Bigamy
Encyclopedia
In cultures that practice marital monogamy
, bigamy is the act of entering into a marriage with one person while still legally married to another. Bigamy is a crime in most western countries, and when it occurs in this context often neither the first nor second spouse is aware of the other. In countries that have bigamy laws, consent from a prior spouse makes no difference to the legality of the second marriage, which is usually considered void
.
countries do not recognize polygamous
marriages, and consider bigamy a crime. Several countries also prohibit people from living a polygamous lifestyle. This is the case in some states of the United States where the criminalization of a polygamous lifestyle originated as anti-Mormon
laws, although they are rarely enforced.
In diplomatic law
, consular spouses from polygamous countries are sometimes exempt from a general prohibition on polygamy in host countries. In some such countries, only one spouse of a polygamous diplomat may be accredited, however.
Monogamy
Monogamy /Gr. μονός+γάμος - one+marriage/ a form of marriage in which an individual has only one spouse at any one time. In current usage monogamy often refers to having one sexual partner irrespective of marriage or reproduction...
, bigamy is the act of entering into a marriage with one person while still legally married to another. Bigamy is a crime in most western countries, and when it occurs in this context often neither the first nor second spouse is aware of the other. In countries that have bigamy laws, consent from a prior spouse makes no difference to the legality of the second marriage, which is usually considered void
Void marriage
A void marriage is a type of marriage which is on its face unlawful under the laws of the jurisdiction where it is entered, or potentially where the persons who contracted the marriage normally reside. Such a marriage is void, meaning legally it has no effect, if the marriage violates certain...
.
Legal situation
Most westernWestern world
The Western world, also known as the West and the Occident , is a term referring to the countries of Western Europe , the countries of the Americas, as well all countries of Northern and Central Europe, Australia and New Zealand...
countries do not recognize polygamous
Polygamy
Polygamy is a marriage which includes more than two partners...
marriages, and consider bigamy a crime. Several countries also prohibit people from living a polygamous lifestyle. This is the case in some states of the United States where the criminalization of a polygamous lifestyle originated as anti-Mormon
Anti-Mormon
Anti-Mormonism is discrimination, persecution, hostility or prejudice directed at members of the Latter Day Saint movement, particularly The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints...
laws, although they are rarely enforced.
In diplomatic law
Diplomatic law
Diplomatic law is that area of international law that governs permanent and temporary diplomatic missions. A fundamental concept of diplomatic law is that of diplomatic immunity, which derives from state immunity....
, consular spouses from polygamous countries are sometimes exempt from a general prohibition on polygamy in host countries. In some such countries, only one spouse of a polygamous diplomat may be accredited, however.
By country
- AustraliaAustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
: Illegal under the Marriage Act 1961, sect 94. Maximum penalty 5 years imprisonment. - CanadaCanadaCanada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
: Illegal under the Criminal Code of CanadaCriminal Code of CanadaThe Criminal Code or Code criminel is a law that codifies most criminal offences and procedures in Canada. Its official long title is "An Act respecting the criminal law"...
, sect 293. - China, People's Republic ofPeople's Republic of ChinaChina , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
: Illegal (but tolerated for some minorities, such as Tibetans, in some rural areas in the South West) . - ColombiaColombiaColombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
Illegal with exceptions (such as religion). Although bigamy no longer exists as a lone figure in the Colombian judicial code marrying someone new without dissolving an earlier marriage may yield to other felonies such as civil status forgeryIdentity document forgeryIdentity document forgery is the process by which identity documents issued by governing bodies are copied and/or modified by persons not authorized to create such documents or engage in such modifications, for the purpose of deceiving those who would view the documents about the identity or status...
or suppression of information. - EgyptPolygamy in EgyptPolygamous marriages are currently lawful in Egypt for all Muslim men, though the practice itself has been reported to be quite infrequent. Debates of abolishing legal recognition of and outlawing the practice of polygamy have also been very apparent in the political field...
