The non-marriage union in private international law

• Author: Winston Anderson
• Position: L.L.B (U.W.I), Ph.D (Cantab); Barrister; Lecturer, University of the West Indies; Visiting Fellow, University of Western Australia
• Pages: 366-402

THENON-MARRIAGEUNIONINPRIVATE

INTERNATIONALLAW

By

WinstonAnderson*

1.INTRODUCTION

Legislativerecognitionofthenon-marriageunion,asan

alternativetotheconventionalChristianmarriageofwestern

societies,1issteadilyontheincrease. Argumentsthatsuchunionsare

inherentlycontrarytopublicpolicy,inthattheyunderminethe

institutionofmarriage,arebeingrejectedinfavouroftheproposition

thatregulationoftherightsandobligationsofdefactospousesis

necessaryinordertoavoidexploitationofonebytheother.2More

L.L.B(U.W.I),Ph.D(Cantab);Barrister; Lecturer,Universityofthe West

Indies;VisitingFellow,UniversityofWesternAustralia.Iwishtothank

MissA.Gardiner,oneofthe students inmy1995/6U.W.I.Private

International Lawclass,forproof-readinganearlier draftofthispaper.

Theclassicalstatement ofthesignificanceanddefinitionofthe Christian

marriage is attributedto LordPenzance,the Judge Ordinary, whostated,in

Hydev.HydeandWoodmansee( 1866)L.R. 1P.&D.130 at133, that:

"Marriagehas beenwellsaid tobe somethingmore than a

contract,eitherreligiousorcivil-to be anInstitution.Itcreates

mutual rights andobligations,asallcontracts do,but beyondthat

itconfersastatus. Thepositionorstatus of’husband' and‘wife’is

arecognizedone throughout Christendom: thelawsofall Christian

nationsthrowabout that statusavarietyoflegalincidentsduring

the livesoftheparties, andinducedefiniterightsupontheir

offspring.What, then, is thenatureofthisinstitution...Iconceive

thatmarriage,asunderstoodinChristendommayforthispurpose

bedefinedasthevoluntaryunionforlifeofonemanandone

woman,tothe exclusionofallothersf(Italicsadded).

See,generally,NewSouthWalesLawReformCommission'sSummaryof

IssuesPaper:DeFactoRelationships,1981,pp. 8-10,quotedinH.A.Finlay

andR.J. Bailey-Harris,FamilyLawinAustralia, (4th ed.,1989)

(Butterworths),p.375-376.

366

TheNon-MarriageUnion367

andmorecountriesarecomingtoacceptthattheinterminglingof

financialandpersonalaffairsofpartiestoastabledefacto

relationshipprovidesalegitimatebasisforsocietytointerveneto

ensureequityandfairnessindecisionsconcerningsuchmattersas

divisionofproperty,maintenance,careandcustodyoftheparties’

children,andsuccession.3Theincidenceofsuchunionsisexpected

toincreasewiththecontinuedaffirmationoftheacceptabilityof

alternativelifestylechoices.

Aswithconventionalmarriages,thefactualcircumstancesofnon-

marriageunionswillinevitablyhaveadifferentimpactunderthe

variouslegalsystems,givingrisetoquestionsastowhetherrights

anddutiescreatedinonejurisdictionarecognizableinanother.

Unlikethetraditionalfamilyarrangement,however,neither

legislationgivinglegalrecognitiontosuchunionsnorthecommon

lawhasyetpaidany,oranyadequate,attentiontotheprivate

internationallawimplications.Individuallegislaturesappeartohave

beenintentonremedyingperceivedsocial problemswithintheirown

particularjurisdictionswithoutgivingconsiderationtothe

transnationallawcontext.4

Thepurposeofthispaperistoexplorethelikelyreactionof

privateinternationallawtothenon-marriageunion.First,thereisthe

questionofdefining,inatransnationalcontext,whatpreciselyis

meantbyanon-mairiageunion.Thisisnotaneasytask,since

relevantlegislationdiffersconsiderablyamongvariouscountries.

Relevantprovisionsarecitedbelow.

See,e.g.tthe precursor to theBarbados legislation, TheReportoftheNational

Commissionon theStatusofWomenin Barbados(Vol.I).TheCommission

heldseveralhearingsandreceivednumerousreports concerningthesocio

economicpositionofwomeninBarbados.Noteespeciallythecomments,

observationsand conclusionsat pp. 55-56,87.

368Caribbean LawReview

Secondly,thereistheproblemconcerningtheunion'sinternational

legitimacy:isittobelegallycognizableonlywithinthejurisdiction

whereitwascreatedorwithinthejurisprudenceofothercountriesas

well.Inotherwords,isthenon-marriageunionentitledtosomekind

ofinternationalacceptabilitycomparabletotheChristianmarriage?

Ifthisquestionisansweredintheañfmative,then,bynecessary

implication,itbecomesimperativetomakesomepreliminary

observationsonthelikelycontentofthesubstantiveconflictrules.In

particular,connectingfactorsforjurisdiction;governinglawand

recognitionofforeignorderswouldneedtobeexplicated.Thirdly,

thereistheissueoftherelationshipbetweentheconventional

marriageandtheunion.Factualoverlappingoffamilypatternswill

beseentomandatetheidentificationofamethodofrationalizingthe

mutualrelationshipoftheseformsofpersonalassociations.

2.IDENTIFYINGTHENON-MARRIAGEUNION

Undoubtedly,problemsofdefinitionbedevilthisarea.However,it

may,ingeneral,betakenthatanon-marriageuniondescribesthe

limitedstatusgrantedbylegislationtoamanandwomanwho, not

beingmarriedtoeachother,havenonethelesscohabitedina

relationshipofsomepermanence.Severalcommentsariseonthis

wording.

(i) Terminology

Thereisclearlyaproblemofterminologysincethenon-marriage

unionisknownbyvariousappellations.IntheCanadiancaseof