Women’s Charter - Singapore Statutes Online

Women’s Charter

Status:

Revised Edition
published on 30 May 1997

Women’s Charter (CHAPTER 353)

Chapter 3 — NULLITY OF MARRIAGE

Petition for nullity of marriage

104. Any husband or wife may present a petition to the court praying for a decree of nullity in respect of his or her marriage.

[98

[26/80]

Grounds on which marriage is void

105. A marriage which takes place after 1st June 1981 shall be void on the following grounds only:

(a)

that it is not a valid marriage by virtue of sections 3(4), 5, 9, 10, 11, 12 and 22; or

(b)

where the marriage was celebrated outside Singapore, that the marriage is invalid —

(i)	for lack of capacity; or
(ii)	by the law of the place in which it was celebrated. [99 [26/80; 30/96]

Grounds on which marriage is voidable

106. A marriage which takes place after 1st June 1981 shall be voidable on the following grounds only:

(a)	that the marriage has not been consummated owing to the incapacity of either party to consummate it;
(b)	that the marriage has not been consummated owing to the wilful refusal of the respondent to consummate it;
(c)	that either party to the marriage did not validly consent to it, whether in consequence of duress, mistake, unsoundness of mind or otherwise;
(d)	that at the time of the marriage either party, though capable of giving a valid consent, was suffering (whether continuously or intermittently) from mental disorder within the meaning of the Mental Disorders and Treatment Act (Cap. 178) of such a kind or to such an extent as to be unfit for marriage;
(e)	that at the time of the marriage the respondent was suffering from venereal disease in a communicable form;
(f)	that at the time of the marriage the respondent was pregnant by some person other than the petitioner. [100 [26/80]

Bars to relief where marriage is voidable

107.—(1) The court shall not, in proceedings instituted after 1st June 1981, grant a decree of nullity on the ground that a marriage is voidable (whether the marriage took place before or after that date) if the respondent satisfies the court that —

(a)	the petitioner, with knowledge that it was open to him to have the marriage avoided, so conducted himself in relation to the respondent as to lead the respondent reasonably to believe that he would not seek to do so; and
(b)	it would be unjust to the respondent to grant the decree. [26/80]

(2) Without prejudice to subsection (1), the court shall not grant a decree of nullity on the grounds mentioned in section 106(c), (d), (e) or (f) unless it is satisfied that proceedings were instituted within 3 years from the date of the marriage.

[26/80]

(3) Without prejudice to subsections (1) and (2), the court shall not grant a decree of nullity on the grounds mentioned in section 106(e) or (f) unless it is satisfied that the petitioner was, at the time of the marriage, ignorant of the facts alleged.

[26/80]

(4) Subsection (1) replaces, in relation to the grounds mentioned in section 106, any rule of law whereby a decree may be refused by reason of approbation, ratification or lack of sincerity on the part of the petitioner or on similar grounds.

[101

[26/80]

Marriage governed by foreign law

108. Where, apart from this Act, any matter affecting the validity of a marriage would fall to be determined (in accordance with the rules of private international law) by reference to the law of a country outside Singapore, nothing in section 104, 105 or 106 shall —

(a)	preclude the determination of the matter as aforesaid; or
(b)	require the application to the marriage of the grounds or bars to relief mentioned in those sections except so far as are applicable in accordance with those rules. [102 [26/80]

Application of sections 97 and 99 to nullity proceedings

109. Sections 97 and 99 shall apply in relation to proceedings for nullity of marriage as if for any reference in those sections to divorce there were substituted a reference to nullity of marriage.

[103

[26/80]

Effect of decree of nullity in case of voidable marriage

110.—(1) If the court finds that the petitioner’s case has been proved, it shall pronounce a decree of nullity.

[26/80]

(2) A decree of nullity granted after 1st June 1981 on the ground that a marriage is voidable shall operate to annul the marriage only as respects any time after the decree has been made absolute, and the marriage shall, notwithstanding the decree, be treated as if it had existed up to that time.

[104

[26/80]

Legitimacy of children of annulled marriages

111.—(1) Where a marriage is annulled, any child who would have been the legitimate child of the parties to the marriage if it had been dissolved, instead of being annulled, at the date of the decree shall be deemed to be their legitimate child, notwithstanding the annulment.

[26/80]

(2) The child of a void marriage born on or after 2nd May 1975 shall be deemed to be the legitimate child of his parents if, at the date of such void marriage, both or either of the parties reasonably believed that the marriage was valid.

[105

[8/75; 26/80]

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