Consummation of A Marriage

Consummation of a marriage in Law Enforcement

Main Entry: Law Enforcement in the Legal Dictionary. This section provides, in the context of Law Enforcement, a partial definition of consummation of a marriage.

Resources

See Also

• Law Enforcement Officer
• Policeman
• Law Enforcement Agency

Further Reading

• consummation of a marriage in A Dictionary of Law Enforcement (Oxford University Press)
• consummation of a marriage in the Encyclopedia of Law Enforcement
• A Treatise on the Police of the Metropolis

English Legal System: Consummation of A Marriage

In the context of the English law, A Dictionary of Law provides the following legal concept of Consummation of A Marriage : The “completion” of a marriage by an act of sexual intercourse. It is defined for these purposes as complete penetration of the vagina by the penis (although ejaculation is not necessary). A marriage may be consummated despite the use of a contraceptive sheath. If a spouse is incapable of consummation or refuses without good reason to consummate the marriage, these may be grounds for *annulment of the marriage. If one of the partners refuses to arrange an additional marriage ceremony (e.g. in a church) without which he knows his spouse will not agree to have intercourse, this may be a good reason for the spouse’s refusal to have intercourse. In this case it is the partner who refused to arrange the ceremony who is regarded as not having consummated the marriage, even though that partner is willing to have intercourse.