The Court’s Powers to Protect Mentally-Able Adults at Risk of Forced Marriage
by Iulia Mirzac
Question(s) at stake
What powers do the courts of England and Wales have concerning mentally-able adults at risk of forced marriage and how should those powers be exercised?
Outcome of the ruling
The courts’ inherent jurisdiction gives them the power to protect mentally-able adults, including those abroad, whose ability to consent to a marriage is interfered with.
In relation to SK, the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s application for injunctive relief was granted. Orders were given to “ascertain whether or not she [had] been able to exercise her free will when making decisions concerning her civil status and her country of residence” (para. 9).
Country:
Official citation
RE SK (An Adult) (Forced Marriage: Approproate Relief) [2004] EWHC 3202 (Fam)
Topic(s)
Keywords:
Arranged marriage Forced marriage Proportionality Right to marry and to found a family
Tag(s):
Bibliographic information
Access case report
View case report in the CUREDI databaseAbout the authors
Iulia Mirzac (Birmingham Law School, University of Birmingham)
Doctoral Candidate at the University of Birmingham carrying out ESRC-funded research on judicial interpretations of undefined concepts within the UK anti-trafficking framework in England and Wales. Teaching Associate on the 'Decolonising Legal Methods' module at Birmingham Law School. Research Consultant at the Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology, providing legal commentaries of asylum decisions based on gender-based violence published under the Institute's CUREDI database.