The Civil Chamber of the Supreme Court of the Republic of Azerbaijan has issued a decision determining a unified judicial practice regarding the subsequent validation of an invalid marriage.
According to Medianews.az, based on the case materials, the plaintiff demanded the invalidation of the marriage between his father and the defendant, which was contracted on April 3, 1976. He stated that at that time his father was married to his mother in a valid marriage contracted on September 15, 1974, which was still in force. The plaintiff's parents' marriage was only dissolved on June 19, 2004.
Although the court of first instance granted the claim, the appellate court overturned this decision and dismissed the claim. The court noted that according to the Marriage and Family Code of the Azerbaijan SSR in force at that time, if an impediment to the marriage ceases thereafter, the court may consider the marriage valid.
The appellate court found that after the dissolution of the plaintiff's parents' marriage in 2004, the legal impediment to the contested marriage was removed. Therefore, the marriage between the plaintiff's father and the defendant contracted in 1976 became valid.
The court also emphasized that declaring this marriage invalid does not affect the rights of the children, including inheritance rights.
The cassation instance also agreed with this position and, by rejecting the plaintiff's cassation appeal, upheld the decision of the appellate court.//Oxu24.com