Marriage Confirmation Leading to Bigamy
by Susan Rutten
Question(s) at stake
Whether a man, after having concluded an informal customary marriage in Morocco, committed a criminal act of bigamy by subsequently entering into a second marriage in the Netherlands.
Outcome of the ruling
Being “legally” married is not a necessary condition for having committed the criminal act of bigamy under Dutch criminal law. A man who, after having concluded an informal customary marriage abroad, subsequently enters into a second marriage in the Netherlands may commit a criminal act of bigamy if he was aware of the fact that he was previously married abroad.
Country:
Official citation
Supreme Court, Decision of 1 December 2009 (Hoge Raad 1 december 2009)
Topic(s)
Keywords:
Customary marriage Polygamous marriage
Tag(s):
Bigamy Marriage confirmation Criminal offense Citizenship Morocco Loss of citizenship
Bibliographic information
Access case report
View case report in the CUREDI databaseAbout the authors
Susan Rutten (Faculty of Law, Maastricht University, Netherlands)
