BITAR & BITAR

In the matter of *Bitar & Bitar*, Foster J of the Federal Circuit Court of Australia was required to determine the validity of a marriage. The applicant, Ms Bitar, sought a declaration that her marriage to the respondent, Mr Bitar, solemnised in New Zealand in 2010, was a nullity.

The central legal issue before the court was whether the marriage between the parties was valid under Australian law, or if it was void ab initio. This required an examination of the circumstances surrounding the marriage ceremony and its compliance with the legal requirements for a valid marriage.

Foster J declared the marriage between Ms Bitar and Mr Bitar, conducted in New Zealand in 2010, to be a nullity. The court's reasoning and the specific grounds for this declaration are not detailed in the provided extract, but the outcome is a formal pronouncement that the purported marriage was void.