Legislative intervention is needed to regulate situations where a married couple has two marriage dates, Mr Justice Raymond Pace said in judgment.

The Family Court judge described such situations, where two marriage dates exist, as a "serious anomaly in Maltese law".

Mr Justice Pace, who was presiding over a separation case, heard how a couple got married civilly in December 1993 and then got married in church seven months later, in July 1994.

The judge heard that the couple got married civilly because the bride's parents did not approve cohabitation.

In February 2003 the Ecclesiastical Tribunal declared the Church marriage as null due to "total simulation of consent" by the bride who never intended to be faithful towards her husband and had used marriage only to attain her aims.

However, although the religious union was nullified, the couple was still civilly married in the eyes of the law, which was why they had taken their case to the Family Court.

"Obviously the court feels this constitutes a serious anomaly in Maltese law and there is certainly the need of legislative intervention to regulate the situation where there are two dates for a couple's marriage," he said.

After evaluating the evidence the judge declared their civil marriage null and void.