Law in the United Kingdom
What the law says today, what it used to say, and the court rulings that changed it.
All topics · 10
Fornication and UK law: from church courts to legal silence
No. Consensual sex between unmarried adults is not a criminal offence anywhere in the United Kingdom. Fornication was once a matter for church courts, briefly a crime under the Commonwealth's 1650 Act, and was left to ecclesiastical discipline after 1660. Today the Sexual Offences Act 2003 and its Scottish and Northern Irish counterparts turn on consent and child protection, not marital status.
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What Blackstone's Commentaries say about fornication and adultery
In Book 4 of his Commentaries on the Laws of England (1765-1769), William Blackstone records that the 1650 Act made incest and adultery capital but was not revived after the Restoration, an 'unfashionable rigour'. Incontinence, fornication included, was left to the 'feeble coercion' of the church courts under canon law.
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Is there such a thing as common law marriage in England and Wales?
No. 'Common law marriage' has no legal force in England and Wales: however long a couple live together, cohabitation does not create the rights of marriage or civil partnership. Some protections exist, and the Law Commission proposed reform in 2007, but nothing was enacted. A government consultation ran from 5 June to 14 August 2026. Scotland grants cohabitants limited claims.
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What rights do unmarried couples have under Scots law?
Yes, limited ones. Under the Family Law (Scotland) Act 2006, a cohabitant can ask the court for a capital sum when the relationship ends, based on economic advantage or disadvantage, including contributions such as childcare. The claim must be made within one year of the couple ceasing to cohabit. Separate rules cover a partner's death.
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What happens when an unmarried partner dies without a will?
No. Under the intestacy rules of England and Wales an unmarried partner inherits nothing automatically, however long the relationship. A partner who lived with the deceased as a couple for the two years before the death can claim reasonable financial provision under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975. Proposals for wider rights remain unimplemented.
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From adultery grounds to no-fault divorce: how English law changed
Not as a separate ground. Since 6 April 2022, the Divorce, Dissolution and Separation Act 2020 lets spouses in England and Wales divorce by stating that the marriage has broken down irretrievably, with no need to prove adultery or any other fact. Adultery had been a ground for divorce in the courts since the Matrimonial Causes Act 1857.
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Breach of promise, seduction and 'crim. con.': the vanished lawsuits of English law
Not in England and Wales. Section 1 of the Law Reform (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1970 states that an agreement to marry creates no legal rights and that no action lies for its breach. The same Act abolished claims for enticement, seduction and harbouring of a spouse or child, and a husband's right to damages for adultery.
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From 'bastard' to equal child: the law on children born outside marriage
Largely, yes. The Family Law Reform Act 1987 sets the general principle that family relationships in England and Wales are read without regard to whether a child's parents were married, and it abolished affiliation proceedings. The Legitimacy Act 1926 had already allowed legitimation by the parents' later marriage. In 2022, 51.4% of births were outside marriage.
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Why UK sexual offences law turns on consent and age, not marriage
The age of consent is 16 throughout the United Kingdom. In England and Wales, section 9 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003 makes sexual activity by an adult with a child under 16 an offence, with stricter rules for children under 13. Modern law protects consent and children rather than punishing sex outside marriage, which is no longer a crime.
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Will unmarried couples in England and Wales get new rights?
Possibly. In June 2026 the Ministry of Justice consulted on a new scheme giving eligible cohabitants in England and Wales financial remedies on separation and inheritance rights, with an opt-out. The Law Commission had proposed similar reforms in 2007 and 2011 without result. The consultation closed on 14 August 2026; no government bill has been introduced.
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