ABSTRACT
It is normal to divide the exceptions to the rule into those existing at common law and those created by statute. It is proposed to examine the common law exceptions first.
There are certain circumstances where parties may demonstrate formal validity not on the basis of compliance with the lex loci but by asserting a ‘common law marriage’. In strict terms, a common law marriage is one that met the requirements that pertained prior to the enactment of Lord Hardwicke’s Act of 1753. The parties were required to declare themselves husband and wife in each others presence per verba de praesenti; at a later date, the House of Lords declared that this would have to be before an episcopally ordained clergyman.86 However, it came to be accepted by judges that the qualification added by R v Millis did not apply where the marriage was contracted abroad and no parochial system had been established.87
