A marriage has been declared legally void by the Eastern Circuit Court after a husband told the court he was unaware that his spouse intended to transition.
The couple, who cannot be named for legal reasons, appeared before an in-camera family law sitting of the Circuit Court seeking an annulment.
The court heard that the couple married before the wife decided she wished to transition into a man. Following his transition, the applicant now identifies as male, uses he/him pronouns and both his passport and driving licence list his gender as male.
The court was told that the marriage had never been consummated.
The husband stated that if he had known his partner was considering transitioning, he would not have gone through with the marriage.
The applicant told the court that he was aware of one previous incident where a judge granted an annulment in similar circumstances, and believed that his own situation met the same criteria.
Judge Terence O’Sullivan noted that annulments cannot be granted solely on the basis of sexual orientation, but acknowledged that in recent years, legislation surrounding annulment has expanded to include matters relating to sexual orientation and gender identity.
He also remarked that it had been nearly 40 years since he last studied the relevant statutes in college.
In his ruling, Judge O’Sullivan ultimately found that there was no fully informed or valid consent at the time of the marriage. As a result, the relationship was deemed void and never legally recognised.
A decree of annulment was granted with no order as to costs, meaning neither party was required to pay the other’s legal expenses.