Legal Definitions - impedimenta dirimentia

The Latin term impedimenta dirimentia refers to a fundamental legal barrier or condition that makes an attempted legal act, such as a marriage or a contract, completely invalid and void from its very beginning. It is not merely a minor irregularity or an issue that could lead to penalties; it is a flaw so serious that the law considers the act to have never legally occurred. Essentially, it's a show-stopper that prevents an action from having any legal effect whatsoever.

• Bigamous Marriage:

  Imagine a situation where a person, who is already legally married to someone else, attempts to marry a second person without having obtained a divorce or annulment from their first marriage.

  In this case, the existing valid marriage acts as an impedimentum dirimens to the second marriage. The law considers the second marriage to be completely void from the moment it was attempted, as the individual lacked the legal capacity to enter into it. It is as if the second marriage never legally happened.

• Contract for an Illegal Purpose:

  Consider two individuals who try to form a contract where the agreed-upon purpose is illegal, for instance, an agreement to illegally smuggle goods across a border.

  The illegal nature of the purpose serves as an impedimentum dirimens to the formation of a valid contract. Because the underlying objective is against the law, the agreement is void from the start. A court would not recognize it as a legitimate contract, and neither party could enforce its terms.

• Marriage Below the Legal Age of Consent:

  Suppose two individuals attempt to get married, but one of them is significantly below the minimum legal age for marriage in their jurisdiction, and no special legal dispensation (like parental consent or a court order) has been granted.

  The lack of legal age of consent acts as an impedimentum dirimens. The marriage would be considered void or subject to immediate annulment because one party lacked the fundamental legal capacity to consent to such a union. The law essentially treats the marriage as if it never validly took place.