degree relationship contracting parties marriage license

Initially, canon law followed Roman civil law until the early 9th century, when the Western Church increased the number of prohibited degrees from four to seven. The Roman Catholic Church and Eastern Orthodox Church have a long history of marital prohibitions, called impediments to marriage, which limit the marriage of two closely related relatives. Any prospective marriage partner with a blood relationship outside these prohibited degrees was considered acceptable. A third degree would be an uncle/aunt with a niece/nephew while fourth degree was between first cousins. The first prohibited degree of consanguinity was a parent-child relationship while a second degree would be a sibling relationship. This was calculated by counting up from one prospective partner to the common ancestor, then down to the other prospective partner. Roman civil law prohibited marriages within four degrees of consanguinity. Main articles: Impediment (Catholic canon law) and Affinity (Catholic canon law) However, among other exceptions, marrying the child of your paternal uncle was strictly prohibited, as such a marriage was seen as one between siblings as each of the couple bore the same family name. Marrying the child of one’s paternal aunt, maternal uncle or aunt was generally accepted in Chinese history during most of China’s dynastic era.

In Imperial China (221 BCE to 1912), marriage between first cousins was partially allowed. First cousins (which is counted as fourth degree of kinship in Roman civil law tradition).

Aforementioned 'collateral relatives by blood up to the third degree of kinship' include: Further information: Legality_of_incest § China_(Mainland)Ĭivil Code of the People’s Republic of China Article 1048 stipulated that persons who are lineal relatives by blood, or collateral relatives by blood up to the third degree of kinship are prohibited from being married.Īccording to the official explanation, the calculation of degree of consanguinity in China is similar to Roman civil law with some difference.

Degree relationship contracting parties marriage license