Civil wedding

The civil wedding or marriage with the town hall is a nationalized form of Mariage in which a public authority recognizes the validity of the union of two people. It is thus distinguished from the Church wedding or the usual marriage in what it officializes civilly a union.

In certain countries the institution of the civil wedding answered a will to fight against the influence of the religious institutions. More generally, the civil wedding fell under the movement of Separation of the Church and the State initiated at the 18th century.

The civil wedding does not exclude the church wedding. This last remainder sometimes necessary as much on a cultural level that for the validity of the marriage itself. In other case, the civil wedding is celebrated in the presence of religious representatives. The interactions between the civil weddings and monk thus remain important.

In addition, it should be stressed that in certain countries the concept of civil wedding (in particular with the Canada) gets busy especially to indicate a marriage open to homosexual the.

Introduction

In many legal systems the civil wedding which proceeds at the same time as the ceremony of the church wedding, even if both are theoretically distinct. Thus, in the majority of the American states but also with the the United Kingdom and in the Irish Republic, the marriage is celebrated by a priest, a Pasteur, a Rabbin or any other religious authority who also officiates like an public agent. In certain countries, like the France, the Spain, the Germany, the Argentine or the Russia, it is necessary that the civil wedding was celebrated before is not held the religious ceremony.

Certain states admit a civil wedding in circumstances where it is prohibited by the religion: Homosexual marriage or Civil union. Conversely, there exist cases in which the religious ceremony is not recognized by the civil authorities.

The civil wedding in the world

Europe

Germany

In Germany, it is the Chancellor Otto von Bismarck who introduced the civil wedding ( Zivilehe ) in 1875. With this law, the declaration of the marriage near an officer of the administration became the only procedure so that the marriage is legal and valid. In parallel, the law reduced the church wedding to a private ceremony, nonobligatory.

Austria

In Austria, the civil wedding appears in 1783.

Spain

In Spain, the husbands can choose a church wedding without having to pass in front of the front mayor. They sign at the end of the religious ceremony the Marriage certificate that the Church sends to the civil authorities.

France

In France, until the French revolution, there existed one type of marriage, the church wedding. The first official application of the civil wedding comes from a law of the September 20th 1792 which also founds the Civil statue French ( Voir the text on Wikisource ).

The ceremony of the church wedding is not excluded, but it is not obligatory and it must intervene after the civil wedding.

For the little story, Napoleon I {{er}} married Joséphine de Beauharnais in civil wedding the March 9th 1796 with Paris.

Netherlands

It is in 1850 that the Holland recognizes the civil wedding.

The United Kingdom

Officially, the civil wedding appeared in the United Kingdom in 1563, but it spent time before being definitively recognized in the various nations (England, Pays of Galle, Ireland and Scotland).

The civil weddings and religious coexisted, even if the first were not very used, until the end of the 18th century. Then, the civil wedding disappeared with the Marriage Act from 1753. Until 1836, only the marriages celebrated by the church of England, the Quaker S or the Jews were recognized. Thereafter, the Marriage Act of 1836 introduced the civil wedding, by also allowing to the representatives other religions (the Non-conformistes and the Catholique S) to record marriages officially.

In England and with the Wales, the civil weddings cannot proceed in the places of religious appointment. On the contrary, in Scotland and Northern Ireland, they can be held in any place, and it is besides possible with certain religious authorities to record themselves the civil wedding.

Switzerland

A church wedding can be celebrated today only on presentation of the certificate of marriage delivered by the Civil statue. This obligation had been introduced in 1874, to devote the secularity of the marriage (Kulturkampf). Within the framework of the procedure of revision of the right of the marriage, the Federal council wished to maintain it, and proposed a formula “It is interdict to celebrate a church wedding before the civil celebration”.

Americas

Canada

For Canada, it is necessary to await 1973 so that a civil wedding appears. According to the Constitution of Canada, the federal government with the exclusive authority on the questions of marriage and divorce. However, the provinces have the capacity to vote laws governing the organization of the ceremony of the marriage. The marriages can be civil or monk. They can be celebrated by members of the Clergé, Juge S, Justice of the Peace or Greffier S.

Africa

Asia and Oceania

Lebanon

In Lebanon, the concept of civil wedding appeared in 1936, under the French mandate. However, the civil wedding is limited since it concerns only the citizens having contracted a civil wedding out of Lebanon. Thus, Lebanon recognizes the foreign civil weddings but on the Lebanese territory, only the church wedding is possible.

In Israel only church weddings (in front of a rabbi for the Jews, an Imam for the Moslems, etc…) are recognized on the Israeli territory. The civil wedding does not exist in Israel, but however Israel recognizes the marriages carried out abroad, which allows the Israelis not wanting, or not being able marrier before a religious institution to show it abroad (in general on the island close to Cyprus) recognized as marriés of return in Israel. This situation concerns in particular many people being defined as Jewish but not recognized like such with rabbinate, or then in the case of marriages known as " mixtes" (judéo-Moslem, Judeo-Christian, islamo-Christian, etc…).

See too

External bonds

Specialized site set up by the French Ministry of the family

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