The legal status of forced marriages: void, voidable or non-existent

Two cases recently decided in the Family Division of the High Court of England and Wales illustrate that it is not always possible to prevent a forced marriage from taking place and that a person forced to marry may not be in a position to take action for several years thereafter. In SH v NB [2009] EWHC 3274 (Fam) and B v I [2009] (FLR forthcoming) the High Court indicated that although the victims were statute barred from obtaining an annulment on the basis of duress, the court could nonetheless declare the marriages to be non-existent. This approach is an innovative response to forced marriage which demonstrates that the judiciary in England and Wales endeavours to assist those who have been compelled to marry. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the legal status of a marriage entered into as a result of force and to consider the implications of classifying them as non-existent.