Bigamy as a criminal offence : a comparative analysis

Abstract

Bigamy, a crime which is obvious and unthinkable to most , but can it be considered as justifiable or excusable for those who believe in its fundamental importance. The aim of this paper is to examine comparatively, the crime of Bigamy beyond our borders. At face value, the definition and implication of such offence, is universal but elements which are ancillary to the crime and those which do not directly effect it, may procure effects which go beyond the simple notion of having more than one concurrent wife or husband. The crime of Bigamy cannot be considered as being purely territorial. One may not always have situations whereby both spouses are citizens of the same country, hence the question of jurisdiction arises in order to find which courts and under which legal system can the issue be resolved. This element will be developed upon in the first section, within the private international law sphere. Common Law and Civil law jurisdictions are discussed and developed in detail with regards to the crime of Bigamy. It is a known fact that Maltese law is very much influenced by these legal systems and thus a section about the offence in Maltese criminal law shall follow, in order to asses the extent as to which these foreign laws have influenced Malta’s legislation. The fourth and last section of this paper shall discuss the crime of Bigamy in America with special reference to the state of Utah. A state with Mormon majority and people who believe that this crime is unconstitutional. A distinct and different viewpoint from the above-mentioned countries, however still similar in essence.