Jactitation or jactitation of marriage is an archaic

cause of action A cause of action or right of action, in law, is a set of facts sufficient to justify suing to obtain money or property, or to justify the enforcement of a legal right against another party. The term also refers to the legal theory upon which a p ...

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

and in

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

law. Where one person falsely asserts that he or she is married to another, the wronged party could obtain an order restraining further repetitions of the falsehood. The action was abolished in England in 1986 and in Ireland in 1995.

The suit for jactitation of marriage

Where one person falsely asserted that he or she is married to another, the wronged party (the petitioner) could bring a suit for jactitation of marriage. The suit could be brought only against the person (the respondent) wrongfully claiming to be married, and could not be used to forbid third parties from alleging the existence of a marriage. If the court found the case to be proven, it could issue a declaration that the two parties were not married, along with an order forbidding the respondent from repeating the assertion. There were three defences to the suit: * that an assertion of marriage was in fact never made * that the assertion was true * that the misrepresentation was acquiesced in by the petitioner.

Origins and history

According to the ''

Oxford English Dictionary The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' (''OED'') is the first and foundational historical dictionary of the English language, published by Oxford University Press (OUP). It traces the historical development of the English language, providing a com ...

'' jactitation is "a false declaration tending to someone's detriment". The word, in the sense of "a public or open declaration, especially of a boastful sort; ostentatious affirmation; boasting, bragging" was first recorded in 1632. Legal proceedings for jactitation of marriage were recorded as having been brought before the

Ecclesiastical court An ecclesiastical court, also called court Christian or court spiritual, is any of certain courts having jurisdiction mainly in spiritual or religious matters. In the Middle Ages, these courts had much wider powers in many areas of Europe than be ...

s in England in 1685. Prior to the

Clandestine Marriages Act 1753 The Clandestine Marriages Act 1753, also called the Marriage Act 1753, long title "An Act for the Better Preventing of Clandestine Marriage", popularly known as Lord Hardwicke's Marriage Act (citation 26 Geo. II. c. 33), was the first statutory ...

, which first made a formal ceremony of marriage compulsory, a suit for jactitation was the usual method of determining the validity of a marriage in England. After that date, the suit was much less used since proof of a formal ceremony was all that was needed to establish a marriage. Before 1857 proceedings for jactitation in England took place only in the

ecclesiastical court An ecclesiastical court, also called court Christian or court spiritual, is any of certain courts having jurisdiction mainly in spiritual or religious matters. In the Middle Ages, these courts had much wider powers in many areas of Europe than be ...

s, but the

Matrimonial Causes Act 1857 The Matrimonial Causes Act 1857 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The Act reformed the law on divorce, moving litigation from the jurisdiction of the ecclesiastical courts to the civil courts, establishing a model of marriage ...

transferred the jurisdiction to the newly created

Court for Divorce and Matrimonial Causes In the history of the courts of England and Wales, the Court for Divorce and Matrimonial Causes was created by the Matrimonial Causes Act 1857, which transferred the jurisdiction of the ecclesiastical courts in matters matrimonial to the new cou ...

. After 1925 the suit had to be instituted in a divorce

County Court A county court is a court based in or with a jurisdiction covering one or more counties, which are administrative divisions (subnational entities) within a country, not to be confused with the medieval system of ''county courts'' held by the high ...

, with the case being transferred to the High Court if a defence was filed. at paras 2,3,5,6,9

Abolition

In 1971 the

Law Commission A law commission, law reform commission, or law revision commission is an independent body set up by a government to conduct law reform; that is, to consider the state of laws in a jurisdiction and make recommendations or proposals for legal chang ...

reviewed the state of the law in England and recommended that the suit for jactitation of marriage should be abolished. It was by then little-used, with the last reported case being in 1968. The Commission noted in particular the suit's narrow scope and its inapplicability to false statements made by third parties. The right to petition for jactitation was ultimately abolished by section 61 of the Family Law Act 1986. In the Republic of Ireland a

Law Reform Commission A law commission, law reform commission, or law revision commission is an independent body set up by a government to conduct law reform; that is, to consider the state of laws in a jurisdiction and make recommendations or proposals for legal chang ...

report of 1983 recommended abolition of jactitation as "an ancient remedy which has fallen into complete disuse". The recommendation was implemented by the Family Law Act 1995, which instead empowered the Circuit Family Court to make a declaration about the status of a person's marriage.

References

Bibliography

* *{{cite report , url=http://www.lawreform.ie/_fileupload/Reports/rJactitation.htm , author=

Law Reform Commission (Ireland) The Irish Law Reform Commission was established undeof th Activities The Commission an independent body which examines areas of the law and proposes reforms or changes. Most of their recommendations are adopted through legislation. According t ...

, location=Dublin , title=Report on restitution of conjugal rights, jactitation of marriage and related matters , year=1983 , series=LRC reports , volume=6 Marriage law in the United Kingdom Marriage, unions and partnerships in Ireland Communication of falsehoods English legal terminology Common law rules