State loses Supreme Court appeals on foreign marriages
The State has lost its appeals to the Supreme Court in the cases of Hamza and Hassan. The cases concern applications for family reunification with a spouse and the recognition of foreign marriages by the INIS.
The Supreme Court upheld the decision of the High Court in finding that consent to marry and the validity to a marriage is governed by the lex loci celebrationis (law of the place where the marriage is celebrated). These decisions should ease the evidential burden on refugees applying for family reunification with a spouse to INIS when proving that their marriage abroad should be recognised as valid under Irish law.
“We welcome the judgement,” says Nasc’s Senior Legal Officer Claire Cumiskey. “We’ve seen that the INIS were already making more positive judgements in recognising foreign marriages and we hope the Supreme Court judgements continue to have a positive impact.”
You can read the judgements at:
Hamza
Hassan
