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Court of Appeal clarifies the law on marriage formalities (Akhter v Khan)
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Family analysis: Siddique Patel solicitor at Shoosmiths discusses the decision of the Court of Appeal overturning that of Williams J when he ruled that an Islamic Nikah ceremony could be classed as a void marriage giving rise to financial remedies. The Court of Appeal unanimously found that no marriage ceremony took place in respect of which a decree of nullity could be granted. In coming to its decision the Court of Appeal replaced the term ‘non-marriage’ usually given to these types of ceremonies with a seemingly more helpful term that of it being a ‘non-qualifying ceremony’ which refers to a marriage ceremony falling outside the scope of the Marriage Act 1949 (MA 1949).Akhter v Khan and another [2020] EWCA Civ 122 [2020] All ER (D) 88 (Feb)
What are the practical implications of this case?
The Court of Appeal’s decision reverses the surprising decision by Williams J at first instance (Akhter v Khan [2018]...
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