The (fictional) Restrictions on marriage Act 2008 makes it a crime for women to be married to men who are younger than they are. Judy is married to Richard, who is several years younger than she is. She has been convicted of an offence under the act.

A-Level: Sociology

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• Judy has appealed, and has asked the Court of Appeal to quash her conviction, and hold the 2008 act to be invalid. The prosecution, however, argues that the words of the Act are clear and unambiguous, so the court has no alternative but to uphold the conviction.
The Human Rights Act 1998 is an Act of Parliament in the United Kingdom which came into power on the 2nd of October 2000 but got the Royal Assent on the 9th November 1998. It gives effect to the rights in the European Convention on Human Rights in UK. This means unless an Act of Parliament makes it impossible to, all public authorities have to comply with the Convention rights. It requires a judge in the UK to take into account decisions made by the European Court of Human Rights, it also requires the judges to approach the UK law and interpret it in a way that is compatible with the European convention. But if there is an Act of parliament which does not comply with the convention, the judge cannot hold the act void, the judge can only issue a declaration of incompatibility, which means the act is still valid. This maintains parliament supremacy/sovereignty however one can still take their case to the European Court of Human Rights as the final option.
Judy is convicted under the Restrictions on marriage Act 2008 which makes it an offence for women to get married to men who are younger than they are. Judy is married to Richard who is several years younger than her. According to the convention rights article 8 “Respect for private life” and article 12 “The right to marry and found a family”. This means that the Restrictions on marriage Act 2008 do not comply with the Convention Rights.
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