Definition of Nullity (conflict)

In Conflict of Laws, the issue of nullity (known as annulment in the United States) in Family Law inspires a wide response among the laws of different states as to the circumstances in which a marriage will be valid, invalid or null. As in English Law, some classify marriages as either void or voidable; others have no concept of a voidable marriage; still others have a third category of “non-existent” marriage (e.g., Nichtehe in Germany). The decree of nullity may therefore be no more than a declaration that no marriage had ever come into being, i.e. it is void ab initio, or it may be equivalent to a decree of divorce, i.e., the marriage requires a decree to dissolve it.