In a culture where only monogamous relationships are legally recognized, bigamy is the act of entering into a marriage with one person while still legally married to another.[1] A legal or de facto separation of the couple does not alter their marital status as married persons. In the case of a person in the process of divorcing their spouse, that person is taken to be legally married until such time as the divorce becomes final or absolute under the law of the relevant jurisdiction. Bigamy laws do not apply to couples in a de facto or cohabitation relationship, or that enter such relationships when one is legally married. If the prior marriage is for any reason void, the couple is not married, and hence each party is free to marry another without falling foul of the bigamy laws.
Bigamy is a crime in most countries that recognise only monogamous marriages. When it occurs in this context often neither the first nor second spouse is aware of the other. In countries that have bigamy laws, with a few exceptions (such as Egypt and Iran), consent from a prior spouse makes no difference to the legality of the second marriage, which is usually considered void.
History of anti-bigamy laws
Even before Christianity became the official religion of the Roman Empire, Diocletian and Maximian passed strict anti-polygamy laws in 285 AD that mandated monogamy as the only form of legal marital relationship, as had traditionally been the case in classical Greece and Rome.[citation needed] In 393, the Roman Emperor Theodosius I issued an imperial edict to extend the ban on polygamy to Jewish communities. In 1000, Rabbi Gershom ben Judah ruled polygamy inadmissible within Ashkenazi Jewish communities living in a Christian environment.
Most western countries do not recognise polygamous marriages, and consider bigamy a crime. Several countries also prohibit people from living a polygamous lifestyle. This is the case with the United States where the criminalisation of a polygamous lifestyle originated as anti-Mormon laws, although they are rarely enforced.[2]De facto polygamy is illegal under US federal law, the Edmunds Act.
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.[3]
Australia: Illegal. Up to five years' imprisonment.[4]
Belgium: Illegal. Five to ten years' imprisonment.[5]
Brazil: Illegal. Two to six years' imprisonment.[6]
Canada: Illegal. Up to five years' imprisonment.[7][8]
China: Illegal. Up to two years' imprisonment, and up to three years for bigamy with soldiers (but tolerated for some minorities, such as Tibetans, in some rural areas in the south-west).[citation needed]
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.[9]
India: Legal only for Muslim men but very rarely practiced. Up to 10 years' imprisonment for others except in the state of Goa for Hindus due to its own civil code.
Indonesia: Depending on the specific tribe in question, bigamy can be legal or illegal.
Malaysia: Illegal for non-Muslims under federal jurisdiction. Under section 494 of Chapter XX of the Penal Code, non-Muslim offenders found guilty of bigamy or polygamy can be punished up to seven years' imprisonment. Bigamy or polygamy is legal only for Muslim men with restrictions under state jurisdiction, rarely practised.[20]
Morocco: Permitted for Muslims, restrictions apply.
Netherlands: Illegal. Up to six years' imprisonment. If the new partner is aware of the bigamy they can be imprisoned for a maximum of four years.
New Zealand: Illegal.[22] Up to seven years' imprisonment, or up to two years' imprisonment if the judge is satisfied the second spouse was aware their marriage would be void.
Thailand: Prior to October 1, 1935, polygamy in Thailand could be freely practised and recognised under civil law. Since its abolition, it is still practised and widely accepted in Thailand, though no longer recognised, as the law states "A man or a woman cannot marry each other while one of them has a spouse."
On indictment, up to seven years' imprisonment[30] or on summary conviction up to six months' imprisonment, or to a fine of a prescribed sum, or to both.[31]
Uzbekistan: Illegal. Up to three years of imprisonment and a fine of 50 to 150 monthly wage installments. Women are not punished if they marry a man who has another unknown wife.
^Redactora, Myriam Amparo Ramírez (24 February 2001). "La Bigamia". El Tiempo (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 5 October 2012. Retrieved 2012-07-30.
^Harding, Maebh (2011). "Religion and family law in Ireland: from a Catholic protection of marriage to a "Catholic" approach to nullity". In Mair, Jane; Örücü, Esin (eds.). The place of religion in family law: a comparative search(PDF). European family law. Vol. 30. Cambridge; Portland, OR: Intersentia. ISBN978-1-78068-015-6. Retrieved 11 June 2020.; "People (Attorney General) v Ballins (IRCC)". Irish Jurist. 30: 14–16. 1964. ISSN0021-1273. JSTOR44509613?seq=16.
^Luddy, Maria; O'Dowd, Mary (2020). "Bigamy". Marriage in Ireland, 1660–1925. Cambridge University Press. pp. 287–288. ISBN978-1-108-48617-0. Retrieved 11 June 2020.
