Consummation of marriage

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Illustration from Tacuinum Sanitatis , a medieval pictorial work

The consummation of the marriage (even marriage law enforcement ) is in the Christian - occidental tradition after the ceremony for closure of a marriage and refers to the first sexual intercourse after marriage.

The consummation of marriage in canon law

Marriage, which has always been understood as the threshold for the exercise of legitimate sexuality, was concluded through contractio ( marriage contract , marriage vows ) and consummatio (consummation of marriage). Because the execution was necessary for the legal validity of the marriage, it was sometimes carried out in the Middle Ages under witnesses or documented by "evidence" (see also enclosures ). In general, however, the (rebuttable) legal presumption of the execution of the marriage was valid from the point in time at which the groom “brought his bride home” and took him in. In the case of a proxy marriage, the exposure of one leg each by the bride and the proxy could be considered the consummation of the marriage.

Enforcement of marriage in private law (Germany)

Even today, non-enforcement in Roman Catholic church law is a prerequisite for nullity proceedings if no sexual intercourse (marriage enforcement) took place after the marriage (non-enforcement proceedings).

The German Civil Code (BGB) has provided since 1998 that a marriage can be annulled if both spouses agreed at the time of the marriage that they were not obliged under Section 1353 (1) (obligation to cohabit / consummate marriage ) want to justify. The aim of this regulation is to combat fictitious marriages that were only concluded in order to give a foreign spouse a right of residence in Germany.

A judgment on "establishing the marital life" is not enforceable according to § 120 Abs. 3 FamFG (until 2009 § 888 Abs. 3 ZPO). Nevertheless, practical sexuality in marriages has repeatedly been a topic of German jurisprudence.

Enforcement of marriage in American family law

In addition to reasons such as coercion, fraud, bigamy or incest , the lack of consummation of the marriage is a reason for annulment of the marriage in US law. The marriage is then considered to be legally non-existent. In contrast to divorce, which only ends the marriage. Some Americans choose this form of marriage dissolution, mainly for religious reasons.

See also

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Thomas Frenz: Basic Concepts of Medieval Studies - Marriage . (Marriage and marriage in the Middle Ages) phil.uni-passau.de, 2002; Retrieved October 29, 2016.
  2. ↑ As an example at the Diocese of Fulda
  3. ↑ Valerie Suhr, Dana-Sophia Valentiener: Sex in marriage as a legal expectation? (PDF) Forum Law , 02/14
  4. ^ Annulment on justicia.com.