: Permitted for Muslims (up to four wives). - EritreaPolygamy in EritreaSince the introduction of the current Marriage Law introduced by the EPLF in 1977, polygamy has been illegal in Eritrea. While the federal government does not recognize polygamous marriages under civil law, districts governed by Sharia Law are exempt from this law and therefore are free to...
: Legal in areas under ShariaShariaSharia law, is the moral code and religious law of Islam. Sharia is derived from two primary sources of Islamic law: the precepts set forth in the Quran, and the example set by the Islamic prophet Muhammad in the Sunnah. Fiqh jurisprudence interprets and extends the application of sharia to...
only (up to four wives). - All the 27 countries of the European UnionEuropean UnionThe European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
(see special note for the United KingdomUnited KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
): Illegal. - IcelandIcelandIceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...
: Illegal according to the Icelandic Act on Marriage No. 31/1993, Art. 11. - Republic of IrelandRepublic of IrelandIreland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...
: Bigamy is a statutory offence. It is committed by a person who, being married to another person, goes through a ceremony capable of producing a valid marriage with a third person. The offence is created by section 57 of the Offences against the Person Act 1861Offences Against The Person Act 1861The Offences against the Person Act 1861 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. It consolidated provisions related to offences against the person from a number of earlier statutes into a single Act...
. This section replaces section 26 of the Act 10 Geo. 4 c. 34 for the Republic of Ireland. - IsraelIsraelThe State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
: Illegal. Up to 5 years imprisonment - IranIranIran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
: Legal with written consent from the first wife (up to four wives). - IndiaIndiaIndia , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
: Permitted for Muslims only, provided the husband has written permission from his previous wives. This permission is documented at the time of the NikahNikahMarriage in Islam is an Islamic prenuptial contract between a man and woman to live as husband and wife. It is a formal, binding contract considered integral to a religiously valid Islamic marriage, and outlines the rights and responsibilities of the groom and bride involved in marriage proceedings...
and forms part of the Nikah-nama (agreement of NikahNikahMarriage in Islam is an Islamic prenuptial contract between a man and woman to live as husband and wife. It is a formal, binding contract considered integral to a religiously valid Islamic marriage, and outlines the rights and responsibilities of the groom and bride involved in marriage proceedings...
). Currently however, the government is debating whether to remove the requirement to obtain permission from the previous wives. - LibyaPolygamy in LibyaPolygamous unions are legal in Libya if the first wife gives free consent or if health or social reasons compel one to do so. In recent times, it has reported to be decreasing in the nation at an exceeding rate, yet the accuracy of such claims has yet to be verified....
: Legal with written consent from the first wife (up to four wives). (See Polygamy in LibyaPolygamy in LibyaPolygamous unions are legal in Libya if the first wife gives free consent or if health or social reasons compel one to do so. In recent times, it has reported to be decreasing in the nation at an exceeding rate, yet the accuracy of such claims has yet to be verified....
.) - Malaysia: Permitted for Muslims; required to obtain judicial consent, show financial capability, and several strict conditions. Some variation in law between states (family law relating to non-Muslims is under federal jurisdiction).
- MaldivesMaldivesThe Maldives , , officially Republic of Maldives , also referred to as the Maldive Islands, is an island nation in the Indian Ocean formed by a double chain of twenty-six atolls oriented north-south off India's Lakshadweep islands, between Minicoy Island and...
: Permitted for anyone. - MaltaMaltaMalta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...
- Illegal under the Marriage Act of 1975, section 6. - MoroccoPolygamy in MoroccoOwing to recent legal restrictions imposed by the government of Morocco, polygamous marriages are nearly nonexistent.Even with these new limitations, polygamy is still practised by a good number of Muslims living in the nation...
