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I now pronounce you…

22 October 2021 / Nazia Rashid
Issue: 7953 / Categories: Features , Family
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Nazia Rashid considers whether reinstating breach of promise to marry could fill a gap in the law

Could reinstating the right to sue for breach of promise to marry assist couples in non-qualifying ceremony marriages?


Do we need to re-look at the abolished right to sue for breach of promise to marry?

I recently came across a tweet which referred to reforming family law by re-introducing ‘breach of promise’ as a remedy in ‘non qualifying ceremony’ cases, on protection for parties in religious marriages promised a legally binding ceremony gone unfulfilled. (Family Law Reform Now: Twitter 09/09/21 15:45.)

My legal mind, and I am sure for many family lawyers, headed straight to the case of Akhter v Khan [2018] EWFC 54. However, at the same time, I thought of friends who have previously been in committed relationships which have broken down, and at least one party felt he/she still had a choice as to whether to proceed with the civil marriage or not regardless of what might have taken place following the

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