Rebecca Hill who heads our community care team and Todd Killeen from our Family team in Oldbury have been combining their expertise in cases where a forced marriage protection order has been put in place and there is a linked case in the Court of Protection.

What is a Forced Marriage?

A forced marriage is where one or both people do not or cannot consent to the marriage and pressure or abuse is used to force them into the marriage. The aim of a forced marriage protection order is to protect the person who has been, or is being, forced into marriage.

The Forced Marriage Unit

The Forced Marriage Unit is a government department which provides assistance in this area. When the Forced Marriage Unit has concerns that an individual lacks the mental capacity to consent to marry, whether pressured or not, it may investigate the circumstances. If it believes the individual may have been forced into marriage, it alerts the individual’s local authority.

The local authority can then apply to the court for a forced marriage protection order to be put in place. Investigations are undertaken to determine whether the individual has the mental capacity to marry and engage in sexual relations.

These investigations can involve obtaining an expert report on the individual’s capacity. They can also include educative work to support the individual to gain capacity.

The law

The law regarding mental capacity in this area is complex. When a marriage has already taken place, experts can be tasked with assessing retrospective capacity. This helps the court determine whether the individual had the capacity to marry at the time the marriage took place.

These proceedings can be highly emotive and stressful for the individual and their family. Both Rebecca and Todd are adept at drawing on their expertise to bring these cases to a successful conclusion.

If you are facing proceedings of this nature, or are seeking advice, please do not hesitate to contact us via 020 8299 6000.