Annulment

Annulment is different from divorce. A divorce ends a valid marriage. An annulment is a declaration that the marriage was never valid. This page explains when that can happen in Malta. Article numbers refer to the Marriage Act (Cap. 255).

Divorce or annulment?

• Divorce ends a marriage that was valid. See divorce.
• Annulment says the marriage was void from the start, because something that the law requires was missing when it was celebrated.

Which is right depends on the facts. For many couples, divorce is the more practical route. An annulment may matter to you for personal or religious reasons.

Marriages that are void

A marriage is void if (articles 3 to 6):

• either person is under eighteen;
• either person is incapable of contracting because of infirmity of mind, whether interdicted or not;
• the people are within the prohibited degrees of relationship, for example a parent and child, or siblings, or related by direct affinity, or adopter and adopted; or
• either person is bound by a previous marriage, or a cohabitation registered under the Cohabitation Act.

Other grounds for annulment

A marriage is also void where (article 19):

• either person’s consent was obtained by violence or fear;
• either person’s consent was excluded by an error about the other person’s identity;
• either person’s consent was obtained by fraud about some quality of the other that could seriously disrupt married life;
• either person’s consent was affected by a serious defect of judgment about married life and its essential rights and duties, or by a serious psychological condition that makes it impossible for that person to fulfil the essential obligations of marriage;
• either person is impotent, if that existed before the marriage;
• either person’s consent excluded marriage itself, or any essential element of married life, or the right to the conjugal act;
• either person made their consent subject to a condition about the future; or
• either person, even for a passing reason, did not have enough capacity of intellect or will to give consent.

A valid marriage can also be annulled at the request of one spouse if the other has refused to consummate it, but the action cannot be brought before three months after the marriage (article 19A).

If a formality of the marriage was not observed, the marriage cannot be annulled unless the demand is made within two years of the celebration (article 11).

Who can ask

Only one of the two people in the marriage can start an action for annulment. If they die, the action can be continued by their heirs (article 19).

The effects

If a marriage is declared void, and both people acted in good faith, it is treated as having had the effects of a valid marriage until the judgment is final. The children of a marriage declared void are treated as the children of a valid marriage. If only one person acted in good faith, those effects apply in their favour and the children’s. If both acted in bad faith, they apply only for the children. The spouse responsible for the nullity must pay the other, if in good faith, maintenance for five years, which ends if the other person marries during that time (article 20).

Church annulments

A marriage celebrated in a Catholic form, in accordance with canon law, has the same civil effects as a civil marriage, once the formalities are met (articles 21 and 22). A decision of a church tribunal declaring a Catholic marriage null can be recognised in Malta, if one of the people is domiciled in, or a citizen of, Malta. The Court of Appeal registers it, after checking that the tribunal was competent, that the parties had a fair opportunity to be heard, and that no court judgment contradicting it exists (articles 23 and 24). Once registered, it has the same effect as a court decision.

A church annulment and a civil annulment are separate processes with separate rules, and one does not automatically give you the other.

Where to start

If you are considering an annulment, we can talk through the grounds, the evidence, the procedure and whether divorce or annulment suits your situation.