RUSSIA
Russian Family Code
Family Code of the Russian Federation
Section II. Entering into a Marriage and Termination of the Marriage
CHAPTER 3. THE TERMS AND PROCEDURE FOR ENTERING INTO A MARRIAGE
Article 12. The Terms for Entering into a Marriage
1. To enter into a marriage, a voluntary consent of the man and of the woman, entering into it, and their reaching the marriageable age shall be necessary.
2. The marriage shall not be entered into in the face of the circumstances, pointed out in Article 14 of the present Code.
* * *
Article 14. The Circumstances, Preventing the Entering into a Marriage
Not to be admitted shall be entering into a marriage by:
- the persons, one of whom at least already consists in another registered marriage;
- close relations (relations by the direct ascending and descending lines - by the parents and the children, by the grandfather, the grandmother and the grandchildren), by full and by not full (having a common father or a mother) brothers and sisters);
- the adopters and the adoptees;
- the persons, one of whom at least is recognized by the court as legally incapable because of a mental derangement.
* * *
Section VII. Application of the Family Legislation to Family Relations with the Participation of Foreign and of Stateless Persons
Article 156. Entering into a Marriage on the Territory of the Russian Federation
1. The form and the procedure for entering into a marriage on the territory of the Russian Federation shall be defined by the legislation of the Russian Federation.
2. The terms for entering into a marriage on the territory of the Russian Federation shall be defined for each of the persons, entering into a marriage, by the legislation of the state, whose citizen the person is at the moment of entering into a marriage, while observing the requirements of Article 14 of the present Code with respect to the circumstances, interfering with the entering into a marriage.
3. If the person, alongside the citizenship of a foreign state, also enjoys the citizenship of the Russian Federation, to the terms for entering into a marriage shall be applied the legislation of the Russian Federation. In the case the person has the citizenship of several foreign states, the legislation of one of these states shall be applied, at the preference of the given person.
4. The terms for entering into a marriage with a stateless person on the
territory of the Russian Federation shall be defined by the legislation of the state, in which this person has a permanent place of residence.
Article 157. Entering into a Marriage at the Diplomatic Representations and at the Consular Institutions
1. The marriages between the Russian Federation citizens, living outside of the territory of the Russian Federation, shall be entered into at the diplomatic representations or at the consular institutions of the Russian Federation.
2. The marriages between foreign citizens, entered into on the territory of the Russian Federation at the diplomatic representations and at the consular institutions of foreign states, shall be recognized as valid in the Russian Federation on the terms of reciprocity, if these persons at the moment of entering into a marriage were the citizens of a foreign state, which has accredited an Ambassador or a consul in the Russian Federation.
Article 158. Recognition of Marriages, Entered into Outside of the Territory of the Russian Federation
1. The marriages between the citizens of the Russian Federation and the citizens of foreign states or the stateless persons, entered into outside of the territory of the Russian Federation, while observing the legislation of the state, on whose territory they were entered into, shall be recognized as valid in the Russian Federation, if there are no circumstances, interfering with entering into the marriage, stipulated by Article 14 of the present Code.
2. The marriages between foreign citizens, entered into outside of the territory of the Russian Federation, while observing the legislation of the state, on whose territory they were concluded, shall be recognized as valid in the Russian Federation.
Article 159. Invalidity of the Marriage, Entered into on the Territory of the Russian Federation or Outside of the Territory of the Russian Federation
The invalidity of the marriage, entered into on the territory of the Russian Federation, or outside of the Russian Federation, shall be defined by the legislation, which, in conformity with Article 156 and Article 158 of the present Code, was applied when entering into the marriage.
* * *
Article 167. Restricting the Application of the Norms of Foreign Family Law
The norms of foreign family law shall not be applied, if such application would contradict the fundamentals of the law and order (of the public order) of the Russian Federation. In this case, the legislation of the Russian Federation shall be applied.
Enacted 1996.