Body of legal specifications and requirements and other laws that regulate the initiation, continuation, and validity of marriages.
In western Europe most marriage law derives from Roman Catholic canon law. Though the church regards marriage as a sacred, indissoluble union, modern western European and U.S. marriage law treat it as a civil transaction. Marriage law allows only monogamous unions; partners must be above a certain age and not within prohibited degrees of blood relationship; and they must be free to marry and give consent to the marriage. Divorce is now almost universally allowed. Though Islamic law regards marriage as a contract between the two spouses for the "legalization of intercourse and the procreation of children," it is also considered a gift from God or a kind of service to God; the Islamic practice of polygamy was always limited and has waned. Polygamous marriages are permitted under customary laws in many African countries, though there has been a growing trend toward monogamy. Marriage law in present-day China and Japan resembles that in the West. Though most jurisdictions restrict marriage to a union between a man and a woman, same-sex marriages have been legalized in two countries, The Netherlands and Belgium, and in some Canadian provinces.