Ministry reviews three marriage cases involving unauthorised officiants

The Ministry of Justice is reviewing three cases involving marriage ceremonies that may be invalid because the officiants lacked the required authorisation, mbl.is reports.

The ministry has the authority to declare a marriage valid even if it was not conducted by a legally authorised officiant.

The ministry’s records contain six such cases dating back to 2008. In three of them, the ministry agreed to validate the marriages under Article 25, paragraph 2, of the Marriage Act. The other three cases were recently submitted and are still being processed.

“They are all being processed, but the ministry cannot comment further on the circumstances of the individuals involved,” the ministry said.

In comments on a draft bill for a new Marriage Act earlier this summer, the National Registry said the number of cases had increased in recent years in which officiants were found not to have the required authorisation.

When asked how many such cases there had been, the registry said it did not keep figures on them, or on the number of marriages or officiants involved.

“When cases arise in which an officiant was not authorised, the marriage is in fact invalid, and the institution has pointed out to the officiant the possibility of referring the matter to the ministry,” the registry said.

In most cases, the issue is discovered quickly, either immediately or when the registry receives notification of the marriage ceremony. The ministry said, however, that there have been cases in which several years passed between the ceremony and the matter being referred to it.