An Irish Annulment Case

I noticed Woman loses bid to annul four-year marriage from The Irish Independent, but had not enough to write anything on the story. Those reading my articles on annulment (if you have not read these, follow the link below this post to the archives) might recognize some of the facts as being similar to some very old Indiana cases. Some other points:

• I think the story highlights the differences between different jurisdictions. Notice that Ireland's Constitution has a provision on marriage. Differences exist between countries and also between states. I think with people using the Internet for research (such as this blog), I need to keep pointing out that what is true in Indiana may not be true in California and vice versa.
• On the hand, the article shows that it is not just difficult to get an Indiana annulment but to get one in Ireland, too.
  

Oh, yes, the article itself:

A WOMAN yesterday lost a Supreme Court bid to have her four-year marriage annulled because her husband allegedly hid huge debts and misrepresented his character before they were wed.

A psychiatrist had diagnosed the husband with a 'narcissistic personality disorder' and the woman claimed he was 'pathologically given to deception and concealment', both in his personal and financial dealings. He also drank excessively, she claimed."

***

Yesterday, Mr Justice Nicholas Kearns dismissed her appeal. He said the Constitution imposes a clear obligation on the courts to uphold the marriage contract.

It would require "much stronger evidence" to show the husband lacked the necessary capacity to enter a valid contract of marriage, the judge said.

The courts had to draw a clear distinction between conduct, on the one hand, and incapacity, on the other, he said.

The judge said while the husband engaged in "undoubtedly feckless, irresponsible and immature conduct" and turned out to be not the man the woman thought she was marrying, "one may regretfully observe that the same could be said of many marriages".