Bigamy
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Historical Origins of Anti-Bigamy Laws
Before Christianity became the official religion of the Roman Empire during the reign of the Emperor Constantine I, Diocletian and Maximian passed strict anti-polygamy laws in 285 that mandated monogamy was the only form of legal marital configuration, as had traditionally been the case in classical Greece and Rome themselves. However, it took time for Jewish communities to accept the imperial edict, as the Byzantine Emperor Theodosius had to force them to adapt to the new situation in 393. It was not until 1000 that Rabbi Gershom ben Judah ruled polygamy inadmissable within Jewish communities.According to feminist historian Sarah McDougall, the origin of Christian European insistence on monogamy, and insistence on its enforcement, arose as a consequence of 16th century Islamic incursions into Central Europe and the advent of European colonialism within the Americas, Africa and Asia, which exposed European Christians to cultures that practised polygamy. As a consequence, nominal Christian male bigamists were subjected to unprecedented harsh punishments, such as execution, galley servitude, exile and prolonged imprisonment as a result of their actions. McDougall argues that female bigamists were not as harshly punished due to concepts of female 'inferiority' and the 'absence' of female moral agency [4]
Legal situation
Main article: Legal status of polygamy
Most western countries do not recognize polygamous
marriages, and consider bigamy a crime. Several countries also prohibit
people from living a polygamous lifestyle. This is the case in some
states of the United States where the criminalization of a polygamous
lifestyle originated as anti-Mormon laws, although they are rarely enforced.[5]In diplomatic law, consular spouses from polygamous countries are sometimes exempt from a general prohibition on polygamy in host countries. In some such countries, only one spouse of a polygamous diplomat may be accredited, however.[6]
By country
- Australia: Illegal under the Marriage Act 1961, sect 94. Maximum penalty 5 years imprisonment.
- Belgium: Illegal under the "strafwetboek" article 391 Minimum of 5 years and a maximum of 10 years.
- Canada: Illegal under the Criminal Code, sect 293.[7]
- China: Illegal (but tolerated for some minorities, such as Tibetans, in some rural areas in the South West) .
- Colombia Illegal with exceptions (such as religion). Although bigamy no longer exists as a lone figure in the Colombian judicial code marrying someone new without dissolving an earlier marriage may yield to other felonies such as civil status forgery or suppression of information.[8]
- Egypt: Legal if first wife consents
- Eritrea: Illegal. Up to 5 years imprisonment
- All the 27 countries of the European Union (see special note for the United Kingdom): Illegal.
- Iceland: Illegal according to the Icelandic Act on Marriage No. 31/1993, Art. 11.[9]
- Ghana: Illegal. Up to six months imprisonment.
- Republic of Ireland: Bigamy is a statutory offence. It is committed by a person who, being married to another person, goes through a ceremony capable of producing a valid marriage with a third person. The offence is created by section 57 of the Offences against the Person Act 1861.[10] This section replaces section 26 of the Act 10 Geo. 4 c. 34 for the Republic of Ireland.[11]
- Israel: Illegal. Up to 5 years imprisonment
- Iran: Illegal. Up to 5 years imprisonment
- India: Legal only for Muslims. Up 10 years of imprisonment for others.
- Libya: Illegal. Possible 5 years of imprisonment
- Malaysia: Permitted for Muslims; required to obtain judicial consent, show financial capability, and several strict conditions. Some variation in law between states (family law relating to non-Muslims is under federal jurisdiction).[12]
- Maldives: Permitted for anyone.
- Malta: Illegal under the Marriage Act of 1975, section 6.
- Netherlands: Illegal. Up to 6 years imprisonment. If the new partner is aware of the bigamy he or she can be imprisoned for a maximum of 4 years.
- New Zealand: Illegal under section 205 of the Crimes Act 1961. Up to 15 years imprisonment.
- Morocco: Permitted for Muslims, restrictions apply.
- Pakistan: Polygamy in Pakistan is permitted.
- Saudi Arabia: Bigamy or Polygamy is legal.
- South Africa: Legalized for indigenous, black traditionalists by the Customary Marriages Act 120 of 1998.
- Tunisia: Illegal. Up to 5 years imprisonment
- Turkey: Illegal. Up to 5 years imprisonment
- United Kingdom: Illegal, although marriages performed abroad may be recognised for some legal purposes (see Polygamy in the United Kingdom).
- In the United Kingdom a person guilty of bigamy is liable, on conviction on indictment, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding seven years,[13] or on summary conviction to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months, or to a fine not exceeding the prescribed sum, or to both.[14]
- United States: Illegal in all 50 states. Penalty up to 5 years. (but see Polygamy in North America)
- In the United States, the Model Penal Code (section 230.1) defines bigamy as a misdemeanor and polygamy as a felony. Having more than one spouse at the same time gets classified as polygamy, and bumped to a felony, if it is done "in purported exercise of a plural marriage..." According to Joel Feinberg in Moral Limits of the Criminal Law: "Righteously, flaunting one's illicit relationships, according to the Code, is apparently a morally aggravating circumstance, more punishable than its clandestine and deceptive counterpart."[15]
- Uzbekistan: Illegal.
