SOSENE & SOSENE

In the matter of SOSENE & SOSENE, Foster J of the Family Court of Australia was required to consider an application for a declaration of nullity of marriage. The applicant, Ms Sosene, sought this declaration on the basis that at the time of her marriage to the respondent, Mr Sosene, the respondent was already lawfully married to another person.

The central legal issue before the Court was whether the marriage between Ms Sosene and Mr Sosene was void ab initio due to the respondent's subsisting prior marriage. This required the Court to determine if the circumstances met the legal criteria for declaring a marriage a nullity under Australian family law.

Foster J applied the principle that a marriage is void where one of the parties is already lawfully married at the time of the ceremony. This principle renders the subsequent marriage invalid from its inception. The evidence presented established that the respondent was indeed married to another individual when he entered into the marriage with the applicant.

Consequently, Foster J made an order declaring that the marriage between Ms Sosene and Mr Sosene, solemnised in 2007, was a nullity.