In all cases relationship by illegitimate as well as legitimate birth is included.
A divorced person who has been adjudged guilty of adultery cannot contract a new marriage without the consent of the innocent party, provided the latter is still living and has not remarried. Under no conditions can the guilty party marry his or her accomplice.
No man or woman who is bound by a betrothal or by an undissolved marriage can marry a third person.
A widower must not contract a new marriage within six months after the death of his wife, nor a widow within one year after the death of her husband.
Preliminaries.—On three successive Sundays or holy days previous to a wedding banns must be published from the pulpit of the State church in the parish in which the prospective bride resides.
Celebration.—The usual form of marriage is the religious ceremony. This alone is valid in case the man and woman belong to the same religious sect. An adherent of the State church who has never been baptized or who has never been prepared for the rite of the Lord’s Supper has recourse only to a civil marriage. This is also the case in a marriage between a Christian and a Jew and in a marriage between parties who belong to a Christian church the clergy of which have not been granted the right to perform marriages.
Divorce and Judicial Separation.—Grounds for Judicial Divorce. An absolute divorce can be granted by court on the following grounds:
1. Adultery.
2. Illicit intercourse with a third party after betrothal.
3. Malicious desertion for at least one year, provided the absentee has left the Kingdom.