A marriage can only be declared invalid by a court of law and only on certain grounds. The list of these grounds is established by the Family Code of the Russian Federation. We will talk about the features and procedure for recognizing a marriage as invalid in the article.

Grounds for invalidating a marriage

The following are the grounds on which a marriage can be declared invalid by a court. The list of these grounds is exhaustive and is not subject to broad interpretation.

The grounds on which a marriage is declared invalid are the following:

1. lack of mutual voluntary consent for marriage between a man and a woman;
2. failure of one of the spouses to reach marriageable age (as a general rule, 18 years) at the time of marriage registration;
3. close family relationship between spouses: they are a parent and a child, a grandfather (grandmother) and a grandson (granddaughter), a brother and sister, an adoptive parent and an adopted child;
4. recognition by the court of one of the persons entering into marriage as incompetent due to a mental disorder before marriage;
5. fictitious marriage (without the intention of the spouses or one of them to start a family);
6. the condition of at least one of the spouses in another registered marriage;
7. Concealment by one of the spouses from the other of the presence of sexually transmitted diseases or HIV infection.

Please note that violation of the procedure for registering a marriage cannot serve as a basis for declaring it invalid.

Claim for annulment of marriage

To initiate the process of declaring a marriage invalid, a lawsuit must be filed. Before filing a claim, it is advisable to evaluate the existing grounds and circumstances. For example, to recognize a marriage as fictitious, it is necessary to prove the absence of intention to start a family. Evidence in this case may include testimony from witnesses about separation after marriage, about the lack of communication between spouses.

The procedure for declaring a marriage invalid begins with the filing of a statement of claim in court by the interested party. filed in the district court. In this case, going to court is possible at any time after marriage (the statute of limitations does not apply to these cases). But if the basis for declaring the marriage invalid is the concealment by one of the spouses from the other of the presence of sexually transmitted diseases or HIV infection, then after one year or more the court will not accept the claim for consideration, because The statute of limitations in this case is one year.

In the statement of claim, in addition to setting out the circumstances that indicate the invalidity of the marriage, it is necessary to set out the requirements for the defendant and the court.

Before filing a claim, you must pay a state fee of 300 rubles.

Who can demand that a marriage be declared invalid?

In accordance with the Family Code of the Russian Federation, the following have the right to demand recognition of marriage as invalid:

1. the minor spouse, his parents, the guardianship and trusteeship authority or the prosecutor, if the marriage was concluded with a person under marriageable age, in the absence of permission to enter into marriage before this person reaches marriageable age. But after the minor spouse reaches the age of eighteen, only this spouse has the right to demand that the marriage be declared invalid;
2. a spouse whose rights have been violated by marriage;
3. prosecutor, if the marriage was concluded in the absence of the voluntary consent of one of the spouses to its conclusion;
4. a spouse who did not know about the existence of circumstances preventing marriage;
5. guardian of a spouse declared incompetent;
6. spouse from a previous undivorced marriage;
7. other persons whose rights are violated by the conclusion of such a marriage;
8. the spouse who did not know about the fictitious marriage, as well as the prosecutor;
9. a spouse from whom the other spouse concealed the presence of a sexually transmitted disease or HIV infection.

Recognition of marriage as invalid in court

The court considers such cases and makes decisions on them within a period not exceeding two months.

In the absence of an appeal, a court decision recognizing the invalidity of a marriage enters into legal force after one month from the date of the final court decision.

If the marriage is declared invalid, then:

1. property acquired during an invalid marriage, as a general rule, does not become the joint property of the spouses. This means that the rules of shared ownership apply to this property;
2. the marriage contract, if previously concluded between the spouses, becomes invalid;
3. a spouse whose rights were violated by such a marriage may demand that the other spouse pay him alimony and compensation for moral damage. This spouse has the right to keep the surname he took during state registration of the marriage;
4. the termination of a marriage does not affect the rights of children born in such a marriage.

As a general rule, a marriage cannot be declared invalid after its dissolution.

Life is such that people often break up and marriages break up. Everyone can give many examples of such situations. Until recently, it would seem that the couple were living peacefully and happily together next door to you, and suddenly it became known that they had separated. No one is immune from such a situation; problems can arise in any family. However, from a legal point of view, there is a big difference between divorce and invalidation of a marriage. To avoid problems, it is advisable to understand the legal intricacies of these processes.

Which marriage is considered invalid by law?

Answers to all questions should be sought in the Family Code of the Russian Federation (FC RF). First of all, this is Art. 27–28 of the RF IC, which sets out the basic rules regarding the invalidity of a marriage union. In particular, it contains the grounds that may lead the court to make just such a decision. But this is given in the form of a reference to other articles of the RF IC.

