Nullity of Marriage Act 1971

The Nullity of Marriage Act 1971 was the first time in British law that marriage was explicitly defined by statute as being between a male and a female. A marriage could therefore be annulled if the partners were not respectively male and female.

The provisions of the Act were incorporated into the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 and the Act itself was repealed. The provision that a marriage must be between a male and a female has subsequently been overturned by the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act 2013.