In a culture where only monogamous relationships are legally recognized, bigamy is the act of entering into a marriage with one person while still legally married to another.
Bigamy is a crime in most countries that recognise only monogamous marriages. When it occurs in this context often neither the first nor second spouse is aware of the other. In countries that have bigamy laws, with a few exceptions (such as Egypt and Iran), consent from a prior spouse makes no difference to the legality of the second marriage, which is usually considered void marriage.
History of anti-bigamy laws
Even before
Christianity became the official religion of the
Roman Empire,
Diocletian and
Maximian passed strict anti-polygamy laws in 285 AD that mandated monogamy as the only form of legal marital relationship, as had traditionally been the case in classical
Greece and
Rome. In 393, the
Roman Empire Emperor
Theodosius I issued an imperial edict to extend the ban on polygamy to Jewish communities. In 1000, Rabbi Gershom ben Judah ruled polygamy inadmissible within
Ashkenazi Jews Jewish communities living in a Christian environment.
Legal situation
Most
Western world countries do not recognise
polygamous marriages, and consider bigamy a crime. Several countries also prohibit people from living a polygamous lifestyle. This is the case with the United States where the criminalisation of a polygamous lifestyle originated as
Anti-Mormonism laws, although they are rarely enforced.
[
] De facto polygamy is illegal under US federal law, the
Edmunds Act.
In diplomatic law, consular spouses from polygamous countries are sometimes exempt from a general prohibition on polygamy in host countries. In some such countries, only one spouse of a polygamous diplomat may be accredited, however.
By country and region
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Australia: Illegal. Up to five years' imprisonment.
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Belgium: Illegal. Five to ten years' imprisonment.
["strafwetboek" article 391]
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Brazil: Illegal. Two to six years' imprisonment.
[Penal code of Brazil, Art. 235]
-
Canada: Illegal. Up to five years' imprisonment.
[Criminal Code, sect 290, 291.]
-
China: Illegal. Up to two years' imprisonment, and up to three years for bigamy with soldiers (but tolerated for some minorities, such as Tibetans, in some rural areas in the south-west).
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Colombia: Illegal with exceptions (such as religion). Although bigamy no longer exists as a lone figure in the Colombian judicial code, marrying someone new without dissolving an earlier marriage may yield to other felonies such as civil status forgery or suppression of information.
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Egypt: Legal for men if first wife consents.
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Eritrea: Illegal. Up to five years' imprisonment.
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Germany: Illegal. Up to three years' imprisonment.
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Ghana: Illegal. Up to six months' imprisonment.
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Hong Kong: Illegal. Up to seven years' imprisonment.
-
Iceland: Illegal.
-
India: Legal only for Muslim men but very rarely practiced. Up to 10 years' imprisonment for others except in the state of Goa for Hindus due to its own civil code.
-
Indonesia: Depending on the specific tribe in question, bigamy can be legal or illegal.
-
Republic of Ireland: A criminal offence under section 57 of the Offences Against the Person Act 1861, up to seven years' imprisonment.
[; ; ] The Director of Public Prosecutions has discretion and rarely prosecutes.[; ] The 1861 act replaced an 1829 act[ 10 Geo 4 c.34 s.26, repealed by the Statute Law Revision Act 1861; see ] which in turn replaced acts of 1725 and 1635.
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Iran: Legal for men with consent of first wife. Rarely practised.
-
Israel: Illegal for members of each confessional community. Up to five years' imprisonment.
[ Penal Law Amendment (Bigamy) Law, 5719 (1959), which applies to members of each confessional community, including the Jewish and Muslim. "The English Law of Bigamy in a Multi-Confessional Society: The Israel Experience" by P Shifman.]
-
Italy: Illegal. Up to five years' imprisonment.
[Article 556 of Italian Penal Code.]
-
Libya: Legal for men with conditions.
-
Malaysia: Illegal for non-Muslims under federal jurisdiction. Under section 494 of Chapter XX of the Penal Code, non-Muslim offenders found guilty of bigamy or polygamy can be punished up to seven years' imprisonment. Bigamy or polygamy is legal only for Muslim men with restrictions under state jurisdiction, rarely practised.
-
Maldives: Permitted for anyone.
-
Malta: Illegal.
[ Marriage Act of 1975, section 6.]
-
Morocco: Permitted for Muslims, restrictions apply.
-
Netherlands: Illegal. Up to six years' imprisonment. If the new partner is aware of the bigamy they can be imprisoned for a maximum of four years.
-
New Zealand: Illegal.
[Crimes Act 1961, section 205.] Up to seven years' imprisonment, or up to two years' imprisonment if the judge is satisfied the second spouse was aware their marriage would be void.
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Pakistan: Polygamy in Pakistan is permitted to men with some restrictions.
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Philippines: Legal for Muslim men. Others face six to 12 years' imprisonment and legal dissolution of marriage.
-
Poland: Illegal, up to two years' imprisonment.
[Article 206 of the Polish Penal Code]
-
Portugal: Illegal. Up to two years' imprisonment, or up to 240 days of day-fine.
[Article 247 of the Penal Code of Portugal.]
-
Romania: Illegal.
[Romanian Penal Code, art 376][Also Civil Code of Romania, art 273.]
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Russia: Illegal.
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Saudi Arabia: Bigamy or polygamy is legal for men with some restrictions, but has become less common in the late 1900s and early 2000s; see Polygamy in Saudi Arabia
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Somalia: Polygamy is legal for men at marriage courts; long-standing tradition.
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South Africa: Legal for men under the Recognition of Customary Marriages Act, 1998 for customary marriages. Under civil law marriages (regulated by the Marriage Act), any marriage in addition to an already existing one is invalid (but not criminalised).
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Spain: Illegal. Between six months to a year's imprisonment (Art. 217 of the Criminal Code).
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Sudan: Bigamy or polygamy is legal for men.
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Taiwan: Illegal. Up to five years' imprisonment.
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Thailand: Prior to October 1, 1935, polygamy in Thailand could be freely practised and recognised under civil law. Since its abolition, it is still practised and widely accepted in Thailand, though no longer recognised, as the law states "A man or a woman cannot marry each other while one of them has a spouse."
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Tunisia: Illegal. Up to five years' imprisonment.
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Turkey: Illegal. Up to two years'
, Article 230.
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United Kingdom: Illegal, although marriages performed abroad may be recognised for some legal purposes (see Polygamy in the United Kingdom).
- On indictment, up to seven years' imprisonment
[The Offences against the Person Act 1861 (24 & 25 Vict. c.100), section 57; the Criminal Justice Act 1948 (11 & 12 Geo.6 c.58), section 1(1)] or on summary conviction up to six months' imprisonment, or to a fine of a prescribed sum, or to both.[The Magistrates' Courts Act 1980 (c.43), section 32(1) ]
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United States: Illegal in every state. Up to five years' imprisonment. (see Polygamy in North America.)
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Uzbekistan: Illegal. Up to three years of imprisonment and a fine of 50 to 150 monthly wage installments. Women are not punished if they marry a man who has another unknown wife.
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