Session 5 - Recognizing Foreign Marriages

Fascinating discussion today. Here are some links that are relevant to our discussion about same-sex marriage and polygamy, and that you might find useful if doing further research on these topics. For those of you interested in the recognition of foreign same-sex marriages, there is a website, titled Same-Sex Unions in the Conflict of Laws, that contains some useful information on developments in this area in different jurisdictions. Here you will find a short analysis of Wilkinson v. Kitzinger, [2006] EWHC 2022 (Fam), which is the case I mentioned in which High Court held that England would not recognize (as a marriage) a same-sex marriage formalized in Canada by English domiciliaries because the internal law of England, the domicile of each party, deemed same-sex marriages void.

On polygamy, I posted last week a series of additional articles and reports that you might find interesting. These materials, which include a very comprehensive document titled, Polygamy in Canada: Legal and Social Implications for Women and Children: A Collection of Policy Papers, can be accessed here. Also, here is a link to the "Offences Against Conjugal Rights" Section of the Criminal Code ( R.S., 1985, c. C-46 ), which contains the prohibitions on bigamy and polygamy. Finally, here you can download a very recent article by Adrienne D. Davis, titled "The Game of Love: Polygamy, Default Rules, and Bargaining for Equality".

Next week, we will talk about Intercountry Adoptions, and the assigned materials can be accessed here. I also posted a revised version of the Syllabus that reflects the schedule changes mentioned today. Remember that the research proposal is due next week. See you then!