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A man filed a lawsuit seeking late registration of his great-grandparents' marriage.

From the Editors

 

Thursday, November 7, 2024

 

Updated at 10:56

 

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The 3rd panel of the STJ, unanimously, recognized the civil effects of a religious marriage from 1894 to enable the couple's descendants to fulfill the necessary requirement to obtain foreign citizenship.

 

The case was initiated by a man who filed a lawsuit seeking the late registration of his great-grandparents' marriage, which took place in São Paulo, in order to complete the documentation required for Italian citizenship. The request was initially denied, on the grounds that, after decree 181/1890 and the Constitution of 1891, civil marriage became mandatory, making it impossible to register a marriage performed only in the Church. The Court of Justice of São Paulo, however, reversed this decision.

 

In an appeal to the STJ, the MP/SP argued that civil marriage is an exclusive initiative of the spouses and requires prior qualification, in accordance with article 1,525 of the Civil Code.

 

STJ allows civil registration of religious marriage from 1894 for great-grandson to obtain foreign citizenship. 

Wedding held shortly after legislative changes

 

The rapporteur, Justice Nancy , noted that, with the proclamation of the Republic in 1889, civil marriage was established as the only form of marriage recognized by the State, to the detriment of religious marriage, due to the secular nature of the new regime. However, the Justice highlighted that this change faced strong resistance from the Catholic population and the clergy.

 

Nancy  stated that, although the State adopted legislative measures to overcome this resistance, social adaptation was gradual, only consolidating years later, with the entry into force of the Civil Code of 1916.

 

In this context, the minister considered that it is necessary to provide civil protection to families formalized through religious marriage, which, at the time, was the most common institution for formalizing marriages and which, today, is legally and constitutionally supported. The couple's marriage was celebrated a few years after the legislative change and long before the consolidation of civil marriage.

 

Lack of qualification at the time of marriage

 

The minister also emphasized that, once prior authorization has been completed, current legislation allows "any interested party" to register a religious marriage at a registry office, in accordance with article 1,516, paragraph 1, of the current Civil Code. She pointed out that, although marriage is a personal act, public registration is not limited to the spouses themselves when accompanied by prior authorization.

 

The rapporteur explained that when a religious marriage is celebrated without the formalities provided for in the current Civil Code, the couple must register it. However, in this case, a registration procedure that did not exist at the time cannot be required, nor would it be reasonable to require the spouses themselves to register the marriage, since both have already passed away.

 

There is no information in the records regarding grounds for impediment or suspicion that, in light of current legislation, would prevent qualification, which allows interested descendants to carry out public registration. On the other hand, in order to avoid excessive legal consequences, the civil effects of the couple's religious marriage should be limited exclusively to fulfilling the requirement necessary to obtain Italian citizenship.

 

The case number is kept confidential due to judicial secrecy.

 

Information: STJ.

 

 link: https://www.migalhas.com.br/quentes/419507/stj-permite-registro-de-casamento-religioso-de-1894-para-cidadania