Bigamy in Germany: double marriage is punishable
Bigamy is illegal in Germany. In this article you will find out exactly what is meant by the term bigamy and what punishment is provided for double marriage.
Bigamy – an explanation of the term
The easiest way to translate the term bigamy is double marriage. This means when an already married person enters into another marriage.
In addition to bigamy, there is also polygamy, i.e. marriage with several people, also known as polygamy. Polygamy can then be further subdivided into polygyny, polyandry and polygynandry. Polygyny describes marriage between one man and several wives, while polyandry means marriage between one woman and several husbands. Polygynandry, in turn, means a group marriage. In this type of marriage, several men and several women are joined together. The opposite of bigamy or polygamy is monogamy .
Bigamy is punishable in Germany
Anyone who marries in Germany, although they have already entered into a marriage and this has neither been dissolved nor annulled, is liable to prosecution. The same applies to the partner who enters into marriage with a person who is already married – provided that he or she knew of the existing marriage.
This is regulated in paragraph 1306 of the German Civil Code. The paragraph states that a marriage may not be concluded if one of the two partners is already married or a registered civil partnership already exists for one of the two. This is a criminal offence. Thus, the penalty for double marriage is regulated in the Criminal Code, here in paragraph 172. There it says that double marriage is punishable by imprisonment for up to three years or a fine.
Bigamy and polygamy still exist in Germany
In the course of immigration, plural marriage in Germany raised a number of problems. Bigamy is not punishable if the marriage was contracted abroad and plural marriage is legal in that country. So if an immigrant who is already married marries a German citizen, this marriage remains unpunished, even though it is a double marriage.
The law book only regulates that a double marriage or a polygamy in Germany may not be legally concluded. However, there are some countries in which bigamy or polygamy are permitted by the state. This is the case, for example, in many Arab, African and Oceanian countries. For example, polygamy was legalized in Kenya in 2014. From 2009 to 2018, Jacob Zuma, a polygamous man, was President of South Africa. Although polygamy is forbidden in the USA, it is still practiced by many Mormons, mostly in the state of Utah, to this day.