Requirements for marriage in the legislation of selected countries in South America

Zdzisław Jancewicz

Abstract

In this article the law regulations containing requirements for entering into marriage in Argentina, Bolivia and Costa Rica have been presented and analyzed. According to the Argentinian National Code of Civil and Commercial Law, the marriage may be entered into by people of different sex, as well as by people of the same sex. On the basis of the Bolivian Family and Family Procedure Code, the issues with regard to entering into marriage and cohabitation are regulated, and the Cost Rican Family Code (amended) contains regulations regarding marriages of people of different sex. Each of the legislators establishes specific requirements for entering into marriage. Such circumstances are most often formulated negatively, therefore they are called obstacles, which may be relative or absolute. The amount of such obstacles and their scope is diverse in individual countries. Apart from obstacles to enter into marriage there exist other circumstances which regard the defects in the declaration of will, the condition of physical and mental health of fiancés and administrative issues connected with entering into marriage. The requirements established for entering into marriage are nevertheless very similar to each other in the legislations of the above mentioned countries, in spite of differences, in particular with regard to obstacles.