: Permitted for Muslims, restrictions apply. - PakistanPakistanPakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
: Permitted for Muslims only, provided the husband takes written permission from his previous wives. This permission is documented at the time of the NikahNikahMarriage in Islam is an Islamic prenuptial contract between a man and woman to live as husband and wife. It is a formal, binding contract considered integral to a religiously valid Islamic marriage, and outlines the rights and responsibilities of the groom and bride involved in marriage proceedings...
and forms part of the Nikah-nama (agreement of NikahNikahMarriage in Islam is an Islamic prenuptial contract between a man and woman to live as husband and wife. It is a formal, binding contract considered integral to a religiously valid Islamic marriage, and outlines the rights and responsibilities of the groom and bride involved in marriage proceedings...
). - Saudi ArabiaSaudi ArabiaThe Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , commonly known in British English as Saudi Arabia and in Arabic as as-Sa‘ūdiyyah , is the largest state in Western Asia by land area, constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and the second-largest in the Arab World...
: Legal up to four wives. - South AfricaSouth AfricaThe Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
: Legalised for indigenous, black traditionalists by the Customary Marriages Act 120 of 1998. - TunisiaTunisiaTunisia , officially the Tunisian RepublicThe long name of Tunisia in other languages used in the country is: , is the northernmost country in Africa. It is a Maghreb country and is bordered by Algeria to the west, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Its area...
: Illegal. Up to 5 years imprisonment - TurkeyTurkeyTurkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
: Illegal. Up to 5 years imprisonment - United KingdomUnited KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
: Illegal, though marriages performed abroad may be recognized for some legal purposes (see Polygamy in the United KingdomPolygamy in the United KingdomPolygamous marriages may not be performed in the United Kingdom, and if a polygamous marriage is performed, the already-married person may be guilty of the crime of bigamy....
). - United StatesUnited StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
: Illegal in all 50 states. Penalty up to 5 years. (but see Polygamy in the United StatesPolygamy in the United StatesPolygamy, in particular polygyny where one man takes several wives, is a common marriage pattern in some parts of the world. However, in the United States polygamy has never been a culturally normative or legally recognized institution. In Canada, polygamy laws are written in a slightly different...
)
- In the United StatesUnited StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, the Model Penal CodeModel Penal CodeThe Model Penal Code is a statutory text which was developed by the American Law Institute in 1962. The Chief Reporter on the project was Herbert Wechsler. The current form of the MPC was last updated in 1981. The purpose of the MPC was to stimulate and assist legislatures in making an effort to...
(section 230.1) defines bigamy as a misdemeanor and polygamy as a felony. Having more than one spouse at the same time gets classified as polygamy, and bumped to a felony, if it is done "in purported exercise of a plural marriagePlural marriagePolygamy was taught by leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for more than half of the 19th century, and practiced publicly from 1852 to 1890.The Church's practice of polygamy has been highly controversial, both within...
..." According to Joel Feinberg in Moral Limits of the Criminal Law: "Righteously, flaunting one's illicit relationships, according to the Code, is apparently a morally aggravating circumstance, more punishable than its clandestine and deceptive counterpart."- UzbekistanUzbekistanUzbekistan , officially the Republic of Uzbekistan is a doubly landlocked country in Central Asia and one of the six independent Turkic states. It shares borders with Kazakhstan to the west and to the north, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan to the east, and Afghanistan and Turkmenistan to the south....
: Illegal.
- Uzbekistan
See also
- Forms of nonmonogamyForms of nonmonogamyNon-monogamy is a blanket term which covers several types of interpersonal relationships in which an individual forms multiple and simultaneous sexual and/or romantic bonds. This can be contrasted with its opposite, monogamy, and yet may arise from the same psychology...
- HypergamyHypergamyHypergamy is the act or practice of seeking a spouse of higher socioeconomic status, or caste status than oneself....
- PolyamoryPolyamoryPolyamory is the practice, desire, or acceptance of having more than one intimate relationship at a time with the knowledge and consent of everyone involved....
- Triad (relationship)
- Marriage (conflict)#Polygamy