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18 October 2018
Issue: 7813 / Categories: Features , Civil way , Procedure & practice
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Civil way: 19 October 2018

Nullity attack; HMO v s21; MIB weeps; recognised tenants rule.

NIKAH NULLITY

Either party to an Islamic religious Nikah ceremony which has not been followed by a civil ceremony recognised under English law may nevertheless be able to secure a decree of nullity. That’s a big deal because it would empower the court to grant financial remedies which were not otherwise available. For that deal they (or at least one of the parties (!)) shall give thanks to the flexible approach of Mr Justice Williams in Akhter v Khan and another [2018] EWFC 54. Not so flexible on an appeal. He has just refused permission to both the husband and the intervening Attorney General. The husband is now seeking permission from the Court of Appeal.

Both parties had undertaken the religious ceremony in Dubai and held themselves out to the world at large as husband and wife. They were treated as validly married in the United Arab Emirates and were together for 18 years, raising four children. The failure to go through with a

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

Carey Olsen—Patrick Ormond

Carey Olsen—Patrick Ormond

Partner joinscorporate and finance practice in British Virgin Islands

Dawson Cornwell—Naomi Angell

Dawson Cornwell—Naomi Angell

Firm strengthens children department with adoption and surrogacy expert

Penningtons Manches Cooper—Graham Green

Penningtons Manches Cooper—Graham Green

Media and technology expert joins employment team as partner in Cambridge

NEWS
Freezing orders in divorce proceedings can unexpectedly ensnare third parties and disrupt businesses. In NLJ this week, Lucy James of Trowers & Hamlins explains how these orders—dubbed a ‘nuclear weapon’—preserve assets but can extend far beyond spouses to companies and business partners 
A Court of Appeal ruling has clarified that ‘rent’ must be monetary—excluding tenants paid in labour from statutory protection. In this week's NLJ, James Naylor explains Garraway v Phillips, where a tenant worked two days a week instead of paying rent
Thousands more magistrates are to be recruited, under a major shake-up to speed up and expand the hiring process
The winners of the LexisNexis Legal Awards 2026 have now been announced, marking another outstanding celebration of excellence, innovation, and impact across the legal profession
Three men wrongly imprisoned for a combined 77 years have been released—yet received ‘not a penny’ in compensation, exposing deep flaws in the justice system. Writing in NLJ this week, Dr Jon Robins reports on Justin Plummer, Oliver Campbell and Peter Sullivan, whose convictions collapsed amid discredited forensics, ‘oppressive’ police interviews and unreliable ‘cell confessions’
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