Definition

1. Noun:
   • A legal or canonical obstacle that renders a marriage null and void from its inception: In canon law (the law of the Catholic Church) and some other legal systems, a diriment impediment is a specific condition or circumstance that, if present, makes a marriage invalid. It is not merely an obstacle to getting married; it means the marriage ceremony, if performed, is considered to have never created a valid marital bond.

Examples of Usage

• Noun:
  • Consanguinity within prohibited degrees is a diriment impediment to marriage. (Being too closely related by blood is a condition that invalidates a marriage.)
  • The existence of a prior, valid, and undissolved marriage is a classic diriment impediment. (If one person is already legally married, any subsequent marriage is invalid.)
  • The tribunal investigated whether a diriment impediment existed at the time of the wedding. (The court examined if there was a marriage-invalidating condition when the couple married.)

Advanced Usage

• "To constitute a diriment impediment": To be or act as a condition that invalidates a marriage.
  • Lack of canonical form can constitute a diriment impediment for baptized Catholics.
• "Declaration of nullity based on a diriment impediment": The official finding by a Church tribunal that a marriage was invalid due to such an obstacle.
  • She sought a declaration of nullity based on the diriment impediment of force and fear.

Variants and Related Words

• Impediment (noun): A general term for any obstacle or hindrance. In a marital context, it can be either a (invalidating) or a (which forbids a marriage but does not invalidate it if it occurs).
• Nullity (noun): The state of being legally or canonically invalid. A diriment impediment is a ground for declaring a marriage a nullity.

Synonyms

• Invalidating impediment: A direct synonym emphasizing the effect.
• Absolute impediment: (In some contexts) Another term for a diriment impediment.

Related Phrases

(This term is a fixed legal phrase and does not have phrasal verbs.)

Related Idioms

(This is a technical term and is not used in idiomatic expressions.)

Noun

1. (canon law) an impediment that invalidates a marriage (such as the existence of a prior marriage)