the meaning of court marriage, advantages, benefits, Difference between court and registry marriage, how to do Court Marriage and Registered Marriage.
INTRODUCTION
Many people often ask the question of whether there is any difference between court marriage and registry marriage in Nigeria. The answer to the above is NO. Court and registry marriage are the same marriage process or type of marriage being called different names. Marriages are not conducted at the court registry, but only at the marriage registry. There are two types of marriage registries to wit: the Federal Marriage Registry e.g., the Federal Marriage Registry at Ikoyi and the Local Government Marriage Registry located at each local council. The principal laws governing marriages in Nigeria are the Marriage Act of 1914 and Matrimonial Causes Act of 1970. The marriage conducted in a marriage registry is called the court marriage because once such marriage has been conducted, it can only be dissolved by the State High Court, i.e., it is only the High Court that has jurisdiction over such a marriage.
WHAT IS COURT MARRIAGE?
Court marriage is a legal contract that allows two people to marry without going through a church or religious ceremony. The advantage of this type of marriage is that it can be performed in any jurisdiction, including civil law countries.
Advantages of court Marriage.
The following are the advantages of court marriage.
- They save money: If an extravagant ceremony seems too overwhelming for your schedule or your wallet, getting married in a courthouse might turn out to be one of the shrewdest financial decisions you’ll ever make. Registering a marriage in court costs just N2,000, compared to around N200,000 for a traditional wedding even on a micro-scale. You’ll have many more options to keep theevent within a smaller budget. However, even when spending less money, you and your partner will still be ‘Mr’ and ‘Mrs’ by law.
- Court weddings are less stressful: One of the main benefits of a court marriage is that they can be small events. Sometimes planning a big wedding with a long guest list can feel overwhelming, especially when you feel the need to please everyone. With a court wedding, you only have to invite a few close family members and friends, and after the registry session, you can head out for a small reception somewhere. Alternatively, with the money saved you could splash out on a large reception instead, or reserve the money saved to help set up your new life together. You really can save yourself a lot of headaches by having a courthouse wedding!
- You’ll have legal security: While getting married is a romantic event, there is also a serious side to your union. Like a licensed church or licensed office wedding, a court wedding protects both the man and woman, but especially the woman, in law. While you may go into marriage expecting the best outcome, sometimes things do go wrong. Having the legal security of a court wedding may turn out to be a saving grace in the event that everything doesn’t go well. For instance, being legally married protects you against the practice of bigamy, which will be punished by 5 years of imprisonment. So, your partner needs to get a divorce before getting married to someone else.
- Court marriage is fast: Have you ever left a long wedding ceremony and thought it was lovely but could have been half the length and equally lovely? If long ceremonies aren’t your thing, rest assured that courthouse weddings are really fast, and can be wrapped up in around 30 minutes. As opposed to church or traditional weddings, there are no long sermons and songs in courts, keeping the events short, and also removing a few more items from your wedding plan list.
- There’s no dress code for court weddings: One of the most expensive and involved choices when getting married can be what to wear! Getting married at the courthouse means you can feel more comfortable wearing something that isn’t a white gown. There are no strict dress codes, so prospective couples can wear whatever they like and everyone can be happy. All colours, shapes and styles are potential outfits, and you even have the opportunity to buy an outfit that you can wear again. A more relaxed dress code not only means that you can express your own style more fully, you can also choose an option that does not cost the earth!
Economic Benefit of Court Marriage
There are numerous additional reasons why people decide to have their marriages managed by a court in addition to these. They include:
- The process is faster.
- The cost of getting your marriage done through the court is less.
- There is no need to undergo a religious ceremony.
- You don’t have to wait for months before the wedding day arrives.
- The marriage is not tied up with any religious ceremonies.
- Marriage is not restricted to only certain religions.
- No particular customs are required of you.
- You don’t have to spend money on flowers and presents.
- Providing dowry is optional.
- An invitation card is not required.
- You don’t require any special permission from the government.
- You don’t get to enjoy any discounts.
- You can choose your own date.
- You don’t even have to attend any pre-wedding functions.
- Your marriage doesn’t depend on anyone else’s approval.
- The process of finding a family lawyer is easier.
The difference between court marriage and registry marriage in Nigeria.
It has often been seen that the couple understands that both court marriage and registered marriage are the same, but they are not the same because there is a slight difference and the marriage takes place in two ways, if the marriage is performed without customs. The marriage should be done in front of the officer, in which 30 days’ time is given and after 30 days, the certificate is issued by the marriage officer, it is called court marriage, if the marriage is done by all religions and customs, after applying to the registrar’s office, the proof that The certificate that is obtained is called Registered Marriage.
How to do Court Marriage
If you want to do court marriage, then first of all you have to submit an application under the Special Marriage Act before the Marriage Officer, in which all the necessary documents and affidavits will have to be signed and submitted, after that the application will be accepted. After doing this, the report from the police station related to the permanent address of the bride and groom is pasted on the notice board of the tehsil and a copy on the notice board of the court. And the date is fixed for advance action for the filing of the application, only then the certificate is issued by the officer. At the time of giving marriage certificate a photographed should be clicked with marriage officer.
Requirements for court marriage:
- Unmarried of both the parties: For court marriage, it is necessary that the bride and groom should be unmarried at the time of marriage, both of them have not married in the past, if done, then either of the wife or husband should not be alive at the time of marriage If he has died, then it will be mandatory to attach the death certificate.
- Both the parties to be adults: At the time of marriage, both the parties must be adults, the age of the groom is 21 years age of the bride and groom should be 18 years, if the age is not completed at the time of marriage, then the marriage will not be valid.
- Both the parties should be sound-mind at the time of marriage, neither of the bride and groom should be mad, both should be completely fine.
- There should be mutual consent of both the parties – for marriage, both the parties agree among themselves, this consent should be free without any pressure.
How to do Registered Marriage:
There are different websites for doing registered marriage in different states, on which by applying online (Public Data Entry) you can apply in your registrar office and register marriage in front of the registrar, all states have almost the same process, it is not necessary to do registered marriage should be done through an advocate, you can apply yourself for registered marriage after knowing the whole process. The process of registered marriage is different from court marriage. In registered marriage, the first marriage is done according to the rituals or by the priest in the temple or by Pastor depends the religion of the couple, after that both the parties apply online for the registered marriage. For registration, we apply in the registrar’s office, the registered marriage is done in a day, it is done sooner than the court marriage.
Where can I apply for Registered Marriage:
Three places can be applied for registered marriage in the registrar’s office, these places are as follows:
1. In the registrar’s office where the girl’s place of residence.
2. In the registrar’s office where the boy’s place of residence.
3. Where the boy and the girl have married.