authority or the prosecutor, if the marriage was concluded with a person under marriageable age, in the absence of permission to enter into marriage before this person reaches marriageable age. After a minor spouse reaches the age of eighteen, only this spouse has the right to demand recognition of the marriage as invalid;
2) the spouse whose rights are violated by the marriage, as well as the prosecutor, if the marriage was concluded in the absence of the voluntary consent of one of the spouses to its conclusion: as a result of coercion, deception, delusion or the inability, due to one’s condition, at the time of state registration of the marriage to understand the meaning of one’s actions and manage them;
3) a spouse who did not know about the existence of circumstances preventing the conclusion of a marriage, a guardian of a spouse declared incompetent (guardianship and trusteeship authority), a spouse from a previous undissolved marriage, other persons whose rights were violated by the conclusion of such a marriage;
4) the prosecutor, as well as the spouse who did not know about the fictitious marriage in the event of a fictitious marriage;
5) a spouse from whom the other spouse concealed the presence of a sexually transmitted disease or HIV infection.
Note. A marriage cannot be declared invalid after its dissolution. The exceptions are cases where there is a degree of relationship prohibited by law between the spouses or the condition of one of the spouses at the time of marriage registration in another undissolved marriage. In these cases, a claim to declare a marriage invalid may be considered by the court after the decision to divorce is canceled ( clause 4 art. 29 IC of the Russian Federation; paragraph 24 Resolution of the Plenum of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation dated November 5, 1998 N 15).
Step 3: Participate court hearings and get a court decision
General period for consideration of the case and making a decision district court should not exceed two months (Article 154 of the Code of Civil Procedure of the Russian Federation).
The court decision comes into force upon the expiration of the period for appeal, if it has not been appealed. In this case, the deadline for filing an appeal is one month from the date of the court decision in its final form (part 1 of article 209, part 2 of article 321 of the Code of Civil Procedure of the Russian Federation).
Legal consequences of declaring a marriage invalid
A marriage declared invalid by a court, as a general rule, does not give rise to any mutual rights and obligations of the spouses, except in cases established by law (Article 30 of the RF IC):
1) property acquired during an invalid marriage, as a general rule, does not become the joint property of the spouses. The provisions of the law on shared ownership apply to this property;
2) the marriage contract concluded by the spouses is invalid;
3) a spouse whose rights were violated by an invalid marriage has the right to demand from the other spouse payment of alimony in accordance with family law, compensation for moral damage; has the right to retain the surname taken during state registration of marriage;
4) recognition of a marriage as invalid does not affect the rights of children born in such a marriage.
1. A marriage is invalid if the conditions established by Articles 12 - 14 and paragraph 3 of Article 15 of this Code are violated, as well as in the case of a fictitious marriage, that is, if the spouses or one of them registered a marriage without the intention of starting a family.
2. A marriage is declared invalid by a court.
3. The court is obliged, within three days from the date of entry into legal force of the court decision to recognize the marriage as invalid, to send an extract from this court decision to the civil registry office at the place of state registration of the marriage.
4. A marriage is declared invalid from the date of its conclusion (Article 10 of this Code).
Commentary to Art. 27 IC RF
1. According to Russian legislation, marriage is not a transaction, however, a marriage can be declared invalid in court, as established by the commented article. Until the marriage is declared invalid by the court, despite the existence of relevant grounds, the marriage is considered valid.
2. The list of grounds for declaring a marriage invalid, contained in paragraph 1 of the commented article, is exhaustive and is not subject to broad interpretation. These grounds include: violation of the conditions for marriage established by law (Article 12, thereto); the presence of circumstances at the time of marriage that impede its conclusion (); concealment by one of the persons entering into marriage from another person of the presence of a sexually transmitted disease or HIV infection (clause 3 of Article 15 of the Family Code and commentary thereto); fictitiousness of marriage (to her). Taking this into account, violation of the requirements established by law for the procedure for concluding a marriage (for example, registering a marriage before the expiration of a month from the date of filing an application with the civil registry office, if this period has not been reduced in the manner prescribed) cannot be the basis for recognition of a marriage invalid (clause 23 of the Resolution of the Plenum of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation of November 5, 1998 No. 15 “On the application of legislation by courts when considering divorce cases”).
3. In accordance with Art. 13 Federal Law dated March 30, 1995 N 38-FZ (as amended on July 23, 2008) “On preventing the spread in Russian Federation disease caused by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV infection)”, an HIV-infected person has the right to receive information about the results of his medical examination. A person who knows that he has HIV infection or a sexually transmitted disease is obliged to notify his future spouse about this. IN otherwise a marriage may be declared invalid within one year from the moment the spouse learned that the other spouse had a disease.
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NW RF. 1995. N 14. Art. 1212.
Criminal Code of the Russian Federation in Art. Art. 121 and 122 provide for criminal liability for infecting another person with a venereal disease, HIV infection, as well as for knowingly putting another person at risk of infection.
4. A fictitious marriage is a marriage entered into without the intention of creating a family (clause 1 of the commented article). This intention may be absent from either one of the spouses or both. As a rule, such a marriage is aimed at obtaining the right to the spouse’s living space, Russian citizenship, or pursues other goals not related to starting a family.
The party interested in declaring such a marriage invalid must prove that in this case does not just take place family quarrel, but that at the time of marriage the other spouse did not have the goal of creating a family. Thus, by Decision of the Presidium of the Moscow Regional Court dated June 16, 2004 No. 518, the case on the claim for declaring the marriage invalid was sent for a new trial due to the court’s incomplete examination of the circumstances of the case. Explanations of the witness that the relations of the parties after marriage have not changed in better side, they constantly scandalize, cannot be recognized as unconditional evidence and should have been assessed by the court in conjunction with other evidence confirming the plaintiff’s arguments about the fictitiousness of the marriage. And evidence indicating that the spouses were running a joint household, making joint purchases, and renovating the apartment, confirms, in the court’s opinion, the intention of both parties to start a family and that the marriage actually existed.
It should be noted that the court cannot recognize a marriage as fictitious if the persons who registered such a marriage actually created a family before the court considered the case. Submit statement of claim Only a conscientious spouse or a prosecutor can go to court to declare a fictitious marriage invalid. A bona fide spouse is a spouse whose rights are violated by the conclusion of a marriage declared invalid.
5. A marriage can only be declared invalid by a court. The court has the right to recognize a marriage as valid if, by the time the case on declaring the marriage invalid is considered, those circumstances that, by force of law, prevented its conclusion have disappeared. For example, if a person has reached marriageable age or a previous unresolved marriage has been dissolved.
According to paragraph 2 of Art. 29 of the RF IC, the court may refuse a claim to invalidate a marriage concluded with a person under marriageable age if the interests of the person so require minor spouse, as well as in the absence of his consent to invalidate the marriage. A marriage is declared invalid by a court.
The court is obliged, within three days from the date of entry into force of the court decision to recognize the marriage as invalid, to send an extract from this court decision to the registry office at the place of state registration of the marriage. A marriage is declared invalid from the date of its conclusion.