In order for a marriage to be recognized as such, the conditions set out in Articles 12–14 and paragraph 3 of Art. 15 IC RF. If at least one of the points prescribed in these norms is violated, then this is a legal basis for declaring the marriage union invalid.

What is the difference between the concepts

From a legal point of view, the official recognition of a marriage union as annulled and dissolution are concepts that have different consequences.

Signs of an invalid marriage

So, let's turn to the RF IC. On the basis of what facts does the court have the right to determine the marriage union as invalid?

• Violation of the voluntary nature of marriage on the part of at least one of the spouses. This can be an alliance not only under duress or as a result of blackmail, but also in the presence of insanity. In judicial practice, there are quite often situations when a 70-year-old woman marries a 30-year-old man she doesn’t know well, who then lays claim to her property. Less common, but still found in our country, are arranged marriages, when there is an agreement on the future wedding of children at a very young age.

• Having a previously registered and undivorced marriage. The opportunity for a new relationship often arises when a person receives a new passport, which for some reason does not have a marriage stamp. When registering, the civil registry office is required to request copies of certificates of divorce or death of the former spouse, but sometimes there are mistakes. They subsequently allow the registered marriage to be declared invalid.
• Age insufficient to enter into a marriage. The law provides for an 18-year threshold for marriage. In some situations, it is permissible to lower the specified age limit. But all accompanying circumstances that allow this to be done must be documented.
• Union between close relatives. It does not matter whether the spouses knew about the existence of such a relationship. Once this information is known, an action for annulment must be filed. The same applies to marriages between adoptive parents and adopted children. They are only possible if the adoption is officially cancelled.
• Incapacity of one of the spouses due to mental disorder.
• Concealment by one of the spouses of sexually transmitted diseases or HIV at the time of marriage.

Experts point out that the list of signs that allow annulment of a marriage is quite limited. It cannot be interpreted broadly and is limited only to those grounds that are provided for by the RF IC. Violations of the procedure for concluding a marriage (for example, waiting less than a month before registration) are not such grounds, which was confirmed by the Plenum of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation in its resolution of November 5, 1998.

Types of invalid marriages

As a matter of fact, there are only two types of such unions - directly invalid and fictitious. Signs of the first type are listed above. The indicators of the second include the absence of:

• cohabitation, if it is not supported by valid reasons;
• communication between husband and wife;
• intimate relations between them (which, in fact, is quite difficult to prove);
• joint budget;
• common property;
• knowledge about facts from the life of the other spouse.

The main distinguishing feature of a fictitious marriage is the purpose of its conclusion. Usually this is not about starting a family, but about receiving a certain benefit.

These could be benefits and allowances from the state, evasion of service in the Armed Forces, acquisition of citizenship of a certain country, the opportunity to meet with a prisoner, a well-paid job, etc. There is no intention to lead a traditional married life.

How to invalidate a marriage

This is only possible by court decision. Recognition of a marriage as such and its annulment are carried out only in court. But depending on the reason for cancellation, you have the right to apply there with the appropriate application (Article 28 of the RF IC):

• prosecutor;
• one of the spouses;
• both husband and wife - by mutual consent;
• guardianship and trusteeship authorities;
• parents or guardians of the minor spouse;
• the official guardian of the spouse who was previously declared incompetent by the court;
• spouse of a previous marriage that was not officially dissolved before entering into a new union.

In principle, any citizens who believe that this marriage union may cause them harm and violate their legal rights have this right. For example, these could be potential heirs of a spouse who has been declared incompetent due to a mental disorder. They have the right to demand a judicial investigation and annulment of such a union so that their rights to inheritance are respected.

How to fill out an application and prepare documents

You should contact the district (city) court, which is located where the defendant lives or is registered. Such jurisdiction is not always convenient, since the defendant may be located on the other side of the country, many hundreds of kilometers from the plaintiff. However, these are the requirements of the law.

The application is submitted in person to the court secretariat or by mail (by registered mail with notification). Its text is compiled according to general rules. Indicate the full details of the court, the plaintiff and the defendant. Then they describe in detail the reasons for going to court and the circumstances of the case. It is necessary to talk in detail about the grounds that give the right to demand the annulment of a marriage. In conclusion, the plaintiff must demand that it be declared invalid and the corresponding civil status record be excluded.

You must attach a package of documents to your application to support your position. Their set may be different - depending on the grounds that are stated as the reason for the invalidity of the marriage union.

These can be medical certificates, court decisions (recognizing the incapacity of a citizen), copies of marriage certificates - current and earlier, certificates of family composition and adoption, and other papers. In addition, you must attach a receipt for payment of the state duty. It is 300 rubles if there are no property requirements.

