Article 35.
The following marriages shall be void from the A null and void marriage cannot be validated directly
beginning: or indirectly.
1) Those contracted by any party below eighteen years of BAD FAITH OR GOOD FAITH IN VOID MARRIAGES.
age even with the consent of parents or guardians;
general rule: good faith and bad faith are
2) Those solemnized by any person not legally authorized to immaterial in determining whether or not a marriage
perform marriages unless such marriages were contracted is null and void.
with either or both parties believing in good faith that the doctrine of unclean hands- where the court
solemnizing officer had the legal authority to do so; should not grant relief to the wrongdoer is not a
rule as applied in nullity actions because it is merely
3) Those solemnized without a license, except those covered judge-made and has no statutory basis.
by the preceding Chapter;
cont page 195
4) Those bigamous or polygamous marriages not falling
under Article 41;
5) Those contracted through mistake of one contracting
party as to the identity of the other; and
6) Those subsequent marriages that are void under Article
53.
VOID MARRIAGES
A void marriage is that which is not valid from its
inception.
absence of any of the essential or formal
requirements for a valid marriage as provided for in
Articles 2 and 3 makes a marriage void.
Only marriages declared void by the legislature
should be treated as such.
in the absence of any other grounds to consider a
marriage void, a court appointed guardian and his
or her ward can marry each other and likewise ---
stepbrothers and stepsisters can validly marry each
other.
grounds for a void marriage may co-exist in one
case.
a petition may contain many grounds for nullity of
marriage but only one cause of action, which is the
nullity of the marriage.
VOID AND VOIDABLE MARRIAGE.
A void marriage is different from a voidable or
annullable marriage under Article 45 of the Family
Code.
A marriage that is annullable is valid until otherwise
declared by the court
a marriage that is void ab initio is considered as
having never to have taken place and cannot be the
source of rights.
A voidable marriage cannot be assailed collaterally
except in a direct proceeding
while a void marriage can be attacked collaterally.
void marriages can be questioned even after the
death of either party
but voidable marriages can be assailed only during
the lifetime of the parties and not after death of
either, in which case the parties and their offspring
will be left as if the marriage had been perfectly
valid.
Void marriages can never be ratified or cured by any
act of any of the contracting parties.
rule on splitting-a-cause of action: repetitious
suits involving same cause of action (res judicta)
A legal declaration that a marriage is void is likewise
a fiat vested with public interest.
sustained.
Article 36. A marriage contracted by any party who, at the
time of the celebration, was psychologically incapacitated to LIFTED FROM CANON LAW.
comply with the essential marital obligations of marriage,
this particular ground for nullity was essentially
shall likewise be void even if such incapacity becomes lifted from the Canon Laws of the Catholic Church.
manifest only after its solemnization. (n) (As amended by
JURISPRUDENTIAL GUIDELINES.
Executive Order Number 227 dated July 17, 1987)
(1) The burden of proof to show the nullity of the marriage
PSYCHOLOGICAL INCAPACITY
belongs to the plaintiff.
Determination of psychological incapacity “depends
- Any doubt should be resolved in favor of the
on the facts of the case.
existence and continuation of the marriage and
this ground must be taken in its proper context and
against its dissolution and nullity.
should not be equated with insanity or a total
- marriage and the family and emphasizes their
mental inability to function in all aspects of human
permanence, inviolability and solidarity.
life.
the ground is restricted to psychological incapacity
(2) The root cause of the psychological incapacity must be:
“to comply with the essential marital obligations.”
to seriously and effectively prevent them from
having a functional and normal marital life (a) medically or clinically identified,
it must be a psychological illness afflicting a party
even before the celebration of the marriage (b) alleged in the complaint,
involves a constant refusal to comply with the
essential marital obligations by one or both of the (c) sufficiently proven by experts, and
spouses although he, she or they are physically
capable of performing such obligations (d) clearly explained in the decision.
incapacity is clearly limited to his and/ or her failure
or disregard to comply with his and/or her essential (3) The incapacity must be proven to be existing at “the time
marital obligations. of the celebration” of the marriage.
psychological incapacity solely refers to the “lack of
appreciation of one’s marital obligation” --- nothing (4) Such incapacity must also be shown to be medically or
to do with consent clinically permanent or incurable.
psychological incapacity, to perform the
essential marital obligations, must be present at the (5) Such illness must be grave enough to bring about the
time of the marriage ceremony, but can be disability of the party to assume the essential obligations of
manifested later on during the marriage. marriage.
PROVING PSYCHOLOGICAL INCAPACITY. (6) The essential marital obligations must be those
embraced by Articles 68 up to 71 of the Family Code as
psychological incapacity is psychosomatic and deals regards the husband and wife as well as Articles 220, 221
with a state of mind and thus, can only be proven and 225 of the same Code in regard to parents and their
by indicators or external manifestations of the children.
person claimed to be psychologically incapacitated.
Procreation is likewise an essential obligation. (7) Interpretations given by the National Appellate
Constant non-fulfillment of this obligation will finally Matrimonial Tribunal of the Catholic Church in the
destroy the integrity or wholeness of the marriage Philippines, while not controlling or decisive, should be given
separation or abandonment alone is not conclusive great respect by our courts.
proof of psychological incapacity
psychological incapacity should apply to any person
regardless of nationality.” (8) The trial court must order the
prosecuting attorney or fiscal and the
EXPERT TESTIMONY. Solicitor General to appear as counsel for
expert testimonies of a psychologist or psychiatrist the state.
evaluating the behavioral pattern of the person
alleged to be psychologically incapacitated are
extremely helpful
October 19, 2000, the Supreme Court ruled that
“the personal medical or psychological examination
of respondent is not a requirement for a declaration
of psychological incapacity
the Court may or may not accept the testimony of
the psychologist or psychiatrist because the
decision must be based on the totality of the
evidence.
the mere fact therefore that a psychiatrist
personally examined the subject person is not an
assurance that his or her findings would be
