ABSTRACT
An annulment of a marriage may be effected either by a declaration of nullity of marriage in cases where the marriage entered into was void, from the inception, and a decree of nullity where the marriage is deemed to be voidable. The concept of annulment of marriage owes its origins to the canon law of the Church of England which was administered exclusively by the ecclesiastical courts of England until the passage of the Matrimonial Causes Act 1857, England (MCA). With the passage of the MCA 1857, the matrimonial jurisdiction was transferred to the civil courts. However the canon law principles and rules which underpinned the annulment of marriages by the ecclesiastical courts were effectively adopted and modified by the civil courts and, codified in part, by the Nullity of Marriage Act 1971, England and eventually entirely codified by the MCA 1973, England.
