Marriage in New Eiffel

Clause 16 of the "Bill of Rights" (Article VI) of the constitution of New Eiffel, providing the legal provisions for marriage

Although the legal framework for marriages in the erstwhile Principality of New Eiffel did exist as stipulated by the constitution, they were never preformed nor formally recognised in any literal sense. The age at which one could legally be wed was 18 years, regardless of sex—the same as the age of consent. Forced marriage was outlawed. Prior to the adoption of the second constitution on 1 April 2020, marriage was available only to opposite-sex couples and, in theory, was legally recognised in the forms of both civil and religious marriage, although New Eiffel had no registrants nor legal provisions for acquiring one.

Nevertheless, both opposite-sex and same-sex couples who later obtained citizenship in New Eiffel received de facto governmental recognition in certain official records. It is not known whether the Republic of New Finland, a distant predecessor state to New Eiffel, had any laws concerning marriage. The Kingdom of New Finland, the direct predecessor state to New Eiffel, allowed both opposite-sex and same-sex couples to be legally wed.

Overview

Though a legal framework for marriages in the erstwhile Principality of New Eiffel did exist as stipulated by the constitution, they were not preformed nor formally recognised in any literal sense. The age at which one could legally be wed was 18 years, regardless of sex—the same as the age of consent. Forced marriage was outlawed.

Prior to the adoption of the second constitution on 1 April 2020, marriage was available only to opposite-sex couples and was legally recognised in the forms of both civil and religious marriage. Same-sex marriages were unrecognised on the recommendation of the Church of New Eiffel (the state church, though it held no power in the government), but same-sex couples who later obtained citizenship in New Eiffel received de facto governmental recognition. In theory, there was a distinction between religious marriages, conducted by an authorised religious celebrant, and civil marriages, conducted by a registrar. Although, New Eiffel had no registrars nor any legal provisions for one.

History

It is not known whether the Republic of New Finland (31 December 2017–4 June 2018), a distant predecessor state to New Eiffel, had any laws concerning marriage. The Royal Archives—the former national archives of New Eiffel which now preserve the erstwhile micronation's history—hypothesise that New Finland "likely did not". In the Kingdom of New Finland (4 June–11 August 2018), both opposite-sex and same-sex couples could legally be married, provided they were aged either 18 or 21 years and older (the precise age is uncertain).

Upon the establishment of the Principality of New Eiffel on 11 August 2018, marriage existed in theory. The legal minimum age to enter into a marriage in New Eiffel was 18 years with parental consent, but 21 without consent from one's parents or legal guardians. The ability to both perform and recognise marriages was de jure removed on 14 December 2019 due to the accidental deletion of the only copy of the constitution, at which point no legal marriages had ever been recorded.

See also

• LGBT rights in New Eiffel