Declaration as to marital status: The High Court in MM v NA.

[2020] EWHC 93 (Fam) MM v NA is a great primer for family law conflict of laws.

Roberts J discussed formal validity (subject under English PIL to lex loci celebrationis, as is the case in many jurisdictions); ‘material” aka ‘essential’ validity aka capacity (in the common law subject to lex domiciliae: the domiciliary laws of the individual parties at the time of the marriage. Note that in the civil law this is often subject instead to lex patriae); finally: recognition, which here was complicated for Somaliland is not a State recognised by the UK.

Recognition was granted.