Can I Annul my marriage?

Tired and exhausted of your spouse actions?

Feeling incapable of cohabiting or living with your spouse any longer?

Can’t take his/her nonsense anymore?

If such emotions resonated with you and you would like to end your legal marital relationship with your spouse, there are two options available to you - ONE you could file for divorce or TWO you could file for an annulment.

It is important to note that divorce and annulment are very different creatures. The effect of a divorce is such that a legal marriage has ended while the effect of an annulment is that the marriage was void and has not existed at all.

In addition, the grounds for annulment is totally different from an a divorce. To obtain an annulment, one must be able to prove that his or her marriage is a void or voidable marriage.

Qn : Is my marriage a void or voidable marriage?

Void Marriage

A void marriage depicts an absence of a marital relationship between 2 people who attempted to form a valid marriage but failed because they fail to comply to the statutory prescriptions of formation which are critical for a valid formation. Such statutory prescriptions are listed under s. 105 of the Women’s Charter.

Hence the below marriages are void:

• By section 3(4), a marriage where both parties are Muslims at the marriage
• By section 5(1), a marriage where one is already lawfully married to a spouse under any law, religion, custom or usage.
• By section 9, a marriage between persons below the age of 18 years, unless specially authorized the Minister (under s. 21 of the Women’s Charter).
• By section 10, a marriage within specific degrees of kindred and affinity (as defined in the First Schedule of the Women’s Charter).
• By section 11, if at the date of the marriage, either party is married under any law, religion, custom or usage to any other person shall be void.
• By section 22, A marriage that has not been solemnized in the presence of 2 or more witnesses
• on the authority of a valid marriage license,
• by the Registrar or someone who has been granted a license to solemnize the marriage

Voidable Marriage

On the hand, voidable marriage is a type of marriage where the Women’s Charter empowers the Family Court to award a judgment of nullity, even where the form marriage fulfilled the statutory provisions.

Section 106 of the Women’s Charter illustrates 6 reasons:

1. Unconsummated marriages, due to one party being unable to consummate.
2. Unconsummated marriages, due to one party being unwilling to consummate.
3. A marriage that has not been validly consented to, due to one party consenting under duress, by mistake, or with a mental disorder, etc.
4. .A marriage that was validly consented to but, at the time of marriage, one party was suffering from a mental disorder that left them unfit for marriage (as defined in the Mental Health (Care and Treatment) Act 2008)
5. A marriage where, at the time of marriage, the Defendant was suffering from a communicable sexually-transmitted disease
6. A marriage where, at the time of marriage, the Defendant was pregnant by someone other than the Plaintiff.