1. A marriage is invalid if the conditions established by Articles 12 - 14 and paragraph 3 of Article 15 of this Code are violated, as well as in the case of a fictitious marriage, that is, if the spouses or one of them registered a marriage without the intention of starting a family.

2. A marriage is declared invalid by a court.

3. The court is obliged, within three days from the date of entry into legal force of the court decision to recognize the marriage as invalid, to send an extract from this court decision to the civil registry office at the place of state registration of the marriage.

4. A marriage is declared invalid from the date of its conclusion (Article 10 of this Code).

Commentary to Art. 27 IC RF

1. According to Russian legislation, marriage is not a transaction, however, a marriage can be declared invalid in court, as established by the commented article. Until the marriage is declared invalid by the court, despite the existence of relevant grounds, the marriage is considered valid.

2. The list of grounds for declaring a marriage invalid, contained in paragraph 1 of the commented article, is exhaustive and is not subject to broad interpretation. These grounds include: violation of the conditions for marriage established by law (Article 12, thereto); the presence of circumstances at the time of marriage that impede its conclusion (); concealment by one of the persons entering into marriage from another person of the presence of a sexually transmitted disease or HIV infection (clause 3 of Article 15 of the Family Code and commentary thereto); fictitiousness of marriage (to her). Taking this into account, violation of the requirements established by law for the procedure for concluding a marriage (for example, registering a marriage before the expiration of a month from the date of filing an application with the civil registry office, if this period has not been reduced in the manner prescribed) cannot be the basis for recognition of a marriage invalid (clause 23 of the Resolution of the Plenum of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation of November 5, 1998 No. 15 “On the application of legislation by courts when considering divorce cases”).

3. In accordance with Art. 13 of the Federal Law of March 30, 1995 N 38-FZ (as amended on July 23, 2008) “On preventing the spread of the disease caused by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in the Russian Federation”, an HIV-infected person has the right to receiving information about the results of your medical examination. A person who knows that he has HIV infection or a sexually transmitted disease is obliged to notify his future spouse about this. Otherwise, the marriage may be declared invalid within one year from the moment the spouse learned that the other spouse had a disease.
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NW RF. 1995. N 14. Art. 1212.

Criminal Code of the Russian Federation in Art. Art. 121 and 122 provide for criminal liability for infecting another person with a venereal disease, HIV infection, as well as for knowingly putting another person at risk of infection.

4. A fictitious marriage is a marriage entered into without the intention of creating a family (clause 1 of the commented article). This intention may be absent from either one of the spouses or both. As a rule, such a marriage is aimed at obtaining the right to the spouse’s living space, Russian citizenship, or pursues other goals not related to starting a family.

The party interested in declaring such a marriage invalid must prove that in this case there is not just a family quarrel, but that when entering into the marriage the other spouse did not have the goal of creating a family. Thus, by Decision of the Presidium of the Moscow Regional Court dated June 16, 2004 N 518, the case on the claim for declaring the marriage invalid was sent for a new trial due to the court’s incomplete examination of the circumstances of the case. The witness’s explanations that the relations of the parties after the marriage have not changed for the better, they are constantly scandalous, cannot be recognized as unconditional evidence and should have been assessed by the court in conjunction with other evidence confirming the plaintiff’s arguments about the fictitiousness of the marriage. And evidence indicating that the spouses were running a joint household, making joint purchases, and renovating the apartment, confirms, in the court’s opinion, the intention of both parties to start a family and that the marriage actually existed.

It should be noted that the court cannot recognize a marriage as fictitious if the persons who registered such a marriage actually created a family before the court considered the case. Only a conscientious spouse or a prosecutor can file a claim with the court to declare a fictitious marriage invalid. A bona fide spouse is a spouse whose rights are violated by the conclusion of a marriage declared invalid.

5. A marriage can only be declared invalid by a court. The court has the right to recognize a marriage as valid if, by the time the case on declaring the marriage invalid is considered, those circumstances that, by force of law, prevented its conclusion have disappeared. For example, if a person has reached marriageable age or a previous unresolved marriage has been dissolved.

According to paragraph 2 of Art. 29 of the RF IC, the court may refuse a claim to invalidate a marriage concluded with a person under marriageable age if the interests of the minor spouse so require, as well as in the absence of his consent to invalidate the marriage. A marriage is declared invalid by a court.

The court is obliged, within three days from the date of entry into force of the court decision to recognize the marriage as invalid, to send an extract from this court decision to the registry office at the place of state registration of the marriage. A marriage is declared invalid from the date of its conclusion.