{
  "url": "https://openlegislation.uk/family-law-miscellaneous-provisions-northern-ireland-order-1984/article-18",
  "json_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/family-law-miscellaneous-provisions-northern-ireland-order-1984/article-18.json",
  "legislation": "nisi/1984/1984",
  "legislation_title": "The Family Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) (Northern Ireland) Order 1984",
  "legislation_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/family-law-miscellaneous-provisions-northern-ireland-order-1984",
  "path": "article/18",
  "kind": "article",
  "number": "18",
  "heading": "Prohibited degrees of relationship",
  "text": "(1) A marriage solemnized between a person and any person mentioned in the list in Part 1 of the following Table, is void:\nTable\nPART I Prohibited degrees of relationship\nAdoptive child\nAdoptive parent\nChild\nFormer adoptive child\nFormer adoptive parent\nGrandparent\nGrandchild\nParent\nParent's sibling\nSibling\nSibling's child\nPART II Degrees of affinity referred to in paragraphs (2A) and (2B)\nChild of former civil partner\nChild of former spouse\nFormer civil partner of grandparent\nFormer civil partner of parent\nFormer spouse of grandparent\nFormer spouse of parent\nGrandchild of former civil partner\nGrandchild of former spouse\nPART III...\n(2) In that Table—\n(a) any reference to an adoptive relationship or a former adoptive relationship is to a relationship which arises or arose in consequence of—\n(i) an order authorising an adoption made (whether before or after the commencement of this Article) in any part of the United Kingdom, in the Isle of Man or in any of the Channel Islands, or\n(ii) a foreign adoption as defined in section 4(3) of the 1969 c. 22 (N.I.). Adoption (Hague Convention) Act (Northern Ireland) 1969;\n(b) any reference to a sibling includes one of the half blood as well as of the whole blood;\n(c) in Part II, any reference to a relationship which is one of affinity is to a relationship deduced through a marriage or civil partnership which has been terminated by dissolution or by death;\n(d) any reference to a person of a particular relationship includes a person who would rank as being of that relationship if he, or some other person through whom the relationship is deduced, had been born legitimate.\n(2A) Subject to paragraph (2B), a marriage solemnized between a person and any person mentioned in the list in Part 2 of that Table, is void.\n(2B) Any such marriage as is mentioned in paragraph (2A) is not void by reason only of affinity if both the parties to the marriage have attained the age of 21 at the time of the marriage and the younger party has not at any time before attaining the age of 18 been a child of the family in relation to the other party.\n(2C) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .\n(2D) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .\n(2DA) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .\n(2DB) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .\n(2DC) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .\n(2E) In this Article “child of the family”, in relation to any person, means a child who has lived in the same household as that person and been treated by that person as a child of his family.\n(3) A marriage between person not within the degrees of relationship to which paragraph (1) or (2A) applies or a marriage to which paragraph (2B) applies is void, if either of those persons is at the time of the marriage domiciled in a country other than Northern Ireland and under the law of that country there cannot be a valid marriage between them because of their relationship to each other.",
  "extent": "N.I.",
  "status": null,
  "version": "current",
  "annotations": [
    {
      "type": "F",
      "label": "F1",
      "text": "2004 c.33"
    },
    {
      "type": "F",
      "label": "F2",
      "text": "S. 18(1): Pt. III of Table repealed (20.9.2006) by Law Reform (Miscellaneous Provisions) (Northern Ireland) Order 2006 (S.I. 2006/1945 (NI 14)), arts. 1(3), {3(1)(a)} (with art. 3(4))"
    },
    {
      "type": "F",
      "label": "F3",
      "text": "1993 NI 6"
    },
    {
      "type": "F",
      "label": "F4",
      "text": "Art. 18(2C)(2D) repealed (20.9.2006) by Law Reform (Miscellaneous Provisions) (Northern Ireland) Order 2006 (S.I. 2006/1945 (NI 14)), arts. 1(3), {3(1)(b)} (with art. 3(4))"
    },
    {
      "type": "F",
      "label": "F5",
      "text": "Art. 18(2C)(2D) repealed (20.9.2006) by Law Reform (Miscellaneous Provisions) (Northern Ireland) Order 2006 (S.I. 2006/1945 (N.I. 14)), arts. 1(3), 3(1)(b) (with art. 3(4))"
    },
    {
      "type": "F",
      "label": "F6",
      "text": "Art. 18(2DA)(2DB)(2DC) repealed (20.9.2006) by Law Reform (Miscellaneous Provisions) (Northern Ireland) Order 2006 (S.I. 2006/1945 (N.I. 14)), arts. 1(3), 5(a)"
    },
    {
      "type": "F",
      "label": "F7",
      "text": "Words in art. 18(3) substituted (20.9.2006) by Law Reform (Miscellaneous Provisions) (Northern Ireland) Order 2006 (S.I. 2006/1945 (N.I. 14)), arts. 1(3), 3(2)(a) (with art. 3(4))"
    },
    {
      "type": "F",
      "label": "F8",
      "text": "Words in art. 18(3) substituted (20.9.2006) by Law Reform (Miscellaneous Provisions) (Northern Ireland) Order 2006 (S.I. 2006/1945 (N.I. 14)), arts. 1(3), 3(2)(b) (with art. 3(4))"
    }
  ],
  "outstanding_effects": [],
  "provenance": {
    "source": "legislation.gov.uk",
    "source_url": "https://www.legislation.gov.uk/nisi/1984/1984/article/18",
    "retrieved_at": "2026-10-29T04:48:59.687776+00:00"
  },
  "licence": "Open Government Licence v3.0",
  "licence_url": "https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/",
  "attribution": "Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives."
}