Hyde v Hyde

Facts

An English man, married in Utah under Mormon rites to a woman in a potentially polygamous union, asked an English court for a divorce after the marriage broke down.

Issue

Do the matrimonial remedies of a court that administers monogamous marriage apply to a potentially polygamous union?

Held

They do not. Lord Penzance defined marriage, for those remedies, as the voluntary union for life of one man and one woman to the exclusion of all others, and refused the divorce.

Principle

A polygamous or potentially polygamous marriage may be a marriage. It is not a marriage for the divorce and maintenance machinery built for monogamy.

Why it matters

This is why a customary wife cannot use the Married Women's Maintenance Act, and why a Muslim or customary spouse cannot petition under the Matrimonial Causes Act.

For study only. By lanbuk.com. Always check current sources and consult a qualified professional.